GreenBio News - Last 20 News Articles with full text

Judge allows genetically engineered beet harvest

2010-03-17T12:45:05+01:00 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO -- A federal judge on Tuesday said farmers can harvest their genetically engineered sugar beets this year, ruling the economic impact too great and that environmental groups waited too long to request that the crop be yanked from the ground and otherwise barred from the market.

Nearly all sugar beets planted are genetically engineered and the crop accounts for half the nation's sugar supply.

Genetically modified foods get U.S. traction, global debate

2010-03-17T12:41:33+01:00 GMT

For more than a decade, two opposing views of the technology used for genetically engineering crops have fought for the hearts and minds of the world's farmers.

At best, they've come to a standoff.

DuPont pushing new ag spending, seeds

2010-03-17T12:37:21+01:00 GMT

A new genetically modified soybean seed engineered by DuPont is making fast inroads with farmers and comes as the company is increasing spending on new seed development, a top DuPont official said on Tuesday.

The Y Series soybean will likely account for two-thirds of the company's North American soybean sales this year, up from one-third in 2009, DuPont Executive Vice President James Borel said at the Reuters Food and Agriculture Summit in Chicago. Borel oversees DuPont's production agriculture businesses, including corn and soybean seed developer Pioneer Hi-Bred.

New Lentil Being Readied for Market

2010-03-17T12:34:11+01:00 GMT

"Essex," a new lentil variety developed by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists, has a lot to offer: high seed yields for growers, nitrogen-fixing bacteria for wheat crops, and a tasty source of protein for consumers to add to soups, salads and other fare.

Agricultural Industries Confederation urges GM events solution

2010-03-17T12:30:44+01:00 GMT

The Agricultural Industries Confederation (AIC) has once again called on the European Commission to propose a technical solution for non-EU authorised genetically modified (GM) events in imported materials and a faster approval process in line with other countries.

Speaking to the farming press in Edinburgh on Monday, Ian Henderson, chairman of AIC Scotland Feed Sector, said: “The GM issue is putting more and more pressure onto feed supplies in Scotland”.

Genetically modified pork. Are we ready for it?

2010-03-16T11:11:25+01:00 GMT

It's billed as an animal that will be good for the environment, the questions that remain include whether the government will approve it and whether consumers will want to put this pork on their fork.

How plants put down roots

2010-03-16T11:07:04+01:00 GMT

In the beginning is the fertilized egg cell. Following numerous cell divisions, it then develops into a complex organism with different organs and tissues.

GM rice found in Chinese supermarkets: Greenpeace

2010-03-16T11:04:07+01:00 GMT

BEIJING — Genetically modified rice is being sold in supermarkets in China including US retail giant Wal-Mart, environmental group Greenpeace said in a report that contradicts government statements.

The study said GM rice was being sold in Wal-Mart stores and a Chinese supermarket chain in central Hunan province.

China's government said late last year it had approved initial production licences for genetically modified strains of rice and corn, but that commercial cultivation required further approval.

After China, Philippines may approve GMO rice

2010-03-16T11:01:38+01:00 GMT

MANILA -- The Philippines may follow China as the next Asian country to approve widespread planting of genetically modified rice crops, possibly as early as 2011, an industry expert said on Tuesday.

The Philippines, the world's largest rice importer, is one of several countries currently in field tests for GMO rice crops, Robert Zeigler, director general of the Philippines-based International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), said at the Reuters Food and Agriculture Summit.

URI scientist's development of more muscular trout could boost commercial aquaculture

2010-03-16T10:57:02+01:00 GMT

KINGSTON, R.I. -- A 10-year effort by a University of Rhode Island scientist to develop transgenic rainbow trout with enhanced muscle growth has yielded fish with what have been described as six-pack abs and muscular shoulders that could provide a boost to the commercial aquaculture industry.

Monsanto competitors see opportunity in its new Bt cotton difficulty

2010-03-16T10:51:33+01:00 GMT

Concerns over the pink bollworm, a pest that feeds on cotton, having developed resistance to Monsanto’s genetically modified ‘Bollgard’ cotton is also good news for other companies developing hybrids.

Monsanto has started the process of developing a hybrid but says this will take some time before it is introduced. The area in the country under Bt (genetically modified) cotton is anticipated to be around eight million hectares in 2009-10, with an average yield of 560 kg per hectare in 2007-08.

New defenses deployed against plant diseases

2010-03-15T11:11:35+01:00 GMT

An international team led by scientists at the Sainsbury Laboratory in Norwich,UK, have transferred broad spectrum resistance against some important plant diseases across different plant families.

This breakthrough provides a new way to produce crops with sustainable resistance to economically important diseases.

The Pros and Cons of Genetically Modified Seeds

2010-03-15T11:04:18+01:00 GMT

Earlier this month, Monsanto, the world's largest seed company, admitted that its genetically engineered "Bt" (bacillus thuringiensis) cotton seed wasn't all that farmers in India had hoped.

Geraniums Could Help Control Devastating Japanese Beetle

2010-03-15T11:00:33+01:00 GMT

Geraniums may hold the key to controlling the devastating Japanese beetle, which feeds on nearly 300 plant species and costs the ornamental plant industry $450 million in damage each year, according to scientists with the Agricultural Research Service (ARS).

Plant Hormone Increases Cotton Yields in Drought Conditions

2010-03-15T10:56:50+01:00 GMT

A naturally occurring class of plant hormones called cytokinins has been found to help increase cotton yields during drought conditions, according to Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists.

Cytokinins promote cell division and growth in plants. In cotton, cytokinins stimulate the growth of the main plant stem and branches. Commercially produced cytokinins are routinely applied in apple and pistachio orchards to promote fruit growth.

Opposition wants GM food labelled

2010-03-15T10:53:01+01:00 GMT

The West Australian State Opposition Agriculture Spokesman, Mick Murray, is calling on the State Government to introduce labelling on products containing genetically modified food.

He is urging the public to make submissions to a nationwide Independent Review of Food Labelling and Products being conducted by the Council of Australian Governments.

The review will hold a public hearing in Perth on Wednesday, with written submissions closing on May the 14th.

Battle continues of GMO alfalfa

2010-03-15T10:49:37+01:00 GMT

The American Farm Bureau announced this week that the U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether a lower court acted hastily and incorrectly by banning the cultivation of biotech alfalfa despite extensive scientific evidence documenting the safety of the crop.

A coalition of agricultural organizations, including the American Farm Bureau, filed on March 8 a joint friend-of-the-court brief to the Supreme Court in support of the petitioners in "Monsanto Co. v. Geertson Seed Farms."

Main pest develops resistance to Bt cotton

2010-03-12T15:19:54+01:00 GMT

During field monitoring of the 2009 cotton crop in the state of Gujarat in western India, Monsanto and Mahyco scientists detected unusual survival of pink bollworm to first-generation single-protein Bollgard cotton.

The future of GM crops in Europe

2010-03-12T15:12:14+01:00 GMT

GM crops have, for many years, been a source of controversy in the EU.

After a six year effective moratorium on new approvals, a revised regulatory system finally began to function in 2004. However, since then, the only crops approved have been soy and maize varieties for import. Now, after a 12 year gap, and 13 years after the original dossier was submitted, a further crop has at last been approved for European cultivation. This is the Amflora potato variety, developed by BASF and to be grown purely for industrial processing.

We need agricultural technology to feed the world

2010-03-12T15:07:42+01:00 GMT

MANHATTAN, Kan. — To feed a world population projected to exceed 9 billion people by 2050, technology that can enhance food production will be a significant asset.

Dramatically increased food prices around the world in recent years, social unrest over food scarcity in countries like Argentina, Bangladesh, Egypt, Mozambique and many others — combined with a growing world population — are raising the question what will it take to feed the world’s population 40 years from now.

Technology boost