AgClips
Recent AgClips
Jeffrey Smith admits GMO labeling was never his goal
Foos Science Institute | Posted onAugust 2, 2016 in Food NewsIn a letter sent out yesterday, anti-GMO activist Jeffrey Smith says "Labeling GMOs was never the end goal for us. It was a tactic. Labels make it easier for shoppers to make healthier non-GMO choices. When enough people avoid GMOs, food companies rush to eliminate them. Labeling can speed up that tipping point—but only if consumers are motivated to use labels to avoid GMOs. Although this is clearly a defeat in our campaigns for getting mandatory labeling in the United States, we are still winning the bigger, more important effort to ELIMINATE GMOs from the market altogether."
Venezuela's new decree: Forced farm work for citizens
CNN | Posted onAugust 2, 2016 in Agriculture NewsA new decree by Venezuela's government could make its citizens work on farms to tackle the country's severe food shortages. In a vaguely-worded decree, Venezuelan officials indicated that public and private sector employees could be forced to work in the country's fields for at least 60-day periods, which may be extended "if circumstances merit."
EPA appeals board upholds cancellation of Bayer's Belt
Agri-Pulse | Posted onAugust 2, 2016 in Federal NewsEPA's Environmental Appeals Board ha s upheld the cancellation of flubendiamide, a Bayer CropScience insecticide sold under the trade name Belt, but will allow existing stocks to be sold by retailers.
The Tax Break For Kansas Farmers That Few Know About
KCUR | Posted onAugust 2, 2016 in Agriculture NewsFollowing the 2012 Brownback tax cuts, farmers no longer had to pay state income tax -- just like 334,000 LLCs, S corporations and sole proprietorships. But farmers get a little something extra: They also pay no state income tax on subsidies they get from Washington. In all, about 40,000 farmers in Kansas receive about $1 billion a year from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Even many farmers think not paying taxes on this money is a bad idea.
USDA begins GMO labeling website
USDA | Posted onAugust 2, 2016 in NewsThe National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Law charges AMS with developing a national mandatory system for disclosing the presence of bioengineered material. USDA has established a working group to develop a timeline for rulemaking and to ensure an open and transparent process for effectively establishing this new program, which will increase consumer confidence and understanding of the foods they buy, and avoid uncertainty for food companies and farmers. We are committed to providing multiple opportunities for engagement.
Hopkins Center for a Livable Future at it again
meatingplace.com | Posted onAugust 2, 2016 in Agriculture NewsThe “they” are six researchers at The Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future, based at the Bloomberg School of Public Health in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences. The “it” is another attempt to alarm citizens with false and misleading information in an attempt to block another new chicken farm in Maryland. The “it” is contained in a letter to one Jennifer Feindt, a Farm Loan Specialist with the USDA Farm Service Agency. But this time around they really have “egg” all over their collective faces.
‘McPicture’ of cage-housed hens not accurate for US
Watt Ag Net | Posted onAugust 1, 2016 in NewsBecause of its size and the high visibility of its brand, McDonald’s has become a target for just about every activist group out there. The resulting public relations smear campaigns have resulted in the fast food giant making several changes in its purchasing practices for items as diverse as eggs, coffee, chicken meat and packaging materials. As part of McDonald’s transparency efforts, the company has commissioned articles and videos explaining where its food ingredients come from and how they are produced.
National Farmers Market Week proclaimed
Michigan Farm News | Posted onAugust 1, 2016 in Agriculture NewsAgriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on July 11 signed a proclamation declaring Aug. 7-13, 2016, as "National Farmers Market Week."
More unresolved GMO issues
Ag Policy | Posted onAugust 1, 2016 in Agriculture NewsMost of the debate about GMOs has focused on transgenic crops in which a gene from one species is inserted into the DNA of another species. With herbicide-tolerant crops, a gene from a plant that is resistant to the desired herbicide is inserted into the genome of a crop like corn or cotton that normally is killed when sprayed with the given herbicide. Similarly, scientists have inserted a gene that induces the production of the toxin produced by the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis into a corn plant.
India's sugar policy impacts US producers
Sugar Alliance | Posted onAugust 1, 2016 in Federal NewsAntoine Meriot, a French economist released a study that pinpoints the estimated $1.7 billion in annual benefits flowing to India's sugar producers. At the heart of India's subsidy system are government-mandated prices for sugarcane. These prices, which are paid to farmers by the sugar mills that process the cane, are much higher than elsewhere. For example, India's farmers received $42 per metric ton of cane in 2014, compared to the $31 seen by U.S. farmers.