Eleven years ago, voters were at the center of a food fight over whether genetically engineered crops should be banned in Sonoma County. Proponents sought to scare voters with claims that GMO foods jeopardized the health of children while opponents argued that, given how the ballot measure, Measure M, was worded, it put children at risk by preventing common vaccinations. [node:read-more:link]

Puerto Ricans are buying rice produced on the island for the first time in nearly 30 years. They are also eating locally grown mushrooms, kale and even arugula, along with more traditional crops such as plantains and pineapples.  The U.S. [node:read-more:link]

An official of The Hershey Company is confident that consumers will embrace the industry’s new SmartLabel technology on food products. Anti-GMO activists have argued that GMO disclosure statements need to printed on the labels of food products. They say a large segment of consumers either don’t have access to smartphones or won’t take the time to scan labels for the GMO information. But Deborah Arcoleo, director of product transparency with Hershey, says their research shows consumers will use the SmartLabel technology. [node:read-more:link]

Up to $1 million in micro-loans will now be available to Massachusetts farmers struggling under the impacts of a widespread and historic drought. The launch of the Drought Emergency Loan Fund, announced Wednesday, is one of a series of steps Gov. Charlie Baker and his administration are taking in response to five months of abnormally dry weather. [node:read-more:link]

Because the International Agency for Research on Cancer, or IARC, receives federal funding, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is launching an inquiry into the National Institutes of Health's support for the group that has made several controversial proclamations about agricultural chemicals and their safety.  Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, the committee chairman, asked in a letter to the National Institute of Health to provide a number of documents and to agree to a briefing with committee staff. [node:read-more:link]

Farmed fish has gotten a bad rap, but it’s the only way the world is going to feed the additional 2.4  billion people expected to be added to the Earth’s population in the next 34 years, experts told a sustainable food conference.  With the world's arable land maxed out and wild seafood overfished, aquaculture is the one place we can look to produce enough animal protein for all those extra mouths, said Steve Gaines, a professor of marine biology at the University of California Santa Barbara and lead investigator for the university's sustainable fisheries group. [node:read-more:link]

As the U.S. and other countries have ramped up development of bio-energy as an alternative to fossil fuels, demand is rising for trees for wood pellets, or biomass, and agricultural products for liquefied biofuels.  A recent multi-year study by researchers at North Carolina State University and the U.S. Geological Survey, detailed in two papers printed in August in the journal “Global Change Biology Bioenergy,” indicates that the increased demand could come with a cost: a loss of forested land, especially mature pinelands, and because of that, less habitat for wildlife. [node:read-more:link]