The Onion writes a satire piece about a genetically modified crop that is so powerful it takes over the whole Midwest.
“Wreaking untold environmental and economic devastation throughout the region, a strain of harvest-resistant corn engineered by the agrochemical company Monsanto is now engulfing most of the Midwest, officials confirmed Monday.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the genetically modified crop, which Monsanto originally enhanced with traits to provide resistance from pests, diseases, and environmental conditions such as drought and frost, has become completely impervious to industrial reaping machinery and has spread uncontrollably across 700,000 square miles of land. ”
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Critics of genetically modified organisms or GMOs claim that they pose health risks to the public. Jimmy Kimmel’s team sent a crew to one of our local farmers markets to ask people why they avoid GMOs and, more specifically, what the letters GMO stand for. (more…)
This week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture decided to deregulate Dow AgroSciences’ Enlist corn and soybean traits in the United States.
With the USDA action, the ball now goes to the Environmental Protection Agency for registration of Enlist Duo herbicide, the companion herbicide to the Enlist traits. Approval for Enlist Duo is expected in the near future.
The Enlist traits are part of the Enlist Weed Control System, a new trait and herbicide technology. USDA’s decision applies to the Enlist corn, Enlist soybean and Enlist E3 soybean traits. Enlist E3 soybeans are being developed through a collaboration between MS Technologies and Dow AgroSciences. (more…)
Among the first signs of trouble for California’s Proposition 37 and Washington’s Initiative 522 were critical newspaper editorial writers who found flaws in the food-labeling measures, both of which ended up narrowly failing at the ballot box.
But this year in Oregon and Colorado, anyone looking to newspaper editorials for an early cue on how Measure 92 (OR) or Initiative 105 (CO) are going to come out will have to be satisfied with mixed results. (more…)