The biotech industry has long insisted that genetic engineering is no different than, or at the very least a continuum, of traditional plant breeding techniques—a myth perpetuated by the industry to shield it from public criticism, as well as from regulatory oversight.
But a new study from the biotech industry itself admits that there are in fact significant differences between new methods of genetic engineering, including the gene-editing technique CRISPR, and conventional plant breeding, further dispelling the claim that the two methods are one in the same.
In the U.S., there is yet no meaningful law requiring the labeling of GMO foods, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has said it won’t even regulate gene-editing techniques, much less require labels on foods produced by those technologies.
The USDA supports its no-regulation position by claiming that gene-editing technologies “are increasingly being used by plant breeders to produce new plant varieties that are indistinguishable from those developed through traditional breeding methods.”
That claim isn’t shared by EU regulators. And it isn’t supported by scientists at DowDuPont, the world’s largest chemical company.
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Last month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) published its proposed guidelines for “mandatory” labeling of GMO foods and ingredients.
Under the USDA's proposal, consumers would still be mostly left in the dark about which foods on their grocery shelves are genetically engineered and/or contain genetically modified ingredients.
Why? Because as our friends at Food Revolution Network put it, the USDA’s GMO labeling plan is “so full of loopholes you could drive a truckload of Roundup through it.”
TAKE ACTION: Tell the USDA: Consumers Want Clear GMO Labels on ALL GMO Foods
Every five years, Congress is tasked with reauthorizing the Farm Bill, a key piece of legislation that determines how $90 billion/year will be spent.
This is one of those years.
Unfortunately, both the House and Senate versions of a proposed 2018 Farm Bill include changes to the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) that would make it much easier for industry to use synthetic chemicals in organic food and farming.
URGENT ACTION NEEDED! Tell Congress: Keep organics strong!
Today, the American Grassfed Association (AGA) and the Organization for Competitive Markets (OCM) filed a petition with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Services (FSIS) demanding FSIS policy be changed to ensure only U.S. domestic meat products can be labeled “Product of U.S.A.”
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About 60 percent of the food eaten around the world today originated in the Americas. Meanwhile, Native Americans are twice as likely to be food insecure compared to whites.
This meme says it best: “Give a man some corn, feed him for a day. Teach a man to grow corn, he kills you and steals your land.”
The Native Farm Bill Coalition, which represents 65 tribes throughout the U.S., is advocating for equity in the Farm Bill, legislation that determines how more than $900 billion in U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) resources is distributed each year.
The coalition is backing the Tribal Food and Housing Security Act, a bill introduced by U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.), to improve affordable nutrition, housing and rural development assistance for Native American communities.
Tell Congress: Support the Tribal Food and Housing Security Act!
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A highly controversial natural food substance, carrageenan, a seaweed derivative used in conventional, “natural,” and some organic foods, was just reapproved by USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue. This move overrides the recommendation of the National Organic Standards Board, an expert industry panel set up by Congress.
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Donald Trump’s agriculture secretary, Sonny Perdue, has been criticized for rolling back school nutrition standards, attempting to upend the food stamps program, rejecting World Health Organization guidelines on antibiotics in agriculture and ending a pesticide ban, in a new report from the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) advocacy group.
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If you think genetically modified salmon is a bad idea, wait ‘til you hear what kind of GMO animals Recombinetics, Inc., the “Monsanto of the genetically modified animal industry,” wants to unleash on the market.
Among other things, Recombinetics wants to genetically engineer pigs specifically to withstand a miserable life in factory farms. Not only that, but the St. Paul, Minn.-based biotech company wants to keep the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) from having anything to do with regulating GMO pigs, or any other GMO animals that could end up in the U.S. food supply.
If Recombinetics’ plan succeeds in ending FDA review of GMO animals, this would be the most drastic deregulation of biotechnology to date.
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Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) has introduced a regenerative and organic version of the Farm Bill.
The Food & Farm Act represents our best hope for saving our farmers, farms and soil. But this bill won’t stand a chance unless Congress gets behind it.
TAKE ACTION! Ask your Member of Congress to cosponsor the Food & Farm Act!
President Trump's penchant for junk food--McDonald's filet 'o fish sandwiches, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Oreos, pizza, Diet Coke--have been widely reported.
Trump has the right to eat what he chooses (though it's unfortunate that his food choices support an industrial agriculture system that pollutes the environment and contributes to a growing public health crisis).
But should Trump's U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) be allowed to force boxes of factory farm, GMO junk food on low-income families? We don't think so.
TAKE ACTION: Tell Congress: Low-Income Families Need Better Nutrition, Not Trump's Boxes of Processed GMO Junk Food
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