Reading Time: 2 minutes Paris | Reuters — Bayer said on Wednesday that farmers in France and Germany were digging up thousands of hectares of rapeseed fields after traces of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) banned for cultivation were found in seeds sold by the company. GMO crops are widely grown across the world, but they remain controversial in Europe, […] Read more
French, German farmers destroy crops after GMOs found in Bayer seeds
USDA outlines first-ever rule for GMO labeling
Reading Time: 2 minutes Washington | Reuters — The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Thursday laid out its first-ever requirements for labeling of genetically engineered, or GMO, foods as early as 2020, a rule met with praise from some farmers and criticism from consumer groups. Consumers have been pushing for years for greater transparency over what is in their […] Read more
Japan resumes Canadian wheat purchases
Reading Time: 2 minutes Tokyo | Reuters — Japan’s agriculture ministry said Friday it had resumed purchases of Canadian wheat after testing showed no imports that reached the country included grain containing a genetically modified trait discovered in Alberta last summer. Japan’s agriculture ministry said it was seeking to buy 62,957 tonnes of food-quality Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS, […] Read more
Wheat shipment halt seen as temporary
Reading Time: 4 minutes Wheat sales are expected to soon resume to Japan and South Korea. Both nations suspended Canadian wheat imports following the June 15 announcement that Canada had discovered several genetically modified (GM) wheat plants in southern Alberta. But both are expected to come back to the market shortly, while exports to others won’t be affected, according […] Read more
South Korea halts sale of Canadian wheat, flour
Reading Time: < 1 minute Seoul | Reuters — South Korea has suspended the sale of wheat and flour from Canada after Canadian officials announced last week the discovery in mid-2017 of an unapproved genetically modified trait in southern Alberta. “We will only allow sale of wheat products that are confirmed not to contain unapproved genetically modified wheat,” South Korea’s […] Read more
Japan suspends sale of Canadian wheat
Reading Time: < 1 minute Tokyo/Winnipeg | Reuters — Japan’s farm ministry said Friday it has suspended its tender and sale of wheat from Canada after grain containing a genetically modified trait was discovered last summer in Alberta. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) said Thursday the wheat containing a genetically modified trait, developed by Monsanto to tolerate Roundup herbicide, […] Read more
Mexico court rejects appeal to lift GM corn ban
Reading Time: < 1 minute Mexico City | Reuters –– A Mexican court has rejected a company’s appeal to lift a ban on commercial planting of transgenic corn in Mexico, passing the matter to the Supreme Court, a lawyer for the firm said Friday. A federal court in Mexico City rejected the suit by PHI Mexico, a unit of U.S. […] Read more
How the biotech conversation continues to evolve
As technology changes, activist voices are changing their focus
Reading Time: 3 minutes The debate over biotechnology is evolving as new voices enter the debate, technology changes and much of the innovation in the field is coming from outside of North America. That means that some of the scientists that have defended the use of genetically modified crops over the past decade have to deal less with activists […] Read more
VIDEO: Conversations on biotechnology: Kevin Folta
Reading Time: < 1 minute Dr. Kevin Folta talks about how new gene editing techniques and science communication lessons are changing the conversation around genetically engineered crops.
EU nations vote against GM crops, but not enough to block them
Reading Time: 2 minutes Brussels | Reuters — A majority of EU countries voted on Monday against allowing two new genetically modified crops to be grown in Europe, batting the contentious decision on GM cultivation in Europe back to the EU executive. EU governments were asked to vote on the future of two grades of GM maize, Pioneer’s 1507 […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
