Topic: food - on June 24, 2012 at 8:35:00 AM CEST
GMO food: Hybrid poison grass that kills Texas cattle not genetically modified
Reports that GMO grass suddenly started producing cyanide and killed almost an entire herd of cattle in Texas are only partially true. CBS News reported June 23, 2012 that rancher Jerry Abel of Elgin, near Austin, Texas had been growing Tifton 85, a GMO version of Bermuda grass, for 15 years when the grass suddenly started emitting poisonous cyanide. However, Tifton 85 is not GMO grass, but a hybrid.
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Topic: food - on June 24, 2012 at 8:26:00 AM CEST
Cyanide-Producing GM Grass Linked To Texas Cattle Deaths
A mysterious mass death of a herd of cattle has prompted a federal investigation in Central Texas.
Preliminary test results are blaming the deaths on the grass the cows were eating when they got sick, reports CBS Station KEYE.
The cows dropped dead several weeks ago on an 80-acre ranch owned by Jerry Abel in Elgin, just east of Austin.
cbsnews.com Potential Toxicity Issues with Tifton 85 Bermudagrass Mysterious Mass Cattle Deaths May Be Caused By Random Grass Mutation TIFTON 85 BERMUDAGRASS
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Topic: food - on June 19, 2012 at 8:58:00 AM CEST
Aufklärungskampagne gegen synthetische Süßstoffe
Agrana Zucker geht mit einer knallfarbenen Kampagne gegen den Begriff "zuckerfrei" auf die Barrikaden
Die neue Aufklärungskampagne im Auftrag von Agrana Zucker stellt Süßstoffe wie Acesulfam, Cyclohexylsulfaminsäure oder Stevia-Glycoside E960 in den Mittelpunkt. Um den Vormarsch der vermeintlichen gesünderen Süßstoffe zu stoppen, um den Begriff "zuckerfrei" in der allgemeinen Wahrnehmung mit dem Begriff "Chemie" zu verbinden.
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Topic: food - on May 26, 2012 at 11:12:00 AM CEST
Guerrilla Labeling Of GMO Foods
On a recent sunny morning at the Big Y grocery here, Cynthia LaPier parked her cart in the cereal aisle. With a glance over her shoulder and a quick check of the ingredients, she plastered several boxes with hand-designed stickers from a roll in her purse. “Warning,” they read. “May Contain GMO’s (Genetically Modified Organisms).”
For more than a decade, almost all processed foods in the United States — cereals, snack foods, salad dressings — have contained ingredients from plants whose DNA was manipulated in a laboratory. Regulators and many scientists say these pose no danger. But as Americans ask more pointed questions about what they are eating, popular suspicions about the health and environmental effects of biotechnology are fueling a movement to require that food from genetically modified crops be labeled, if not eliminated.
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Topic: food - on May 22, 2012 at 1:28:00 PM CEST
French ban of Monsanto GM maize rejected by EU
The EU's food safety body ruled there is 'no specific scientific evidence' that the insect-resistant strain is harmful to health or the environment
France's attempt to ban the planting of a Monsanto strain of genetically modified maize was rejected by the EU's food safety body on Monday.
In response to scientific evidence submitted by France backing its bid to ban the GM maize, the European Food Safety Authority ruled that "there is no specific scientific evidence, in terms of risk to human and animal health or the environment" to support a ban.
In 2008, France banned the the strain MON 810 following public protests against the GM maize, but this was overturned by a French court in 2011. However, in March the French government reinstated the ban, with the then agricultural minister Bruno Le Maire saying the move was "to protect the environment".
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Topic: food - on May 5, 2012 at 9:53:00 AM CEST
Sofia Gatica, Argentine Activist, Faced Anonymous Death Threats For Fighting Monsanto Herbicide
For 13 years Sofia Gatica has organized opposition to the aerial spraying of agrochemicals that threaten human health and the environment in Argentina -- and for almost as long, she and her children have faced physical threats from anonymous agents.
Gatica, who lives in a working-class neighborhood of 6,000 in central Argentina surrounded by soy fields, began organizing against Monsanto after she noticed a disturbingly high rate of cancer and birth defects in her community. Her own 3-day-old daughter died of kidney failure in 1999, and a neighbor had a baby die of the same uncommon birth defect.
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Topic: food - on April 24, 2012 at 8:50:00 AM CEST
Caviar speed-eating world championship held in Russia
Hundreds of guests attended the competition, held at a Moscow restaurant called The Apartment. Twelve people were chosen as contestants by lottery. The competitors were to consume half a kilogram of black caviar as quickly as possible.
The competition was won by Alexander Valov, a stocky 49-year-old man who came to the competition in a business suit. He conquered the other contestants by devouring his half-kilogram valued at £3,100 ($5,000) in one minute, 26 seconds. As a prize, he won 10,000 rubles (£211, $340) and more caviar to take home.
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Topic: food - on April 6, 2012 at 1:34:00 PM CEST
Poland to ban Monsanto's GM maize
Poland will impose a complete ban on growing the MON810 genetically modified strain of maize made by US company Monsanto on its territory, Agriculture Minister Marek Sawicki said Wednesday.
"The decree is in the works. It introduces a complete ban on the MON810 strain of maize in Poland," Sawicki told reporters, adding that pollen of this strain could have a harmful effect on bees.
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Topic: food - on March 14, 2012 at 5:57:00 PM CET
Steak and Blowjob Day
Celebrated on March 14th, Steak and Blowjob Day is a holiday for men, celebrated the month after Valentine's Day -- a holiday for women.
The idea is simple: no cards, flowers, candy or other whimsical gifts. Ladies (and gay men), you simply bestow your partner with a steak and a blowjob. Not necessarily in that order.
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Topic: food - on February 28, 2012 at 2:56:00 PM CET
Judge Dismisses Organic Farmers' Case Against Monsanto
A New York federal court today dismissed a lawsuit against agribusiness giant Monsanto brought by thousands of certified organic farmers. The farmers hoped the suit would protect them against infringing on the company's crop patents in the future.
The Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association and several other growers and organizations do not use Monsanto seeds. But they were betting that the judge would agree that Monsanto should not be allowed to sue them if pollen from the company's patented crops happened to drift into their fields.
Instead, the judge found that plaintiffs' allegations were "unsubstantiated ... given that not one single plaintiff claims to have been so threatened." The ruling also found that the plaintiffs had "overstate[d] the magnitude of [Monsanto's] patent enforcement." Monsanto brings an average of 13 patent-enforcement lawsuits per year, which, the judge said, "is hardly significant when compared to the number of farms in the United States, approximately two million."
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Topic: food - on February 14, 2012 at 9:59:00 AM CET
Gericht macht Monsanto für Vergiftung verantwortlich
Ein französisches Landgericht hat den Agrarkonzern Monsanto für schuldig befunden, einen Bauern mit einem Pflanzenschutzmittel vergiftet zu haben. Das Gericht verurteilte den US-Konzern dazu, dem Landwirt eine Entschädigung zu zahlen. Das Urteil könnte wegweisend sein.
Es könnte ein wegweisendes Urteil sein: Das französische Landgericht in Lyon verurteilte den US-Konzern Monsanto zu einer Entschädigungszahlung an den Getreidebauern Paul François. Der 47 Jahre alte Landwirt leidet unter neurologischen Problemen, darunter Gedächtnisverlust, Kopfschmerzen und Stottern. Der Bauer hatte 2004 das Unkrautvernichtungsmittel Lasso eingeatmet und wirft Monsanto vor, nicht genügend vor Gefahren gewarnt zu haben.
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Topic: food - on February 12, 2012 at 11:27:00 AM CET
Strong Swiss franc hits chocolate industry
Consumption of chocolate in Switzerland dropped slightly last year and sales abroad declined as a result of the strong Swiss franc and downbeat consumer confidence.
A total of 176,332 tons of chocolate products – worth SFr1.7 billion ($1.9 billion) - was sold in 2011, according to the industry association, Chocosuisse.
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