Elton Robinson
Farm Press Editorial Staff
Posted, March 16, 2010
When surveys don’t give you the overwhelming result you’re looking for, there’s only one thing left to do — cook your numbers. This was the tactic employed by the Consumers Union (CU), the non-profit publisher of Consumer Reports, after it conducted a poll recently on genetically engineered crops.
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The International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA) released their annual report on global adoption of genetically modified (GM) on February 23, 2010.
An executive summary of Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/GM Crops: 2009 – The first fourteen years, 1996 to 2009 presents highlights of the amazing growth in the global adoption of GM crops. Impressively, GM crops are being readily adopted by developing and developed countries. Read the rest of this entry »
Chad Dechow
Associate Professor, Dairy Cattle Genetics
Department of Dairy and Animal Science
The Pennsylvania State University
“Instead of redesigning the factory farm to suit the animals, they are redesigning the animals to suit the factory farm”
Matthew Scully. The American Conservative, May 23, 2005.
My most memorably painful experience occurred when I was a teenage farm kid that stomped on the end of a pitchfork. My intent was for the handle to swing up and whack my sister in the hand. Alas, she was not the embarrassed teenager who left for our family vacation the next day with a well deserved set of stitches. In the seconds after the handle did its damage, I knew where I was hurting, I knew that it was a rather intense sensation, and I knew that it was not at all pleasant. What I did not know was that these experiences where the result of two different sensory pathways. The first pathway told me that my chin hurt, and badly; the second told me that it was not pleasant (for me at least – my sister was on the ground laughing). Read the rest of this entry »
Council for Biotechnology Information
Published December 16, 2009
With so many stories to choose from, it was hard for us to determine the top agricultural biotechnology story of 2009. Therefore, we turned to the Council for Biotechnology Information (CBI) experts and let them choose the top three stories that stood out in terms of their significance and impact on the future of agricultural biotechnology worldwide. CBI experts include the nation’s leading scientists in plant genetics and food science, among other disciplines. Read the rest of this entry »
Virginia Ishler
Nutrient Management Specialist
Department of Dairy and Animal Science
Penn State University
What are greenhouse gases?
Naturally occurring greenhouse gases consist of water vapor (H2O), carbon dioxide (CO2)), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O) and ozone (O3). Gases produced from industrial activities include chlorofluorocarbons and hydrochlorofluorocarbons. Read the rest of this entry »
Henry I. Miller
New York Times – June 29, 2007
Stanford, Calif. – MILK occupies a special place in our lives and language. It has been dubbed natures most perfect food, and we speak sentimentally of the land of milk and honey and the milk of human kindness.
But things are turning sour for consumers of milk. The average price of a gallon of milk nationwide is up 37 cents since January, to $3.47. Strong demand and limited ability to increase production quickly are expected to increase prices more, and experts have speculated that the price per gallon could reach a record $5 by years end. High feed costs associated with the ramping up of American corn-based ethanol production are making it difficult to produce more milk. Read the rest of this entry »
Reprinted from Farmshine: May 4, 2007
Industry is heading down a slippery slope
By SHERRY BUNTING
Special for Farmshine
BROWNSTOWN, Pa. – The dairy industry is heading down a slippery slope. For those who may have thought the “rbST-free” milk labeling issue was an isolated concern: think again. Read the rest of this entry »
Terry Etherton
ABCNews.com presented a story on ABC World News Tonight on April 12, 2007 – the topic was Got Any Idea What’s in Milk? Miguel Marquez was the reporter.
Guess what? The story was slanted in an anti-science and anti-scientist manner. Some viewers who watched might conclude, “must be something wrong with conventional milk”. As readers of Terry Etherton Blog on Biotechnology know, all milk is the same – irrespective of whether is conventional, rbST-free or organic. The only difference within a fat class (i.e., skim, 2% or full-fat) is the price! Read the rest of this entry »
More than 500 interested parties join Monsanto to ask FDA and FTC to focus on companies that use deceptive milk labels and ads
ST LOUIS (April 3, 2007) – Monsanto Company announced today that letters from more than 500 concerned individuals and Monsanto have been submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requesting action to stop deceptive milk labeling and advertising. The two letters outline how certain milk labels and promotions that differentiate milk based on farmer use of POSILAC bovine somatotropin (bST) are misleading to consumers and do not meet the standards set by laws and regulations for either the Federal Trade Commission or the Food and Drug Administration. Read the rest of this entry »
