Irish call for moratorium on GM crops

By GM Free Ireland

* GMO is “biggest threat” to island’s farmers
* Scientists accuse European Food Safety Authority of corruption and fraud
* Doctors invoke the Precautionary Principle
* Consumers want GM-free Irish label to support responsible farmers

The Irish government and the Northern Irish Assembly must implement a five-year moratorium on field trials and cultivation of GM crops on the island of Ireland, with immediate effect,[1] demanded representatives of farm, food, health and environmental bodies from Ireland, Northern Ireland and Wales at the Gathering Momentum: Stop GM! community discussion [2] hosted by the Dublin Food Coop [3] yesterday.

Groups sue USDA Challenging Genetically Engineered Alfalfa Approval

By Center for Food Safety

“Roundup Ready” Alfalfa Will Increase Pesticide Use and Cause Grave Harm to Environment and Organic Industry
USDA Failures Guarantee Transgenic Contamination, Creation of More Superweeds

Today, attorneys for the Center for Food Safety (CFS) and Earthjustice filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), arguing that the agency’s recent unrestricted approval of genetically engineered (GE), “Roundup Ready” Alfalfa was unlawful.  The GE crop is engineered to be immune to the herbicide glyphosate, which Monsanto markets as Roundup.  USDA data show that 93% of all the alfalfa planted by farmers in the U.S. is grown without the use of any herbicides.  With the full deregulation of GE alfalfa, USDA estimates that up to 23 million more pounds of toxic herbicides will be released into the environment each year.