GreenWatch

B. McPherson Is this the future of our food? In an end around move, the Democratic representative, Senator Barbara Mikulski, has championed a clause buried in the US budget that would negate the powers of the judiciary when it comes to banning the planting of certain GM(genetically modified) crops. In the past, some judges have stopped or slowed the release into the environment of GM seeds. The new rider inserted into law will allow transgenic seeds to be planted before the US Department of Agriculture has assessed their environmental impact.  The rider pertains to transgenic crops that have been deregulated by the USDA but then had that approval overturned by a judge — a scenario that has occurred with genetically engineered alfalfa and sugar beets. In such a situation, the agency “shall” immediately issue permits or a partial deregulation order that would temporarily allow farmers to continue growing and selling the crop until USDA is done re-evaluating it...

B. McPherson Throw a previously undetected viral gene into the GMO mix and you've got a whole new experiment. Independent researchers at the University of Liege Belgium have discovered the presence of a viral gene present in the majority of GM plants that they investigated. They have dubbed the gene Gene VI. It is significant that this group of investigators have revealed the presence of the virus particle in the genetically altered organisms because they were independent, neither opposing the proliferation nor supporting their use. These scientists were working for the European Food Safety Authority(EFSA). Genetic engineers use viruses that are generally believed to be harmless to people to carry foreign genes into the cell’s nucleus. Theoretically, the virus will disappear entirely as the GM plant reproduces. Now this group of researchers in Belgium have found numerous incidents where this is not the case. The researchers are not speculating on the possible t...