The Wall Street Journal October 4, 2011 Original Source The world has done surprisingly well since the Great Recession began at not making things worse with trade protectionism. But that may soon change thanks to the U.S. Senate, which is expected to vote as early as this week on the most dangerous trade legislation in [...]
Greenpeace must be subject to rule of law
Stock and Land, (Australia) September 14, 2011 Colin Bettles Original Source QLD Nationals Senator Barnaby Joyce has rightly questioned Greenpeace’s fundraising rights, saying environmental groups that destroy public property should not be entitled to receive taxpayer concessions. He was commenting after ACT Police announced that summonses would be issued for two Sydney women to face [...]
How have things changed?
The Economist September 5, 2011 Original Source IN THE worst hunger crisis the world has seen this century, in the Horn of Africa, 29,000 children may already have perished. More are certain to. But apart from hand-wringing, what have been the reactions to the famine? The world might think it has moved on since the [...]
Greenpeace destroys GM wheat
ABC Radio (Australia) By Jessica Nairn July 14, 2011 www.abc.net.au Greenpeace protesters have broken into a CSIRO experimental farm in Canberra to destroy a crop of genetically modified wheat. In the early hours of this morning a group of Greenpeace protesters scaled the fence of the CSIRO experimental station at Ginninderra in the capital’s north. [...]
Renewed alfalfa attack cites ESA
Capital Press 6/23/2011 Dave Wilkins Original Source Biotech opponents have revived their argument that USDA’s deregulation of genetically engineered Roundup Ready alfalfa unlawfully jeopardizes threatened and endangered species. The Center for Food Safety, the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit against the agency, has asked a federal judge in San Francisco to overturn USDA’s decision to [...]
News release: Fincher attempts to speed up approval of biotech crops
Jackson Sun (Tennessee) May 27, 2011 www.jacksonsun.com U.S. Representative Stephen Fincher introduced legislation to speed up the approval process for biotech crops, according to a Fincher news update released from Washington, D.C. this morning. More from the news update: The Expediting Agriculture Through Science (EATS) Act supports family farmers and the American agriculture industry to [...]
Trade Adjustment Assistance
Just when expectations were raised that the U.S. Congress would finally consider free trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea, the Obama Administration demanded action on one of its top trade priorities – trade adjustment assistance for workers. This was no surprise. U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk and other Administration officials have mentioned it [...]
Our double standards of GM foods vs science
The New Age (South Africa)By Riel Malan May 3, 2011 www.thenewage.co.za Link: http://www.thenewage.co.za/16889-9-53-Our_double_standards_of_GM_foods_vs_science In last weeks column I touched on the impact of the new Consumer Protection Act and the effect on labelling requirements. What I didnt mention was that the act makes specific mention of labelling requirements of genetically modified (GM) foods. By implication, [...]
Farm groups hit water-pollution guidelines
Des Moines Register By Philip Brasher April 28, 2011 www.desmoinesregister.com Proposed new guidelines for regulating water quality could subject more farmers and landowners to regulation despite some agricultural exemptions, farm groups say. The guidelines proposed by the Obama administration are intended to spell out what bodies of water fall under federal water-pollution regulations in the [...]
Dust issue still up in the air
Brownfield Ag Network By Ken Anderson April 21, 2011 www.brownfieldagnews.com During her visit to Iowa this week, EPA administrator Lisa Jackson repeated an earlier statement that the EPA does not intend to regulate farm dust. “Right now I would say folks have nothing to worry about—right now—with respect to dust,” she told reporters in a [...]
Almost a U.S. Free Trade Agreement with Colombia
The U.S.-Colombia free trade agreement completed in November of 2006 has been withheld from the U.S. Congressional approval process because of concerns over labor rights issues in Colombia. While these issues are somewhat unique to Colombia, the current effort by the Obama Administration to gather support for an amended agreement reflects how trade policy conditions [...]