The New Dark Age

The GMO maize plan announced last week has sparked significant backlash, with agricultural stakeholders expressing concerns over what they call erosion of agricultural sovereignty, potential export failures, and bio-security threats. The national agriculture sector is heading for a major confrontation as in a rare show of unity, farmers, scientists, exporters, seed industry leaders and academia issued a blistering warning against the government’s proposed approval of GM corn cultivation. They are calling it a “suicide attack” on food security, human health and a multi-billion dollar export industry. Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP) and Basmati Growers Association warn that GMO corn, a highly cross-pollinating crop, will hurt $1 billion Basmati
exports and cause loss of EU and other international markets. The News Pakistan

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has approved the genetically engineered “Darling 54” American Chestnut tree for dispersal into the wild pending further review from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Ron Casier, chair of the Canadian Chestnut Council, commented: “The Canadian Chestnut Council greatly regrets and disapproves of the USDA decision to deregulate the American Chestnut engineered for enhanced blight tolerance. We believe that the introduction of the genetically engineered Chestnut, even as a horticultural planting, will contaminate the native genome and eventually destroy our work and efforts to restore the true native American Chestnut.” CBAN

Health insurance giant Humana Inc. filed suit against Bayer‘s Monsanto Co. to recover damages paid to members injured by the company’s weedkiller Roundup. The complaint, filed in the US District Court for the District of New Jersey, alleges that Humana was left responsible for the health costs of beneficiaries receiving settlement payments from Monsanto. The company seeks to recover damages equal to double the amounts Humana paid to treat Medicare Advantage patients injured by Roundup, including for Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma-related care. Bloomberg Law

In February, Green America tested five of the most popular beers in the US for glyphosate and aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA), a breakdown product of glyphosate. Contamination was detected in every sample, and the highest effective glyphosate level measured was 3.33 ng/g (Heineken). Companies should set supplier standards, test routinely, and move sourcing away from glyphosate-dependent practices as part of an overall plan to reduce and eliminate toxic pesticides in their supply chains, write two authors from Green America. That means setting up clear deadlines to phase out harmful pesticides from supply chains, starting with high-impact ingredients like barley and hops. Foodtank

The Wonderful Company is the top sprayer of the herbicide glyphosate in California, according to records analysed by Mother Jones as part of its searchable database of Top 100 users in the state. The company used 328,000 pounds in 2023, the latest year pesticide records are available—about 68 percent more than anyone else in the state. The company is a large, privately held multi-billion-dollar corporation that grows, harvests, bottles, packages, and markets a diverse portfolio of food, beverage, and lifestyle brands. Mother Jones

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