Written by Steve Savage The graph above shows the relative production of these major US row crops comparing the years 1993-1995 (just prior to the introduction of biotechnology enhanced crops) and 2008-10 (the most recent available data which covers a…
Tag: USDA
Organic Infighting over GE Alfalfa
The USDA announced recently that Roundup Ready® alfalfa is cleared to be planted anywhere in the US without restrictions. In contrast to previous GE crop approvals, this time the USDA listed three potential options, the first being no approval at…
Biofortified on the Alfalfa EIS
Yesterday, the comment period for the Genetically Engineered Glyphosate-Tolerant Alfalfa Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) ended. Next to sugar beets, perhaps no other GE crop has received the kind of regulatory attention that this one has. Consequently, Anastasia and I decided…
What the heck is alfalfa, anyway?
Alfalfa by TwoWings via Wikimedia Commons. Alfalfa is an awesome plant that is quite unique among field crops. It’s a legume, which means it can fix nitrogen (meaning less nitrogen fertilizer needs to be added) as well as being one…
It gets better
The It Gets Better Project is a national effort to stop people from bullying LGBT youths. Public figures have created videos in which they encourage youths to keep persevering in their lives, including Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, Vice President…
Supreme Court hearing on GMO Alfalfa
There is certainly a lot of commotion about the first ever US Supreme Court hearing involving genetically engineered crops, which is being held today. The case is Monsanto Company v. Geertson Seed Farms, (SCOTUS Wiki) and depending on how this…