A Rebuttal to the Monsanto Protestors garnered a lot of attention. The GMO haters turned out en masse to tell me why I was an idiot (and a few other things I can't print here) on this topic. One thing came through crystal clear – nearly all of them want GMO labels for our food supply. Another thing was clear – very few of them understand how food makes its way from the farm to the fork. I’ll start by addressing the farm to fork information gap that…

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A year ago, I was at a crop technology media event. Honestly, I can’t remember if it was a Dow AgroSciences or Monsanto event. I Tweeted about the expected release of either 2,4-D- or dicamba-tolerant soybeans. The first response was from a central Illinois farmer. He said, “Tell them to hurry up. We need this technology now!” Last week the USDA ordered an Environmental Impact Study be conducted on both of these technologies. My colleague Mindy Ward, Missouri…

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Next week, California will vote on Proposition 37. This would force food manufacturers to label foods according to whether or not they contain GMO products. At the same time, I’m working on a series of articles that looks at organic agriculture in Illinois. Last week, Target announced it will now accept only crate-free pork. At every turn, consumers are becoming more concerned with their diet. Yet, I contend we’re still missing the forest for the trees. We’re…

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I have a lot on my plate this week, but I had to take a few moments to respond to a new report from the Union of Concerned Scientists. The report is called “Eight Ways Monsanto Fails at Sustainable Agriculture.” It’s a bunch of crap. To start with, it makes sense that the group is not called the Union of Concerned Economists. If it were, half of their eight bullet points would have succinct answers. I’m speaking of promoting pesticide resistance, increased herbicide…

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I think some folks on television need to be reminded of the definition for organic food. Here it is, unabridged, from the USDA’s website. Organic food production: a system that is managed in accordance with the Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA) of 1990 and regulations in Title 7, Part 205 of the Code of Federal Regulations to respond to site-specific conditions by integrating cultural, biological, and mechanical practices that foster cycling of resources, promote ecological balance…

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