Paris | Reuters — France is to use a new European opt-out scheme to ensure a ban on the cultivation of genetically modified crops in the country remains in place, it said on Thursday. The European Union’s largest grain grower and exporter has asked the European Commission for France to be excluded from some GM […] Read more
France bolsters ban on genetically modified crops
Russian farm lobby says crop reports artificially high
Moscow | Reuters — Russian regional officials are pressuring farmers to report more grain crop than they actually harvest this year, the head of farmers’ lobby the Grain Union said on Tuesday. Arkady Zlochevsky said the difference between the actual harvest and the declared figures was not significant. However, his comments could be troubling for […] Read more
Experts call for less waste and less meat
Kale or steak? Change in diet key to UN plan to end hunger by 2030
Rome — In trendy, hipster London or New York, it’s all about juicing, vegan diets and snacking on kale crisps. Thousands of miles away, in Nairobi or Bogota, the middle classes are more likely to reach for roasted goat or a juicy steak. Later this month, world leaders are set to endorse a U.N. goal […] Read more
El Nino to strengthen in winter, gradually weaken in spring
New York | Reuters — A U.S. government weather forecaster on Thursday said El Nino conditions would gradually weaken through the Northern Hemisphere spring after peaking in late fall or early winter. The National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center said the likelihood that El Nino conditions would persist through the Northern Hemisphere winter was about […] Read more
French court upholds Monsanto poisoning ruling
Lyon/Paris|Reuters — A French court upheld on Thursday a 2012 ruling in which Monsanto was found liable in the chemical poisoning of a French farmer, who says he suffered neurological problems after inhaling the U.S. company’s Lasso herbicide. The decision by an appeal court in Lyon confirmed the initial judgment, the first such case heard in court […] Read more
McDonald’s en route to ‘cage-free’ eggs in Canada, U.S.
Reuters/Staff –– McDonald’s Corp. said all eggs it uses in its 16,000 restaurants in Canada and the U.S. will, within the next 10 years, come from chickens not confined to cages. The decision to source “cage-free” eggs follows the company’s announcement in March that it would stop using chicken raised with certain kinds of antibiotics […] Read more
PotashCorp reported preparing to make hostile K+S bid
Reuters — PotashCorp is prepared to launch a hostile takeover offer for German potash mining rival K+S under certain conditions, German newspaper Handelsblatt reported Tuesday. Handelsblatt cited financial sources as saying Saskatoon-based PotashCorp had talked to brokerages in Canada about such plans. PotashCorp declined to comment. K+S shares jumped as much as 10.3 per cent […] Read more
PotashCorp reported hiring third bank in battle for K+S
Reuters — Canada’s PotashCorp has hired a third investment bank as adviser in its effort to take over German fertilizer maker K+S , a German newspaper reported Sunday. Bank of America Merrill Lynch will join Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank in advising the Saskatoon-based fertilizer giant in the effort, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper said, […] Read more
Bayer issues fungicide warning for wine grape growers
Zurich | Reuters — Germany’s Bayer has advised wine grape growers not to use its Moon Privilege fungicide until its Bayer CropScience arm has investigated whether there’s a connection between the product’s use and reported crop damage. Growers have reported deformed leaves and lower yields from their crops this year. Referring to “atypical symptoms” in […] Read more
Syngenta to sell vegetable seeds operations
Zurich | Reuters — Swiss agrichemicals group Syngenta plans to sell its vegetable seeds business and buy back more than US$2 billion worth of stock in a campaign to boost shareholder returns after it rejected a takeover approach from Monsanto. “The board and management are determined to accelerate shareholder value creation and our actions today […] Read more
Canadian Cattlemen Presents: Depth of Field
