Planet in Peril (PinP) where science gets respect!

CBC news Documents show inspectors with the Canada Food Inspection Agency scrambled to meet deadline for time-sensitive salmon egg test. Story here. A wild Atlantic salmon. Photo credit - Wikipedia.

EcoWatch The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has re-approved and proposed a dramatic expansion of the use of the toxic pesticide Enlist Duo after only a cursory review of troubling data showing the two chemicals in the pesticide combine to have "synergistic" effects that are potentially harmful to endangered species and the environment. Story here.

THE WESTERN PRODUCER Genetically modified wheat developed by Monsanto Co, and never approved by federal regulators, has been found growing in a Washington state farm field, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said on Friday. Story here.

Manitoba Co-Operator PinP photo. "HarvXtra" will also include a trait meant to ease hay digestion. More here.

New Internationalist That South American country has fought off big agribusiness and promoted agroecology, explains Nick Dearden. More here. North America, on the other hand, embraces "Big Ag,"  with its warts, excesses, hazards and all. PinP photo.

ECOLOGIST A USDA study shows that a GM alfalfa has gone wild in alfalfa-growing parts of the West. More here

AgroNews Austrian Health Minister Sabine Oberhauser and a number of Italian Ministries have confirmed that both countries are officially requesting an opt-out from growing the eight varieties of  GM maize permitted or set to be permitted at the EU level, thus there will now be a full ban on GM crops in both countries under new EU regulations. Story here.

Mother Jones Some anti-GMO activists have blamed the high suicide rate directly on biotech seeds—specifically, cotton tweaked by Monsanto to contain the Bt pesticide, now used on more than 90 percent of India's cotton acreage. GMO enthusiasts, by contrast, counter that Monsanto's patented seeds are a boon to India's cotton farmers: They've boosted crop yields, driven down pesticide use, and alleviated rural poverty. So which is it? Story here.

Manitoba Co-Operator A pair of lawyers came all the way from Alabama to gauge Manitoba farmers’ interest. Story here.

the guardian Local doctors are in the eye of a storm swirling for the past three years over whether corn that’s been genetically modified to resist pesticides is a source of prosperity, as companies claim, or of birth defects and illnesses. Story here.

Journal of American Science This indicates potential adverse health/toxic effects of GM corn and further investigations still needed. Details here.

New England Journal of Medicine The science and the risk assessment supporting the Enlist Duo decision are flawed. The science consisted solely of toxicologic studies commissioned by the herbicide manufacturers in the 1980s and 1990s and never published.  Story here. RELATED: " A Canadian Senior Citizen's Open Letter to the Minister of Agriculture "

Manitoba Co-Operator Monsanto's MON810 is only GM crop grown in EU. Story here.

Manitoba Co-Operator Reuters — U.S. regulators have relied on flawed and outdated research to allow expanded use of an herbicide linked to cancer, according to a column published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Wednesday. Story here.

CommonDreams Temporary reversal on pesticide will allow farmers to access harmful chemicals for 120 days. Story here.

Agro Pages Personalities from the eco-scientific and organic agriculture environments are speaking up against the letter from the American Embassy, in which the Costa Rican government is put under pressure to adopt transgenic seeds. Story here.

The Guardian GM wheat designed to repel aphids is no more effective at repelling the bugs than standard varieties a major field trial has revealed. Story here.

Sustainable Pulse Pope Francis slams both GMOs and pesticides in a draft of his major environmental document that was leaked Monday. He has also called for the financing of independent and interdisciplinary research to study GMOs. Story here. ALSO, READ THE ENCYCLICAL LETTER,  LAUDATO SI’  OF THE HOLY FATHER,  FRANCIS ON CARE FOR OUR COMMON HOME . HERE.

Agro News Palmer amaranth is a broadleaf annual weed that has created significant problems for growers in the Mid-South US over the past 10 years due to its  prolific seed production and  resistance to glyphosate. Story here. Superweed rendering  by Paul Hoppe