No, GMOs Didn't Create India's Farmer Suicide Problem, But…

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.

Stephen Harper's Covert Evangelicalism

THE TYEE

How an apocalyptic strain of Christianity guides his policies and campaigning. Story here.

After Decades of Discrimination, US Farm Workers Get Pesticide Protections

Common Dreams

Environmental Protection Agency creates new rules giving equal protection against pesticides to farm workers. Story here.

Stealin' All My Dreams - an Anti-Harper Song by Blue Rodea (Video)

Shell Abandons Alaska Arctic Drilling

theguardian

Oil giant’s US president says hugely controversial drilling operations off Alaska will stop for ‘foreseeable future’ as drilling finds little oil and gas. Story here.

Are Plant Infection Rates Increasing For Crops?

Grainews

Prairie farmers are spending more time and money on disease prevention than ever before. Story here.

Organic Farm Sales Soar in the US

Common Dreams

Organic onions on their way to market. PinP photo.
"We need a higher rate of growth in order to get close to meeting the demand," said Laura Batcha, chief of the Organic Trade Association. Story here.

Million-Liter Cyanide Spill in Argentina Highlights Canadian Mining Crimes

Common Dreams

'They cannot continue to handle affairs that are so delicate, that affect the environment and people this way.' Details here.

Harper’s Research Station a ‘Cloak' For Arctic Oil Push, Says Climate Expert

National Observer

An expensive remote Arctic facility, personally promoted by Prime Minister Stephen Harper as a "world-class” research station, is less about pure science, and almost entirely about pushing oil, gas and mining development in the rapidly melting north, says one of Canada’s top polar climate scientists. Story here.

American Corn Farmers Are Suing Syngenta for $2.9 Billion. Should Canadian Farmers Sue Too?

Manitoba Co-Operator

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

Pope's Climate Push is 'Raving Nonsense' Without Population Control, Says Top US Scientist

theguardian

Paul Ehrlich writes in Nature Climate Change that Francis is wrong to fight climate change without also addressing the strain from population growth on resources. Story here.