World’s Largest Pork Producer Could be Sold to a Chinese Company

Grist - a beacon in the smog

In Smithfield, Va., on Wednesday, locals were shocked to discover that their town’s namesake, Smithfield Foods, founded in 1936 as a single meatpacking plant and now the largest pork producer in the world, is poised to be sold to Chinese meat company Shuanghui International. If approved by federal regulators, the $4.7 billion deal would be the biggest takeover in history of an American company by a Chinese one. Details here.

Tar Sands Supporters Suffer Setback as British Columbia Rejects Pipeline

theguardian

Canadian province rejects plan for Enbridge Northern Gateway, saying company failed to demonstrate adequate clean-up plan. Full story here.

The Conservative Caucus of Canada's Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, ‘Horrifically Depressed’ About Senate Expenses Scandal.

The Hill Times online

Brand Takes Big Hit, Say Tories, but add they won’t be down indefinitely. Details here.

The New US Farm Bill is an Economic Disaster

Heidi Moore - The Guardian

Just when you think Congress can't get any dumber, it crafts a $1tn farm bill that harms the poor and promotes unhealthy food. Full story here.

PLT: Thank goodness there are still some people in mass media who tell it like it is!

Millions March Against GM Crops

theguardian

Organisers celebrate huge global turnout and say they will continue until Monsanto and other GM manufacturers listen…Details here.

Anti-GM Rally in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada (Video)

Chile Fines Barrick Gold $16m for Pascua-Lama Mine

BBC News

Chilean authorities have fined the world's largest gold mining company, Barrick Gold Corp. of CANADA, more than $16m for environmental offences. Details here.

PLT: A fine, Canadian "role-model" for the world - poisoning Earth for profit and bling!

Terracide and the Terrarists

TomDispatch

Courtesy of Common Dreams

Destroying the Planet for Record Profits. Full story here.

You Need Phosphorus to Live—and We're Running Out

Mother Jones

Pesticide sprayer on a farm in Manitoba, Canada. PLT photo.

Industrial farming has played a part in sucking this critical element out of our soil.

Details here.

Hungary Won't Tolerate GMO Seeds, Burns 1,000 Acres of Corn

MSN

A GMO crop in Manitoba, Canada. PLT photo.

Think you can plant genetically modified seeds with your crop and no one will notice? Better not try it in Hungary, where agriculture officials literally took a scorched-Earth approach to GMO seeds...Details here.

Toronto Star Investigation: Drugged Canadian Horses Slipping Through ‘Inadequate’ Food System

thestar.com

The horse “passport” Canada relies on to keep toxic meat off dinner tables around the world is open to fraud and error, a Star investigation has found, confirming the findings of an international audit. Full story here.

PLT photo.