Monsanto made two very public offers to buy Syngenta, its Swiss rival in the global GM seed-ag chem business. The offers weighed in at a fat $45 billion.

The name change comes in the wake of a proposed name change for biotech giant Monsanto, should it merge with Syngenta.

U.S. Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-KS) may want to send some thank-you letters out to state legislative leaders who shut down efforts to get in his way this year. Pompeo is the GOP’s point man in Congress on federal policy to preempt the states from writing their own laws requiring the labeling of food containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

According to Environmental Working Group (EWG) Senior Policy Analyst, US should introduce mandatory labeling for GMO foods that can be toxic due to herbicides.

Dozens of consumer and food groups and businesses filed recommendations with the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Monday seeking tighter regulation of genetically engineered crops and calling the current system a "failure."

Kroger and Safeway--the #1 and #2 U.S. conventional grocery chains--have joined other major retailers like Target, Meijer, Aldi, Giant Eagle, Whole Foods and many others in protecting consumers, wild salmon, and the environment by rejecting GE salmon, but Costco--one of the largest retailers of salmon and seafood in the U.S.--is one of the last large retailers that hasn’t made a commitment not to sell GE salmon.

Sign the petition urging Costco to join its competitors and commit to keeping GE salmon off its shelves.

The Non-GMO Corn Movement In Kentucky Bourbon

One of the driving forces behind the bourbon boom is the drive toward authenticity. The farm-to-fork movement has moved into spirits, and consumers want something that was produced by human hands with grains grown near the distillery. Maker’s Mark still uses grains produced in their county, and most Kentucky bourbon distilleries go out of their way to purchase grains grown within our state.

That said, there just aren’t enough grains grown in the entire state to support the bourbon industry, so they often have to get grains from other states to fulfill demand. But there are at least three distilleries that I’ve found that use 100% non-GMO corn in their various whiskeys: Wild Turkey, Four Roses, and Buffalo Trace.

Lawmakers are scheduled to discuss changes to a GMO labeling bill that was first introduced last year

The law is the first of its kind in the state of Oregon though similar measures have been passed in various counties in California and in San Juan County, Washington.

US food brands rush to go Non-GMO

GMWatch

Are we crossing the tipping point with GMOs?

The US packaged food company Diamond Foods Inc is moving its US sales to Non-GMO Project Verified in response to consumer demand.

ETB North America, LLC, one of the fastest growing sports nutrition companies in the US and the makers of Eat The Bear protein, has announced that it has reformulated its flagship whey protein isolate using non-GMO isolate.

And Hellmann's Mayonnaise Dressing with Olive Oil is now made with Non-GMO ingredients.

It seems that many American mothers want Quaker to follow suit. A recent survey for the Just Label It campaign found that nearly 93% of moms who buy Quaker products want the company to label foods that contain GMOs. The survey also found that of 800 mothers surveyed online, 80% want the company to stop financing anti-GMO labelling efforts.