Jon Entine is senior fellow at the University of California Davis Institute for Food and Agricultural Literacy.Entine is also a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

Now comes Gary Ruskin of US Right to Know in Oakland, California. Ruskin says that Entine has a long history of defending corporate interests — chemical, nuclear, pesticides, GMO and fracking.

A study conducted for the U.K. Food Standards Agency has found that GMO labeling would increase a family’s food costs by 33 cents to $5.58 a year. And a study by Consumers Union reviewed research on GMO labeling and found the annual median cost per person would be $2.30.

As the food industry is well aware, Vermont’s labeling requirements for genetically modified (GM) foods are set to take effect on July 1 of this year, with a six-month “safe harbor” provision thereafter.

Del Monte, Nestlé, and Dannon join a growing list of major food companies to ditch genetically modified ingredients

Del Monte Foods, Nestlé, and Dannon recently became the latest major food companies to replace genetically modified ingredients with non-GMO alternatives. Del Monte, one of the nation’s largest producers of branded food products, announced plans for an increase in non-GMO product offerings and conversion to non-BPA packaging. Nestlé Dreyer’s Ice Cream, the largest ice cream maker in the world, announced that it would remove GMO ingredients, high fructose corn syrup, and artificial colors and flavors in its ice cream products, including Dreyer’s, Häagen-Dazs®, Outshine®, Skinny Cow®, Nestlé® Ice Cream and Nestlé® Drumstick®. Dannon, the U.S.’s leading yogurt maker, pledged to using more non-GMO ingredients in its products, transitioning to non-GMO feed for its dairy cows, and labeling products containing GMO ingredients.

In a move that demonstrates a major shift in the nation’s food supply, Nestlé Dreyer’s Ice Cream, the largest ice cream maker in the world, announced yesterday that it would be removing artificial colors and flavors, high fructose corn syrup, and genetically modified ingredients from its line of more than 100 ice cream products. It’s also switching to rBST-free milk.

Brands affected by this change include Nestlé Dreyer’s bestsellers Edy’s®1, Häagen-Dazs®, Outshine®, Skinny Cow®, Nestlé® Ice Cream, and Nestlé® Drumstick®. The newly reformulated products have already begun appearing in stores across the country.

“Nestlé Dreyer’s Ice Cream understands that consumers want to know what’s in their food, where those ingredients come from and how the food products they purchase are made,” Robert Kilmer, president, Nestlé Dreyer’s Ice Cream, said in a statement. “We are the industry leader when it comes to innovation and, as consumer demand centers on transparency and choice, we are responding with new ways to make ice cream even better. Using simpler ingredients that our consumers can recognize, and removing those that don’t belong, is a natural next step for our brands.”

Food Tank, in partnership with American University, is hosting the 2nd Annual Food Tank Summit in Washington, D.C. on April 20–21, 2016. This two-day event will feature more than 75 different speakers from the food and agriculture field. Researchers, farmers, chefs, policymakers, government officials, and students will come together for panels on topics including food waste, urban agriculture, family farmers, farm workers, and more.

The CRISPR-edited button white mushroom bypassed the regulations of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) on genetically modified organisms (GMO's).

A fungus engineered with the CRISPR–Cas9 technique can be cultivated and sold without further oversight.

Florida residents are launching an opposition campaign against the release of genetically modified mosquitoes in the Florida Keys to combat the Zika virus.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals may hold hearings in June on three cases related to genetically modified farming in Kauai, Maui and Hawaii counties.