Richard Cornett of the Western Plant Health Association notes that if California passes legislation this November mandating labeling of all GM foods, food producers throughout the country will suffer from steep costs.

If the labeling initiative becomes law, nearly 80 percent of the food in California’s grocery stores will need to be labeled. Food companies will be required either to develop California-only packaging or simply change their packaging altogether, a process that would be extremely expensive and time-consuming. Read more.

GM cotton enables women farmers in Colombia more economic independence

Women farmers in Colombia said the adoption of GM cotton has allowed them more economic independence, Science and Development Network reports. A study by the International Food Policy Research Institute found women farmers could save time and money on weeding and hiring male labor.  

Jonathan Gressel, a plant sciences professor at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, pointed out from the study, “The best way to empower developing world women is to get them out of weeding and into mainstream life - including schooling and commerce. The added value of [GM] is that it provides the women farmers even less dependence upon others.” Read the full study here.

Research shows Europe’s opposition to GM crops not based on sound science

Research from the University of Edinburgh in the UK finds that Europe’s restrictions on GM crops, despite adoption of the technology around the world, demonstrate regulation is not based on sound science.

Professor Joyce Tait of the University of Edinburgh’s ESRC Innogen Centre, who took part in the research, said, “At a time when an increasing number of people are living in hunger and climate change threatens crops, the system that regulates GM food sources ought to become more based on evidence.” Read more.