In the wake of President Barack Obama’s announcement at the G8 Summit of the imminent launch of negotiations on the Trans-Atlantic Free Trade Agreement (TAFTA), the benefits of such a deal remain in question. Further complicating the pact are rifts between EU member states on its contents, recent U.S. revelations about the National Security Agency’s indiscriminate collection of private data, and wheat supplies contaminated by unapproved genetically modified organism (GMO) varieties.

Are the french fries in Happy Meals soon to be genetically engineered? Not if McDonald’s refuses to source new genetically engineered potatoes from one of its main potato suppliers.

In a landslide 141-4 vote, the Maine House of Representatives voted Tuesday to advance bill LD 718, which would require special labeling for seeds and foods made with genetically modified (GMO) ingredients.

On May 25, 2013, tens of thousands of people in 36 countries participated in a global "March Against Monsanto." But according to Monsanto CEO Hugh Grant, those who protest against agricultural genetic engineering -- including the farmers, students, academics, and more who turned out in March -- are "elitists," fomenting distrust of technology that could save the lives of millions of hungry people.

A three-judge panel at the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled today that a group of organic and otherwise non-GMO farmer and seed company plaintiffs are not entitled to bring a lawsuit to protect themselves from Monsanto's transgenic seed patents "because Monsanto has made binding assurances that it will not 'take legal action against growers whose crops might inadvertently contain traces of Monsanto biotech genes (because, for example, some transgenic seed or pollen blew onto the grower’s land).'"

This week, Connecticut won the honor of becoming the first state to pass a law requiring genetically engineered foods to be labeled. (The governor has indicated he will sign.) It was really only a matter of time.

Consumers Union, the advocacy arm of Consumer Reports, today urged Connecticut Governor Dannel P. Malloy to sign a historic bill requiring labeling of genetically engineered (GE) food passed on Monday by the Connecticut legislature by a 134-3 vote. The bill makes Connecticut the first state in the nation to mandate the labeling of GE food.

Food Democracy Now!, a grassroots movement of more than 650,000 farmers and citizens, applaud Connecticut legislation for enacting first-in-the-nation legislation requiring the labeling of food containing genetically modified ingredients.  Despite relentless lobbying efforts from the Farm Bureau and biotech interests, legislators demonstrated bi-partisan support of the labeling bill in both the House and the Senate acknowledging the influence of grassroots pressure.