The legacy of Industrial Agriculture With the world population passing the 6 billion mark last October, the debate over our ability to sustain a fast growing population is heating up. Biotechnology advocates in particular are becoming very vocal in their claim that there is no alternative to using genetically modified crops in agriculture if "we want to feed the world". Actually, that quote might be true. It depends what they mean...

The government failed to reach an agreement with the Members of Parliament, who moved for amendments to the Seeds Bill on the issue of price regulation and penalty for failure of seeds in a meeting convened by the Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar here on Wednesday. On other amendments, the members either convinced the government or got convinced. The government will now consult the Ministry of Law on the two issues, Mr...

The agriculture ministry has put on hold the controversial Seeds Bill, 2004, following strong objections from the MPs, mainly on the pricing and penalty clauses. Sources said while the penalty clause would be further referred to the law ministry for its opinion, the ministry would consider the suggestion of creating a national authority to decide pricing of the seeds. “Two main issues need to be discussed further — pricing of seeds and...

In an effort to help prevent dangerous contamination of food with melamine, a toxic chemical, the United Nations food standards body today set new limits for the amount of the substance that can be present in baby formula, other foods and animal feed without causing health problems. The maximum melamine allowed in baby formula was set at one milligram (mg) per kilogramme (kg) and 2.5 mg/kg in other foods and...

Investments in agriculture in developing countries can be structured in a way that they become an alternative to large-scale land acquisitions to ensure that small-scale farmers do not lose their land rights, according to the findings of a United Nations-backed study released today. International initiatives on agricultural investments should go beyond trying to minimize the negative impacts of large-scale land acquisitions and, instead, promote investment models that improve opportunities for...