Wales eyes prohibitive regulations Farmers, landowners and the public are being asked for their views on plans to tighten the rules on the planting of genetically modified crops in Wales. Elin Jones, rural affairs minister, told the BBC that "it is not legally possible to declare Wales GM-free", but that the proposed measures would be more restrictive than those proposed in England and Northern Ireland. More†

Legal

Mexico lifts outdated GM regulation Mexico's Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fishery and Food (SAGARPA) has officially revoked regulations which imposed phytosanitary requirements on imports and shipments of GM seed and on the establishment of field trials of GM plants. More†

Sci/Tech

More incentive for US wheat growers Wheat growers in the US are experiencing ever-increasing incentives to switch to maize production. The availability of new maize varieties, especially those with biotech traits, are making maize profitable in areas formerly only hospitable to wheat production. With GM drought-tolerant maize set to increase maize yields by as much as 50 percent in in Kansas, it may be hard for US farmers to justify growing wheat anywhere. More†

NGO Watch

Gloomy report for British organic A report commissioned by the Soil Association has led Peter Melchett, its policy director, to conclude: "If we want to continue eating huge quantities of cheap chicken, pork and dairy products and other mass produced foodstuffs, organic faming cannot deliver." According to the report, a major shift towards oganic farming in the UK would see food supplies plummet, and a vast increase in farm laborers performing the back-breaking tasks which modern agriculture had made unnecessary. More†

Potpourri

Vocal plant growth promoter Research conducted by Britain's Royal Horticultural Society has demonstrated the efficacy of the human voice as a plant growth promoter. After exposing ten tomato plants to recorded playbacks of the voices of various people for a month, it was determined that female voices were the most effective in stimulating growth. The voice of Sarah Darwin, the great-great grand-daughter of Charles Darwin, was found to be the most stimulating of all. However, experts are unsure whether her choice of text played a role. She read a passage from her great-great grandfather's book, On the Origin of Species. More†