The Gaia Reports By Theodora Filis - Environmental Journalist

 By Theodora Filis Consumers will see food labels that now say "bioengineered" or "derived from bioengineering," replacing the acronym "GMO" (genetically modified organism).  The federal standard replaces the former requirements as of January 2022. The new standard applies to genetically modified foods as well as foods with genetically modified ingredients that are "detectable" by certain standards. Critics say the rules devised by the U.S. Department of Agriculture will actually confuse consumers further and make it harder to know what's in any given product. The new rules give food producers a few options. Commonly bioengineered foods include corn, canola, soybeans, and sugar beets. Most GMO crops are used for animal feed, according to the Food and Drug Administration. But they are also used to make ingredients that routinely find their way into human diets, such as cornstarch, corn syrup, canola oil, and granulated sugar. The Center for Fo

By Theodora Filis *Enforcement today is done through complaints. Consumers can file complaints with the USDA if they suspect a grocery store, manufacturer or importer is knowingly not disclosing bioengineered food. The USDA will determine whether or not to investigate further - that is worrisome. Recently, a committee made up of members of the US House of Representatives passed a bill allowing genetically modified crops (GMOs) to continue to be used on American farmland. These patented seeds are owned by biotech giants like Dupont, who claim their seeds help provide US consumers with an “abundant and reliable food supply” while remaining competitive in the world market. According to Bloomberg Business, the one-paragraph provision to the 90-page bill, which is headed to the full House for consideration, will "circumvent legal obstacles that have slowed commercialization of engineered crops, sometimes for years, benefiting Monsanto, the world’s largest seed company. Plantin

By Theodora Filis The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is preparing to approve genetically engineered (GE) salmon for human consumption. If approved, the salmon would be the first GE animal on the market. Because the agency is unlikely to require the salmon to be labeled as GE, consumers will have no way of knowing whether the salmon they buy is engineered. The salmon contains genetic material from an eel-like fish, called an ocean pout, and another species of salmon and grows to market size more rapidly than a normal Atlantic salmon.  Consumer groups are concerned that scientists and the public have been given very little time to weigh in on the approval process and that the environmental and human health risks of the GE salmon, including harm to wild fish stocks and effects on human health, have not been properly assessed. To complicate matters, the agency is evaluating the GE salmon under its industry-friendly drug approval law, which is not suited to oversee GE animals, espec

 By Theodora Filis Salmon farmers around the world consider sea lice to be the most dangerous threat to their industry. Salmon farms and their farmers are being disrupted around the world because of sea lice attaching themselves to, and feeding on, the #Salmon. This is causing many salmon to die or making them unsuitable for people to consume. Price of salmon going up Salmon prices are going up as much as fifty-percent - wholesale - from last year. That means as consumers we will see higher prices for salmon stakes, fillets, and the lox on our bagels. Vice President of Cooke Aquaculture, Jake Elliott, from Blacks Harbour, New Brunswick, Canada, said that the salmon #Farmers need to be quicker and work faster than the lice. New and established ways are being used Both new and established technology will be needed in order to defeat the lice, experts say. Older tools like pesticides and more recent practices like breeding for genetic resistance need to be tried. So