The Gaia Reports

By Theodora Filis Mars chocolate manufacturer, the 5th largest privately held company in the US, is funding research to genetically modify 70 percent of the global cocoa supply. Funding for this project comes from Mars, involving scientists based at the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) of the US Department of Agriculture and Science in addition to researchers working at IBM’s Thomas J Watson Research Center. Cacao production provides a livelihood for over 6.5 million farmers in Africa, South America and Asia and ranks as one of the top ten agriculture commodities in the world. Although chocolate is mostly consumed by the industrialized world, it is grown in developing countries. The US, France, and Germany consume more than half of the world's cocoa supply. The first use of cocoa appears to have occurred around 1100 BC. In the Americas, this crop has been cultivated for at least three millenniums. So the question arises if humans have been growing coc...

By Theodora Filis In the US, Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) fall under the regulatory jurisdiction of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the Environmental Protection Association (EPA). Now, more than ever, environmentalists are complaining that policies and regulations are insufficient and poorly organized. Many worry corporate influence over policy has led to a dangerous level of "self-regulation" by biotech companies like Monsanto, Syngenta, and Scotts. Mandatory labeling of GMOs and biotech companies allowed to self-regulate are causing heated debates. Debates have caused a significant increase in the amount of valuable information regarding GMOs, but have not helped to stop the planting of the “gene flow” of GMO seeds worldwide. Gene flow, the process by which a gene will move through wind-blown pollen and work its way into non-modified varieties, has already been well-established for GMO corn, GMO ...

By Theodora Filis In the US and Canada, the Organic Trade Association (OTA) claims their mission is to promote consumer ethics, protect and promote the benefit of the organic trade environment, and promote the economy of the public and farmers as a whole. OTA is a member of the International Federation of Organic Agricultural Movements (IFOAM). “Organic” refers to the way agricultural products are grown and processed. It includes a system of production, processing, distribution, and handling to maintain the organic integrity that starts on the farm. Governed by government standards, organic requires that products bearing the organic label are made without the use of toxic and persistent pesticides, synthetic nitrogen fertilizers, antibiotics, synthetic hormones, genetic engineering or other excluded practices, sewage sludge, or irradiation. Sixty percent of OTA members are micro and small business trade members. The OTA originally went under the name Organic Foods Production Associa...