Two weeks ago, Monsanto announced the latest genetically engineered crop it hopes to bring to market: a soybean rejiggered to resist the herbicide dicamba. The new product, says Monsanto, will aid in weed control and “deliver peace of mind for growers.” Meanwhile, half a world away, La Via Campesina, a farmers’ movement of 150 organizations [...]

For decades, packaged-food companies have been reducing fat and calories in their products. More recently the industry undertook a broad-based effort to eliminate trans fats, and even high-fructose corn syrup. But today, big food is at a crossroads. The companies that introduced products such as Doritos, Miracle Whip, Butterfinger and the venti caramel Frappuccino now [...]

Technology companies across Asia have found ways to help people in Japan left devastated by the 9.0-magnitude earthquake last Friday, the 7-meter tsunami it spawned, and displacement caused by troubles at a nuclear power plant there. China’s Alibaba.com, for example, has thrown in its e-commerce expertise to let hundreds of millions of [...]

US software giant Oracle Corp. is to be deleted from the FTSE4Good index series, index firm FTSE’s corporate responsibility standards suite, over human and labour rights. Oracle is one of seven companies that will be deleted as of March 18 as part of the latest semi-annual review. The others are Home Depot (environmental [...]

Colgate-Palmolive, Coca-Cola, DuPont, Dow Chemical and Kellogg’s are among the major U.S. corporations that have created a trade organization to represent the packaging industry and coordinate the sector’s environmental efforts. The American Institution for Packaging and the Environment (Ameripen) will advocate on public policy relating to packaging and the environment. [...]

In its continued commitment to reduce the global burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), Medtronic, Inc. today announced it will make nearly $4 million in Medtronic Foundation grants in 2011 to international organizations specifically to address diseases such as diabetes and heart disease in developing countries.  With non-communicable diseases accounting for [...]

Les semences génétiquement modifiées passent au stade de l’exploitation à grande échelle dans plusieurs pays. L’américain Monsanto et le suisse Syngenta sont les premiers à en bénéficier. Le débat sur les OGM est-il encore d’actualité ? Les biotechnologies sont désormais soutenues par de nombreux organismes et fondations qui veulent promouvoir les dernières découvertes scientifiques pour initier [...]