News

2014-05-20 |

Fashion designer Katharine Hamnett campaigns for ban on glyphosate in parks

Katharine Hamnett has spent the morning handing out fliers that read: ''London Fields Caution Danger Unacceptable Risk of Biohazard''. Last week she discovered that the local wild-flower meadow had been sprayed with Roundup, a glyphosate-based herbicide.
"I've been giving leaflets out to women with babies because I was so concerned," she says, attacking a plate of pad Thai. "I thought they were young single mums. Then I looked at their clothes and thought, 'F---. Nothing but Isabel Marant. A touch of Chloé, a bit of Saint Laurent.' And I realised they were City lawyers taking their baby breaks. Which is even better, because they can help me out with the legal stuff."

2014-05-20 |

How McDonald's and Wendy's Are Copying GMO-free Chipotle's Playbook

Chipotle Mexican Grill has been a consistent performer over the last year. Its bottom line surged 19.7% in fiscal 2013, supported by a top-line growth of 17.7%. It looks like the momentum is continuing into the new fiscal year as evidenced by Chipotle's recent results. This is remarkable considering that the restaurant industry has been struggling with same-store traffic in the negative territory since March 2012. (.....) Chipotle continues to strengthen its food culture through the use of ingredients from more sustainable sources and preparing the food using classic cooking techniques. One of Chipotle's key initiatives is the elimination of genetically modified organisms, or GMO, ingredients from food, and the addition of Sofritas -- the all new vegan menu item -- to 40% of restaurants . Encouraged by the item's success, the company will continue rolling out Sofritas to other locations going forward. Also, Chipotle will continue to shift ingredient sourcing to non-GMO options. In its North America locations, all oil used for cooking is non-GMO, and after a few key steps, all food would be non-GMO ingredient based. Its marketing campaign -- Scarecrow, as well as Farmed and Dangerous -- is also focused on issues of GMO and overuse of antibiotics in livestock farming for creating consumer awareness. As awareness regarding the harmful effects of GMO-based food spreads, more customers should come into Chipotle's fold.

2014-05-19 |

USA: Chefs commit to make restaurants GMO-free

Colorado: For Bradford Heap, the chef-owner of Salt Bistro and Colterra, going 100 percent GMO-free is more than just a good idea: The pledge is part of his own personal mission as a chef, a father, and a world citizen. “This issue belongs to all of us in the food industry,” Heap says. “It’s up to us as both providers and consumers in America to do something about the pervasive corruption in our country’s food supply. We have the power to demand food that is not only good to eat but is good for us and leaves a planet that is good for our children.”

Oregon:“People are thrilled to know they have an option for GMO-free foods and are appreciative, almost to the point of tears,” restaurant owner Glen Hendricks said in an interview with the newspaper. “We had the best January and February here since the first year we opened, and I’m confident to some extent we’re being embraced by the community that appreciates GMO-free, organic and gluten-free.”

Pennsylvania: One chef in Pittsburgh wants to open a conversation. It's about GMOs -- genetically modified organisms. Trevett Hooper unabashedly dreams of a restaurant in his own future that will offer nothing but extremely local organic food year-round, without a genetically modified atom on the plate.

2014-05-16 |

France: GM vine crop trial was illegal because authorities did not properly assess the risk to the local environment

A court of appeal in Colmar this week repealed the convictions of the 54 protesters, ruling that the open-air crop trial was illegal because authorities did not properly assess the risk to the local environment. 'This is a first,' said farmers' union Confederation Paysanne, whose members have frequently been involved in attacking fields of GM crops. 'It is a victory for all opponents of GM crops.' There has long been consumer scepticism towards GM crops in the European Union. A European Commission survey in 2010 found that 71% of those questioned did not want GM ingredients in their food.

2014-05-14 |

Is GM soya cultivation linked to health problems in Argentina?

Could pesticides - their use and abuse - increase levels of cancer and birth defects? It is a question asked across the vast belt of Argentina where GM crops are grown. In Chaco, the Minister of Public Health wants an independent commission to investigate a growing health crisis. "If the wind changes the agrochemicals come into the house. My uncle just died of cancer. My wife too passed away from cancer. Now many, many people are dying of cancer - it didn't used to be like that. In my opinion, this has to do with the poison they put on the fields." Chaco was once famous for its cotton. Beef cattle dotted the endless plains. Now soya dominates the landscape. Argentina has become one of the world's largest producers of GM soya, with some 20 million hectares under cultivation. It is the nation's leading export.

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