"When Monsanto genetically engineered corn and soybeans to make them immune to its best-selling weedkiller, the company pitched the technology as a way to reduce overall use of herbicides and usher in an environmentally friendly era of farming."
""The world has lost a third of its arable land due to erosion or pollution in the past 40 years, with potentially disastrous consequences as global demand for food soars, scientists have warned."
Here are some reports of possible interest to environmental journalists from the Congressional Research Service (CRS). Congress does not release them to the public, but the Union of Concerned Scientists' Government Secrecy Project does.
"From droughts to pests, disease, wildfire, and extreme weather, the agency spotlights food and agriculture at COP21."
"As world leaders gather in Paris this week to negotiate a new global climate agreement, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is sounding the alarm about the enormous challenges ahead for the food we eat.
"Colorado's agricultural agencies are in panic mode after several independent studies found dangerous levels of pesticides in marijuana products."
"In April, Republicans newly in control of Congress celebrated their agreement on a plan to save $5 trillion — that’s trillion, with a 'T' — and balance the budget in a decade. 'We continue to get things done for the American people,' boasted the House speaker at the time, John A. Boehner. Yet as the year closes, Congress instead is planning to repeal one of the few spending cuts it has passed into law since approving that budget resolution: $3 billion over a decade from subsidies for crop insurers."
"The Environmental Protection Agency is taking steps to withdraw approval of a controversial new weed killer to be used on genetically modified corn and soybeans."
"America's beekeepers are having a rough time. They lost an estimated 42 percent of their hives last year."
"The last time the U.S. enjoyed a hemp revival was during World War II, when the country could no longer import cheap rope fiber from Asia. The effort, called Hemp for Victory, was promoted by the government even though plantings of hemp, a relative of marijuana, were tightly restricted. More than a half-century later, there is a new push to reestablish the ancient crop."
"A new facet of the GMO debate has come to upstate New York in the form of a fluttering, genetically engineered moth that its developers say could help cut down on the use of harmful pesticides in agriculture. But some food safety advocacy groups aren’t so sure: They’re worried about the insect’s safety and its potential to hurt business for farmers in the region."
Advertisement 
