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The food and agriculture organization of the United Nations has warned Uganda against the use of genetically modified organisms to improve food production saying they impact on the environment. [...] addressing Journalists over the weekend, the director general of FAO José Graziano da Silva opposed the use of GMOs as means of increasing food production to fight hunger. “We don’t need them now, we don’t know what will happen to areas of production and the crops,” said Graziano Brazil’s extra ordinary minister of food security and fight against hunger.

Although the Egyptian Agriculture Ministry made public its decision to destroy a 40-ton shipment of Monsanto’s insect-resistant MON810 maize after it entered the country in January last year, the ISAAA reports that 1,000 hectares of the crop were actually planted. Monsanto is a US-based multinational agricultural biotechnology corporation. Osama El-Tayeb is a microbiology and immunology professor at the 6th of October University Faculty of Pharmacy and an adviser on biosafety issues. He says the shipment was imported without the formal approval of the Ministry of Environment, the ministry in charge of approving genetically-modified organisms’ import into the country.

Britain is preparing to champion genetically modified crops in Europe in an attempt to overturn entrenched resistance among many EU members, including Austria and France. Owen Paterson, the environment secretary, is drawing up plans for a key speech backing GM with the firm backing of George Osborne, the chancellor. Meanwhile, ministers from several departments are preparing to launch a new agri-tech strategy this spring that will make a strong case for the science.

Ice cream manufacturer Ben & Jerry’s has committed to switching to all non-GMO ingredients in its ice cream products by the end of this year. [...] “We’ve had historical support for a consumer’s right to know,” Michalak says. “With GMO labeling legislation being considered in many states, our home state of Vermont included, we thought this was a time to speak out.” Ben & Jerry’s has long been known for its support of environmental issues, sustainability, and social justice since its founding in 1978 by counter culture heroes Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield.

Anti-GMO food activists in the U.S. don’t stage late-night guerrilla raids, vandalizing farms swathed in hazmat gear. Instead, they’re more likely to patrol the corridors of power in sport jackets, lobbying lawmakers for oversight or suing biotechs in court. But even without these tactics, American activists, including a handful of scientists, have been raising skepticism about GMO foods. “The science just hasn’t been done,” says Charles Benbrook, an agricultural policy expert at Washington State University and a leading voice of dissent. Today, about 90 percent of the corn, soy, and cotton grown in the U.S. are genetically modified to be either resistant to pests or tolerant of herbicides, including the popular weed killer Roundup, so that farmers can spray throughout the growing season without harming crops.

A movement to eliminate such ingredients in food has brought about awareness and posed questions regarding the negetive effects of biotechnology on human health and the environment. While some scientists say GMO doesn’t pose a threat to either, many state-initiatives bills and campaigns continue to try and reach legislation in an effort to mandate labeling at the federal level. Washington and New Mexico are just two of the 30 states that are gaining ground on their current initiative to mandate labeling. But, with most of the remaining states also behind the movement through proposed bills and campaigns, the anti-GMO movement is far from over.

Bills in the state Legislature are opposed by Minnesota’s major food manufacturers. Minnesota could become the next battleground in the fight over mandatory labels for genetically modified food. Bills were introduced Thursday in the Minnesota Legislature that would require food manufacturers to label their products to indicate whether they contain genetically engineered ingredients. Similar bills are being considered in other states, and California voters took part in a bruising battle last fall over the labeling issue.

Florida consumers have the right to know whether the foods they purchase are genetically engineered, says a group of more than 200 organizations calling for a labeling requirement. Monday, Rep. Michelle Rehwinkel Vasilinda, D-Tallahassee, plans to introduce a bill seeking the labeling of GE agricultural commodities and processed foods that contain GE ingredients and are sold in Florida stores. GE, or genetically modified, crops are engineered by transferring genetic material from one organism into another to create specific traits, such as enabling a plant to produce its own pesticide to repel insects, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

In front of a crowded gallery, consumers and distributors exchanged extremely emotional testimony at the Consumer Protection Committee hearing on House Bill 174, which requires the labeling of genetically engineered fresh produce sold in Hawai’i. Consumers, including parents that escorted children, outlined the risks of consumption along with the need for transparency of labeling, while distributors emphasized the safety of genetically engineered foods and the costs associated with implementation. HB 174 eventually passed through the Committee and now moves on to the House floor where it faces another reading.

A proposal to force food producers to label genetically modified or engineered products cleared a significant hurdle in the Vermont Statehouse Friday. The House Committee on Agriculture and Forest Products voted in favor of passage 8-3. Experts estimate about 80 percent of processed foods contain at least one genetically engineered ingredient. Earlier this year, Vt. Attorney General Bill Sorrell cautioned lawmakers that should such a bill pass, the state faces substantial legal challenges. But proponents say the issue is too important to ignore.