With no problems with sea lice, no risk of escape, minimal to no use of antibiotics and the same great taste and nutritional profile as other farmed Atlantic salmon, is the AquAdvantage® Salmon the perfect salmon? The Fish Site Editor Lucy Towers talks to Dr Ron Stotish, CEO of AquaBounty Technologies about its sustainable production. In a world where demand for food is growing, the Genetically Modified (GM) AquAdvantage Salmon (AAS) could be a sustainable option for meeting future dietary needs. [node:read-more:link]

Officials in Boulder County have released a plan to remove all genetically-modified crops from county-owned farmland within the next five years.  The county’s commissioners directed staffers to draft the plan following a series of heated public hearings in early 2016, where scientists argued farmers were being unfairly targeted and local activists said the crops in question threaten the county’s agricultural viability, and its reputation as an environmentally-conscious community.  The plan calls for farmers who lease county land for their operations to stop planting GMO corn within the next [node:read-more:link]

Genetically modified foods should be considered “as safe as conventional choices,” according to Timothy Griffin, associate professor at Tufts’ Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, and director of the Agriculture, Food and Environment program.  Griffin and 20 other scientists reviewed 900 research publications and concluded in their 398-page report that “genetically engineered crops are as safe as conventionally grown crops.” The extensive two-year review found no apparent health risk or environmental impact of growing and consuming genetically modified crops. [node:read-more:link]

A Florida man, on behalf of a class of consumers, has filed a lawsuit against Hormel Foods alleging that the company’s “100% Natural” and “No Preservatives” claims on its product labels are false and misleading, according to federal court documents. The lawsuit, filed Oct. 11 in U.S. [node:read-more:link]

A revolutionary technique to capture carbon emissions from coal-fired power stations has been shown to work on a commercially viable basis for the first time, the company behind it has claimed.  If true, the breakthrough could allow coal to continue to be burned on a large scale around the world without producing the greenhouse gases that cause climate change. [node:read-more:link]

Randy Hilleman says he first heard of the new veterinary feed directive (VFD) policy earlier this year.  “I happened to be in the vet clinic not long after, and I asked about it,” he says. “I talked to our vet and figured we needed to get set up.”  Beginning Jan. 1, 2017, producers will no longer be able to use medications without veterinarian approval. Medically important drugs such as tetracycline will no longer be used as a growth promotant, according to guidelines from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). [node:read-more:link]

As of Friday afternoon, Oct. 14, 2016, 83 endangered Key deer had been euthanized because of an infestation of the New World screwworm. The screwworm, not seen in the U.S. since the 1960s, is leaving open wounds on the deer and then eating the flesh until the deer is incapacitated. U.S. Fish & Wildlife, in partnership with the Florida and U.S. Dept. [node:read-more:link]

The International Poultry Council (IPC) said the global poultry industry will work on a coordinated effort to address antibiotic resistance in animal agriculture and will work to release a comprehensive report in the next several months in the next several months.  This issue was part of the discussions among delegates from 20 countries at the IPC’s recent conference in Estoril, Portugal.  “The International Poultry Council shares the public’s concern about antibiotic resistance, which is an issue of global significance,” IPC President Jim Sumner, president of the USA Poultry & Egg Expo [node:read-more:link]

The United Nations has adopted new policy recommendations for animal welfare in global farming.  The measures were adopted this week at a meeting of the United Nations Committee on World Farming Security in Rome, Italy.  The recommendations included improving animal welfare, preventing the unnecessary use of antibiotics and improving biosecurity to prevent animal disease.  The United Nation’s recommendation include: Enable access to veterinary services, vaccinations, and medication, including antimicrobials; Improve animal health  management through biosafety and biosecurity by following OI [node:read-more:link]

For produce farms, carbon farming generally means growing fruits, vegetables, and legumes with minimal disturbance to the soil. One important approach is no-till farming, which implicitly means less disturbance. As much as five times more carbon can stick around in the soil under no-till than with conventional tillage, according to Bernacchi’s study of corn and soybean fields in Illinois. His calculations suggest that if all farms in the U.S. [node:read-more:link]