Free Republic

The government says a 20-year prison sentence for a woman who committed arson at Michigan State University would be the toughest punishment ever in a case of so-called eco-terrorism. Marie Mason is due in federal court at 9 a.m. today. The explosion and fire at Michigan State's Agriculture Hall in 1999 was a protest against genetically modified crops. Damage exceeded $1 million. Prosecutors want a 20-year prison sentence for the 47-year-old Cincinnati woman. Mason's lawyer says that would be extreme. Mason has admitted other acts from 1999 through 2003, including fires at homes under construction in southeastern Michigan and Indiana....

Percy Schmeiser, a Canadian farmer, works on farming and developing his own seeds for 50 years. When his fields were contaminated, Monsanto threatened him, intimidated him, and tried to take his land away. He took them to court.

Advocates Call for Immediate Ban of All GM Foods and GM Crops IMMEDIATE RELEASE (November 13, 2008) (Los Angeles, CA.) - A long-term feeding study commissioned by the Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety, managed by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Health, Family and Youth, and carried out by Veterinary University Vienna, confirms genetically modified (GM) corn seriously affects reproductive health in mice. Non-GMO advocates, who have warned about this infertility link along with other health risks, now seek an immediate ban of all GM foods and GM crops to protect the health of humankind and the fertility of...

Genetically Modified Maize Not Found In Southern Mexico COLUMBUS , Ohio – Contrary to what many scientists thought, genetically modified (GM) corn has not yet spread to native maize crops in southern Mexico.After analyzing tens of thousands of seeds from maize crops grown in 2003 and 2004, researchers from Mexico and the United States found no evidence of transgenes in these indigenous varieties.The finding surprised the researchers, said Allison Snow, a professor of evolution, ecology and organismal biology at Ohio State University . She helped lead the study that appears online this week in the Early Edition of the Proceedings...

<p>The United Nations is supposed to be a watchdog of human rights, but it needs watching itself. It has been denying people, especially the poor, the right to feed themselves, buy from others and use their land as they wish. The inhabitants of less developed countries are literally dying as a consequence.</p>

Eleven people have laid naked on the lawn of New Zealand's Parliament to protest about government plans to lift a ban on genetically engineered plants and animals. The 11 bodies and one fully-clothed woman spelt out "No GE" against the green grass, watched by half a dozen security guards. Protest organizer Valerie Morse said the naked protest was a metaphor for New Zealand, which she said could be "stripped bare" by genetic engineering. "We've got some of the most unique flora and fauna in the world and if we release GE into the environment we just simply have no idea...

The Royal Society today (2 October 2003) attacked ‘The Guardian’ newspaper for putting its own commercial interests ahead of the public good by publishing a speculative article about the contents of scientific papers due to appear in one of the Society’s journals. In response to publication of the front-page story ‘GM crops fail key trials amid environment fear’, Stephen Cox, Executive Secretary of the Royal Society, said: “Last week’s report on the GM public debate stressed that the public wants “confidence in the independence and integrity of information about GM - the assurance that it does not reflect the influence...

January 8, 2003 A "Moderate" Prohibition A new study by Center for Science In the Public Interest isn't in the public interest. By Ronald Bailey "The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) lacks both the authority and the information to adequately evaluate the safety of genetically engineered (GE) foods," claims the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) in a just-released study. An uncritical Washington Post story about the study describes CSPI as "moderate" on the issue because the activist group claims it is not in principle opposed to genetically enhanced crops. But with this new report, they join...