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MA lab works on gene editing to increase food output https://www.wcvb.com/article/local-lab-using-genetics-to-change-how-crops-are-grown/27212301

Foodstuffs: For a UNH Scientist, a Career Spent Pursuing the Perfect Gourd

NHNPR

For a half-century, UNH professor emeritus of plant biology and genetics J. Brent Loy has been in pursuit of genetically ideal gourd.

Loy, who is a researcher with the researcher with the NH Agricultural Experiment Station, has been using selective breeding techniques to create varieties of melons, pumpkins, and squash that satisfy the needs of commercial growers and gardeners alike.

Recently I stopped by UNH’s Kingman Research Farm in Madbury to learn more about his work.

Read more…

USDA letter on federal GMO labeling law

On July 29, 2016, President Obama signed into law an Act amending the Agricultural Marketing at of 1946 which provides for a national bioengineered food disclosure standard. The FDA sent letters to Governor Haasan explaining that under this new law there is no longer a need for state-specific labeling laws given that the Federal Government had set a uniform standard.

Click on the link below to see the letter.

USDA letter on federal GMO labeling law

Editorial: No labels: Genetic paranoia comes to NH

Saturday, January 30, 2016

Seabrook Rep. Max Abramson helped organize a contest to find Massachusetts’s dumbest law, and repeal it.

But he’s also trying to create a new dumb law.

Abramson is sponsoring legislation to require food manufacturers to label genetically engineered foods, or ingredients known as Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO).
We’ve been alternating the genetics of our food for millennia through selective breeding.

There is no evidence that genetic engineering represents any threat to public health. The campaign against the practice is fueled by unscientific paranoia.
Consumers who care about such things can find out what’s in their food more easily than ever before, allowing them to make informed choices.

While almost all processed foods contain genetically engineered ingredients, companies can market to customers looking for alternatives. Putting a GMO-free label on their product would be far more helpful to consumers than forcing every food maker in the county to place a scary “Produced with Genetic Engineering” label on their packaging.
Imposing such stringent labeling requirements in a small state like ours will limit choices to Massachusetts shoppers. It would be a costly and unnecessary regulation for big food companies, and a burden not worth tackling for smaller competitors. Many would simply chose not to distribute their produce in Massachusetts.
Abramson’s move to trim back Massachusetts’s outdated laws is a good idea. His effort to impose new labeling requirements based on Luddite fears is not.

See more at: http://www.unionleader.com/article/20160131/OPINION01/160139936/-1/opinion01#sthash.ZOrIt97P.dpuf