PARAGUAY: The Dark Side of the Soy Boom

A sea of green stretches as far as the eye can see on both sides of the dirt road leading to the communities of Lima, Capiibary and Guayaibí, 250 km from the capital, in the northern Paraguayan department (province) of San Pedro, one of the country’s poorest.

PARAGUAY: Environmentalists Up in Arms Over Mega-Port

Residents, environmentalists and local and national authorities in Paraguay are at odds over the pros and cons of a port complex being built by U.S. agribusiness giant Cargill on the outskirts of the capital.

ROMANIA: GM Crops Unearthed, But Not Uprooted

Greenpeace has launched a major attack against production and marketing of genetically modified cereals in Romania.

ENVIRONMENT: Breakthrough on Mystery of Vanishing Bees

Over the past year, honey bees have been dying across North America in unprecedented numbers and, until this month, no one seemed to be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt what the cause may have been.

ALBANIA: Preserving a Beauty Called Biodiversity

It takes a short walk from the famous Velipoja beach in Shkodra town on the Adriatic coast to put behind the stresses of modern life, and the beach attractions themselves.

ENVIRONMENT: Malaysia to Enforce Labelling of GM Foods

A long-awaited law to make the labelling of genetically modified (GM) products mandatory is expected to be finally passed in Malaysian parliament this month and come into force by the end of the year.

ENVIRONMENT-US: “Bush Effect” Boosts Green Economy

A low-rise bungalow on a busy street here serves as the world headquarters and nerve centre for Whale Tails, a tortilla chip company dedicated to making healthier snack food - and healing the planet.

JAPAN: GM Soya for Biofuel – Boon for Organic Farmers

Plans in the United States to boost ethanol fuel production using genetically modified (GM) soybeans has raised cautious hopes among local farmers involved in organically grown crops as well as environmental and consumer groups.

DEVELOPMENT-TANZANIA: High Growth Still to Benefit the Poor

Just more than a year after Jakaya Kikwete was elected president of Tanzania his name was mentioned in the halls at the Africa Union (AU) summit in January in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, as the possible new chairperson of the AU.

ECONOMY-ZAMBIA: Maize Production (Almost) a Success Story

Zambia is poised to have a maize surplus this season but it is still unlikely that the food will reach many of the 58 percent of Zambians that are classified as extremely poor.

ENVIRONMENT: GE Crops Slow to Gain Global Acceptance

Widespread use of genetically engineered (GE) crops remains limited worldwide, even as growing weed and pest issues are forcing farmers to use ever greater amounts of pesticides.

ENVIRONMENT-BRAZIL: Transgenic Cotton Ploughs Its Way Through Congress

In Brazil, cotton is following in soy's footsteps. Transgenic cotton varieties, smuggled into the country in recent years, may now be legalised by a draft law already quietly approved by the lower house of Congress.

ENVIRONMENT-ROMANIA: GM Soy to Be Banned

Environmentalists in Romania have secured a victory in getting genetically modified (GM) soy finally banned.

ENVIRONMENT-CHILE: Time for Straight Talk about Transgenics?

In Chile, transgenic seeds may only be planted to produce crops for export. However, imported transgenic foods can be eaten here.

ENVIRONMENT: Monsanto Stands Firm on GM Maize in Mexico

The powerful biotech corporation Monsanto, which anti-genetic modification activists charge is corrupt, maintains that it has a positive image around the world and announces that it will continue to fight to ensure that Mexico, birthplace of maize, will open its doors to transgenic varieties of the grain.

ENVIRONMENT: Mexico Shuts the Door on GM Maize

Ending the reason for protests by environmental activists, and much to the frustration of some scientists and multinational corporations, Mexico has moved to ban experimental fields of genetically modified (GM) maize. But the gateway into Mexico of transgenic maize, in the form of unlabeled grain imports, remains ajar.

ENVIRONMENT-CHILE: Keep Chiloe Free of Transgenics, Say Activists

Environmentalists are demanding that Chilean authorities declare the southern archipelago of Chiloé - 1,190 km south of Santiago - a transgenic-free zone, and recognise it as a birthplace of the potato (Solanum tuberosum), alongside Bolivia and Peru.

TRADE: GE Rice Scare Shows Vulnerability of Food Supply

The revelation that commercial rice in the United States was found to be contaminated with an unlicensed genetically engineered strain shows how easily the food supply in the United States and in countries importing U.S. food can be tainted, watchdog groups say.

BALKANS: Sanctions Can Be Healthy

It was only after a sharp rise in the number of patients with the same symptoms in southern Serbian town Leskovac that doctors began to look for the cause.

BIODIVERSITY: Billions Needed to Win Race Against Species Loss

A two-week international conference on biodiversity here came to an end Friday on a mixed note of hope and despair, with some delegates describing the outcome as a moment to celebrate, but others expressing disappointment with the slow pace of progress in talks on how to implement decisions made some 14 years ago.

BIODIVERSITY: Environmentalists, Indigenous People Disappointed by COP8

Environmental and indigenous activists are leaving the eighth Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP8), which ended Friday in this southern Brazilian city, with a sense of disappointment, because of the absence both of practical decisions and of their participation in key negotiations.