BIOTECH, FOOD LABELING:

Stabenow sides with organic companies after fundraiser - Politico - Mar 15 - By John Bresnahan and Anna Palmer

Four organic-food industry executives held a fundraiser on Friday for Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow ? the Senate?s leading Democrat on agriculture issues ? just days before the chamber was set to take up a controversial bill with hundreds of millions of dollars on the line for U.S. food companies.

Link:?http://www.politico.com/story/2016/03/stabenow-raises-money-from-organic-food-companies-as-gmo-bill-comes-up-220769

Senate Dems block GMO labeling bill - The Hill - Mar 16 - By Jordain Carney

Senate Democrats on Wednesday blocked legislation that would create a voluntary national standard for labeling rules for foods with genetically modified organisms (GMOs)..."[We're voting on]?whether or not to prevent a wrecking ball from hitting our entire food supply chain," he said, adding that state laws will cause "havoc."

Link: http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/senate/273237-senate-dems-block-gmo-labeling-bill Anti-GMO Students Bruise a Superbanana - The Wall Street Journal - Mar 14 - Commentary by Julie Kelly

Research on the vitamin-fortified fruit could help malnourished Africans, but well-fed collegians at Iowa State University want no part.

Link: http://www.wsj.com/articles/anti-gmo-students-bruise-a-superbanana-1457998345 Have farmers been accidentally creating GM crops for 3,000 YEARS? Grafting ancient plants caused them to share genes -?Daily Mail (UK) - Mar 15 - By Richard Gray [It] appears genetic engineering may be far older than previously realised as ancient farmers may have been doing it accidentally for millennia. Link: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3493287/Have-farmers-accidentally-creating-GM-crops-3-000-YEARS-Analysis-shows-ancient-crops-grafted-fuse-species-together.html

Future of gene-editing hangs in the balance?- Food Manufacture (UK) - Mar 11 -?By Noli Dinkovski

The fate of growing gene-edited crops in the UK hangs in the balance with the European Commission set to publish a report on whether they should be considered genetically-modified organisms (GMOs).

Link:?http://www.foodmanufacture.co.uk/Ingredients/Gene-edited-crops-faces-uncertainty

TRADE:

Anti-trade Republicans press Trump advantage - The Hill - Mar 15 - By Alexander Bolton

The anti-globalization message has also won support in the Democratic primary, where Bernie Sanders was the upset victor in Michigan over Hillary Clinton.

Link: http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/272974-anti-trade-republicans-press-trump-advantage

If You Dislike TPP, You Might Dislike The Alternative More - Forbes.com - Mar 15 - by John Brinkley

One thing you can count on is that America?s credibility among its friends and allies will take a beating.

Link:?http://www.forbes.com/sites/johnbrinkley/2016/03/15/if-you-dislike-tpp-you-might-dislike-the-alternative-more/#16c520c13930