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TOP HEADLINES
Washington Week Ahead: House sets final debate on GMO disclosure:
With Congress about to break for the summer, the House is set this week to consider sending to President Obama an historic compromise on biotech food labeling [Agri-Pulse].
USDA assures House chairman on GMO disclosure bill:
House Agriculture Chairman Mike Conaway says the Senate-passed GMO disclosure bill is “riddled with ambiguity,” but he declared his support for its passage after the Agriculture Department assured him among other things that the legislation would nullify Vermont’s labeling law [Agri-Pulse].
With QR codes, Sen. Pat Roberts finds compromise on GMO labeling:
U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts may have found a bipartisan resolution to the nation’s patchwork of GMO labeling laws but that hasn’t extinguished fiery debates over his latest legislation [Topeka Capital-Journal].
STATE ISSUES
Beer, farming, religion, education among load of state questions likely on November ballot:
Although only two state questions have officially been put on the ballot, prospects are nearly certain that several more will await voters at the polls on Nov. 8 [Tulsa World].
State Agriculture Dept not happy with proposed organic rules:
The Oklahoma Department of Agriculture is not entirely happy with new organic production standards proposed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, officials said [Journal Record].
Legislators join Oklahoma’s annual New York visit with bond advisers:
Top Oklahoma state officials got a dose of fiscal reality during a trip to New York [The Oklahoman].
MISCELLANEOUS
Liberals and the science of GMOs:
On scientific issue after scientific issue, it is not objective reality but people’s passions and biases that tend to color the debate [Washington Monthly].
Democrats are not speaking loudly enough to be heard in rural America:
The Democratic Party needs rural votes to secure a decisive victory in the race for the presidency, and to win back the Senate and make real progress in the fight for the House of Representatives [The Nation].
Food giants set their sights on organic, natural companies:
Food giants that have struggled to turn around stagnating sales are targeting smaller companies that have tapped into consumers’ growing desire for simpler, more natural products [Wall Street Journal].
