Queensland scientists are developing a type of corn that could slow the progression of age-related blindness.Queensland Minister for Primary Industries and Fisheries, Tim Mulherin, said a DPI&F team is increasing the antioxidants in sweet corn that can stem age-related vision degeneration. “Macular degeneration is the leading cause of blindness in Australia, it is responsible for 48% of severe vision loss,” he reported. “There are an estimated 800,000 sufferers and this number... ...Read more »

ICM, Inc., a US leader in the ethanol industry, has announced that ethanol biorefineries will be capable of commercially producing both food and fuel in 2010. “We are talking about the ‘ethanol biorefinery of the future’…and very near future at that,” proclaimed Dave Vander Griend, founder, president and CEO of ICM. “Fifty years ago, the U.S. fed the world. We will be able to do that again with a food supply brought about by the evolution of ethanol production.” The... ...Read more »

DuPont science will help the world’s farmers increase their productivity and meet the growing global demand for grain, said William Niebur, DuPont vice president - DuPont Crop Genetics Research & Development, at an investors’ conference last week. “This is an extraordinary time in agriculture globally. It is critical that we use our best scientific tools to ensure global food security through sustainable increases in agricultural productivity,” Niebur said at the annual... ...Read more »

Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) is seeking public comment on changes it is considering making to the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code (the Code). The first change is a proposal to amend the Code to require the mandatory fortification of bread with iodine in Australia. The second follows an application from Syngenta Seeds Pty Ltd for permission to sell and use food derived from a new genetically modified (GM) variety of corn. When we receive an application to change food... ...Read more »

The Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) in America has blamed the food-for-fuel program for the high cost of commodities. The food-for-fuel legislation provides incentives to farmers to use corn in ethanol production and has seen production of ethanol triple over the past seven years. There has been a growing wave of discontent for the legislation as more than a quarter of corn is now directed to fuel instead of food production. It is considered that this then has a flow-on effect to... ...Read more »