Fertilized salmon eggs.

     Next on your dinnerplate - GM salmon. A company named AquaBounty says it is nearing FDA approval for a genetically re-engineered version of the Atlantic salmon. Although altered genes have been part of the American diet for decades - particularly in corn and soybeans - no such animals have so far been approved for human consumption. Writing for the McClatchy news organization, reporter Les Blumenthal wrote yesterday that AquaBounty plans to sell only fish eggs, and that each egg would produce a sterile female. These fish would be raised in net-pens, would get about as big as unaltered salmon, and would grow to market weight in about 18 months, rather than the 18 months it takes to raise a regular salmon. Salmon growers would have a huge incentive to buy the eggs, but naysayers rebel at the introduction of yet another genetically modified organism into the world's food supply. To read more about the issue, check out Blumenthal's story here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/07/11/97277/fda-nears-approval-of-genetically.html#storylink=misearch

Beth Gugino talks veggies.

     Sunny days and high temps put a clamp on crop diseases this summer, but growers need to stay vigilant according to Penn State plant pathologist Beth Gugino. She made her remarks at a twilight meeting last week at the Kutztown Produce Auction. Bugs are bigger problem this year, she told her listeners, and the right kind of fleeting weather conditions can spark an outbreak of many crop diseases. Lancaster Farming staff writer Chris Torres travelled to the meeting and prepared a report which you can read in our current edition. Or you can read it here: http://www.lancasterfarming.com/node/3087 


     This could give you nightmares: http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/video/headbangin-parrot/1jrmoh8yx