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U.S. regulators have relied on flawed and outdated research to allow expanded use of an herbicide linked to cancer, and new assessments should be urgently conducted, according to a column published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Wednesday.There are two key factors that necessitate regulatory action to protect human health, according to the column: a sharp increase in herbicide applied to widely planted genetically modified (GMO) crops used in food, and a recent World Health Organization (WHO) determination that the most commonly used herbicide, known as glyphosate, is probably a human carcinogen.

A type of insecticide under scrutiny by the White House because of fears about its impact on honey bees has been found in more than half of streams sampled across the United States, according to a study by government researchers published Tuesday.The study, published in Environmental Chemistry and conducted by U.S. Geological Survey researchers, found that five types of insecticides that are known as neonicotinoids were present in varying degrees in 149 samples taken from 48 streams.

Several U.S. farm and consumer groups are working on strategies to derail a proposed tie-up of Monsanto Co and agricultural seeds and chemicals rival Syngenta AG, saying a combination of the market leaders would spell fewer and higher-priced products.Coalitions of opponents are being formed and market analyses being done, moves that underscore the hurdles U.S.-based Monsanto will face in any deal to take over Swiss-based Syngenta.

The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday passed a hotly debated measure that blocks any mandatory labeling of foods made with genetically engineered crops, including pre-empting a state law set to take effect next year in Vermont. Dubbed the Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act by supporters, but the "Deny Americans the Right to Know" or DARK Act, by opponents, the measure was approved 275-150 with 45 Democrats voting for the bill.

As Monsanto Co struggles to convince rival Syngenta AG to discuss a potential merger, the seed and agrochemical giant is also wooing U.S. farmers, aiming to ease concerns about the proposed tie-up that could prompt regulatory challenges.Company executives have been criss-crossing the U.S. heartland, meeting with soybean and corn growers and a range of powerful farm lobby organizations to seek their support, company and farm officials say. And the company has launched a website promoting the benefits of the proposed $45 billion acquisition of Syngenta, which the Swiss company has thus far rebuffed.

U.S. food companies and other opponents of genetically modified food labeling notched a key victory on Tuesday as the House Agriculture Committee approved a measure banning mandatory labeling as well as local efforts to regulate genetically engineered crops.The move demonstrates fresh momentum for those seeking to block mandated labeling of foods made with GMO crops, food industry advocates said.

Monsanto Co, whose Roundup product is one of the world's most widely used herbicides, said on Tuesday it has arranged for an outside scientific review of a World Health Organization finding that the weed killer's key ingredient probably causes cancer.The WHO's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) said in March that it had concluded that the ingredient, called glyphosate, was probably carcinogenic after reviewing a range of scientific literature.

Monsanto President Brett Begemann on Thursday told U.S. soybean growers that if it buys Syngenta, the combined company would be run out of the United States and enough Syngenta operations would be shed to ensure continued market competition for seeds and chemicals."There will be good competition. Whatever choice was available before the transaction, if there is one, will be available after the transaction," Begemann said in a presentation to the United Soybean Board (USB) in Des Moines, Iowa.

The White House on Thursday directed the three U.S. agencies that oversee biotech crop products to improve and modernize their regulatory "framework" to boost public confidence in a system that critics call a failure.The order, announced in a statement by President Barack Obama's Office of Science and Technology Policy, followed demands by consumers, food-related organizations and businesses for tighter U.S. regulation of genetically modified (GMO) crops, amid a nationwide debate over whether they should be labeled.

Monsanto Co's efforts to expand its agrichemical interests beyond what has long been its bread-and-butter glyphosate herbicide business were underscored on Wednesday by news the company plans to invest potentially more than $1 billion in a production facility for an alternative herbicide.Monsanto officials expect to spend the money over the next three to five years expanding a plant in Luling, Louisiana, to produce the weed-killing agent called dicamba. Luling has been a key location for glyphosate production for years.