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The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Wednesday gave final approval to new genetically modified corn and soybeans developed by Dow AgroSciences that, while heavily criticized by environmentalists and some farmers, are portrayed by Dow as an answer to weed resistance problems that limit crop production. Approval of the specialty corn and soybeans to be sold as part of a branded "Enlist Weed Control System" means the traits could be on the market for the 2015 U.S. planting season, according to Dow AgroSciences, a unit of Dow Chemical.

Agriculture experts raised a number of concerns with genetically modified crops, including safety and spreading weed resistance, at the first public meeting of a a U.S. government sponsored study of genetically engineered crops held Monday. The study, led by the National Research Council (NRC) and sponsored in part by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, comes at a time of growing consumer suspicion of genetically modified crops, which are used in a variety of packaged food products. Many U.S. states are seeking mandatory labeling of foods with GMO ingredients, and a growing number of food companies are offering non-GMO products.

DuPont will pay a $1.85 million penalty to resolve allegations that the global chemical company did not properly disclose the risks of using one of its herbicides, leading to widespread damage to tree species through several U.S. states. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ordered DuPont to stop selling the herbicide, Imprelis, in August 2011 after the agency received more than 7,000 reports of tree damage or death tied to its use. Damage to trees, primarily Norway spruce and white pine, was reported throughout Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin and several other Midwest states.

Opponents of mandatory labeling for foods made with genetically modified organisms spent more than $27 million in the first six months of this year on GMO-related lobbying, roughly three times their spending in all of 2013, according to an analysis released Wednesday. The Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) and major food makers such as Coca-Cola Co and PepsiCo Inc and top biotech seed makers Monsanto Co and DuPont were among heavy spenders on GMO labeling-related lobbying, among other food issues, according to a report issued by the Environmental Working Group.

DuPont will pay a fine of $1.275 million and spend an estimated $2.3 million more to settle claims by U.S. officials that the global chemical conglomerate failed to prevent toxic releases of hazardous substances in West Virginia that killed at least one man, environmental regulators said on Wednesday. E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co reached the settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Justice in a case about eight alleged releases of harmful levels of hazardous substances between May 2006 and January 2010 from a DuPont facility in Belle, West Virginia, the EPA said.

A group of global biotech crop companies won a court victory on Monday that blocks enactment of a law passed last year limiting the planting of biotech crops and use of pesticides on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. U.S. Magistrate Judge Barry Kurren of the U.S. District Court in Hawaii ruled that the law passed in November by local leaders on the island was invalid because it was pre-empted by Hawaii state law.

U.S. regulators on Tuesday said they are leaning toward approval of a new line of herbicide-tolerant crops developed by Monsanto Co even though they could increase problematic weed resistance for farmers. Under the draft "environmental impact statement" (EIS) by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), the agency said its analysis shows the new genetically modified cotton and soybean plants should be approved.

Kansas voters will get to weigh in Tuesday on a right-wing food fight as part of a Congressional House race, while in neighboring Missouri the son of former Attorney General John Ashcroft seeks to follow in his father's footsteps. In all, four states are holding primary elections Tuesday, with Kansas, Missouri, Michigan and Washington voters taking to the polls. One Kansas race drawing national attention is a contest for the state's 4th District congressional seat between incumbent Republican Mike Pompeo and challenger Todd Tiahrt.

One year after the launch of a social media effort to allay consumers' concerns about the safety of foods made from genetically modified crops, U.S. companies that develop GMOs have further committed to a multimillion-dollar campaign to defeat attempts to add GMO labels to such foods. "We are not going to sit down for that (labeling)," Cathleen Enright, spokeswoman for the effort, said in an interview. "We want people to know how their food is grown ... we support a right to know. It is the mechanism that we can't abide."

A class of insecticides popular with corn and soybean farmers in the U.S. Midwest but feared as a factor in the decline of U.S. honey bee colonies and other crop pollinators, has been found to be widespread through rivers and streams in Iowa, according to a government study released on Thursday. The study, released by the U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, marks the first broad-scale investigation of multiple neonicotinoid insecticides in waterways in the Midwestern U.S., and is one of the first conducted within the entire United States, according to the government scientists.