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Four U.S. lawmakers joined with more than 200 food companies, organic farming groups, health and environment organizations and other groups on Thursday to urge President Barack Obama to require manufacturers to label food products that contain genetically engineered ingredients. The groups delivered a letter to the president dated January 16 reminding Obama of a campaign pledge the groups said he made in 2007 as he campaigned in Iowa to work to label so-called GMO foods. The issue is hotly contested, with more than 20 states considering laws to mandate labeling of foods made with gene-altered corn, soybeans, sugar beets and other biotech crops. Currently, labeling of such foods is voluntary.

The Grocery Manufacturers Association, which represents more than 300 food companies, is preparing a petition to the chief U.S. food safety regulator and a push in Congress to require changes in oversight and labeling of new genetically modified foods, an association leader said Monday. The double-pronged strategy, which the group expects roll out early this year, is aimed at squelching state-by-state efforts to mandate labeling of foods containing biotech crops, and at the same time setting a standard that among other things would authorize GMO foods to be touted as "natural."

Monsanto Co, the world's largest seed company, reported higher-than-expected quarterly earnings on Wednesday as a rise in herbicide sales offset a decline in its corn business. The company also said it was making fast progress on more than two dozen new projects and was laying the groundwork for an extension of its precision farming platform, which uses data and technology to prescribe production tools for individual farmers. Shares of Monsanto were up 2.3 percent at $115.44 in afternoon trading. Analysts lauded the company's performance, saying it reflected a good balance of high-margin herbicide sales and advances in the seed businesses.

Monsanto Co, the world's largest seed company, said Wednesday it was making good progress on development of an herbicide-tolerant wheat, pushing what would be the world's first biotech wheat a step closer to market. Monsanto is already a leading developer of biotech corn, soybeans and other crops and the company has long tried to bring to market a wheat genetically altered to tolerate spraying of glyphosate, the key ingredient in Monsanto's Roundup herbicide.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Friday it was leaning towards a long-awaited approval of Dow AgroSciences' genetically altered "Enlist" corn and soybeans that have been heavily criticized by groups who say they will harm the environment. The Enlist seeds are designed to be used in combination with a new herbicide developed by Dow that combines the weed-killers 2,4-D, known for its use in the Agent Orange defoliant, and glyphosate.

Three Chinese nationals - including one who attended a gala dinner for the then-vice president of China - have been charged in two separate cases of trying to steal seed-technology, trade secrets under development in the United States, authorities said on Thursday. After a two-year investigation, a executive working for a Chinese conglomerate was arrested on charges of stealing inbred corn seed from production fields in Iowa and Illinois and trying to smuggle it into China, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa Nicholas Klinefeldt said.

Monsanto Co, the world's largest seed company, said Tuesday that a deal with Danish company Novozymes to form a long-term research and development alliance should accelerate the release of microbial-based products designed to improve crop production. The news helped to slightly lift shares in St. Louis-based Monsanto, and analysts said while the biological work is not likely to offer a near-term revenue boost, it does hold long-term promise.

Both sides of the costly and high-stakes GMO labeling battle in Washington state say they see an even bigger national fight ahead despite the apparent defeat of the mandatory labeling measure by Washington state voters this week. The measure died 47.05 percent to 52.95 percent, according to results updated Thursday night by the Washington Secretary of State's office as results continued to trickle in. The likely loss followed a similar defeat last year in California when a ballot initiative there also failed to pass.

DuPont Pioneer, the agricultural seed unit of DuPont, said Friday that it has aligned with farm machinery company Deere & Co in a race against rival Monsanto Co to provide farmers with enhanced "precision agriculture" analyses aimed at maximizing crop production. The programs these companies will roll out next year will give farmers guidance on a number of field management decisions, including planting, crop treatment, pest control and even the best time to harvest.

A lobbying group for major U.S. food manufacturers continues to run afoul of campaign finance laws in the way that it has contributed funds to block a measure that would require labeling of genetically modified foods in Washington state, according to a statement issued Wednesday by the state's attorney general. State Attorney General Bob Ferguson said he will amend a lawsuit filed October 16 to raise the total amount he alleges the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) illegally concealed to $11 million, from the $7.2 million in the original complaint.