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U.S. taxpayers are footing the bill for overseas lobbying that promotes controversial biotech crops developed by U.S.-based Monsanto Co and other seed makers, a report issued on Tuesday said. A review of 926 diplomatic cables of correspondence to and from the U.S. State Department and embassies in more than 100 countries found that State Department officials actively promoted the commercialization of specific biotech seeds, according to the report issued by Food & Water Watch, a nonprofit consumer protection group.

Monsanto Co. is pushing on with plans to introduce a controversial new type of herbicide-tolerant crop, and last week's decision by the U.S. government to extend its scrutiny of the proposed new crops should not spell a significant delay, a top company official said Tuesday. U.S.-based Monsanto is setting up 20 field locations around the United States to test and market its "Xtend" soybean product at the same time that company officials said they would be working quickly to provide the U.S. Department of Agriculture with additional study data to show the product's safety. The company continues to have a goal of securing regulatory approval by 2015 or shortly after, Monsanto Chief Technology Officer Robert Fraley said in an interview.

The Department of Agriculture said Friday it will extend its scrutiny of controversial proposed biotech crops developed by Dow AgroSciences, a unit of Dow Chemical, and Monsanto Co. after receiving an onslaught of opposition to the companies' plans. The news frustrated Dow officials who had hoped to have secured regulatory approval and have their new herbicide-tolerant corn called "Enlist" on the market by 2013 or 2014 at the latest. But 2015 is now likely the best hope for commercialization, said Dow AgroSciences spokeswoman Kenda Resler Friend. Farmers need the new technology to better manage weeds, she said.

Dangerous antibiotic-resistant bacteria has been found in ground turkey on U.S. grocery shelves across a variety of brands and stores located in 21 states, according to a report by a consumer watchdog organization. Of the 257 samples of ground turkey tested, more than half were found to be positive for fecal bacteria and overall, 90 percent were contaminated with one or more types of disease-causing organisms, many of which proved resistant to one or more common antibiotics, Consumer Reports found.

Heavy use of the world’s most popular herbicide, Roundup, may be linked to a range of health problems and diseases, including Parkinson’s, infertility and cancers, according to a new study.

The report, published this month in the online journal Entropy, said evidence indicates that residues of glyphosate, the chief ingredient in Roundup and other weedkillers, has been found in food.

Those residues enhance the damaging effects of other food-borne chemical residues and toxins in the environment to disrupt normal body functions and induce disease, according to the report, authored by Stephanie Seneff, a research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Anthony Samsel, a retired science consultant from the management consulting firm Arthur D. Little and a member of the Union of Concerned Scientists, an advocacy group.

New efforts to force labeling of foods made with genetically modified crops, including a bill introduced by U.S. lawmakers Wednesday, have struck a nerve with biotech crop developers who say they are rushing to roll out a broad strategy to combat consumer concerns about their products. Executives from Monsanto Co., DuPont, and Dow Chemical, among the world's largest developers of biotech crops and the chemicals used to help produce them, told Reuters this week they are putting together a campaign aimed at turning the tide on what they acknowledge is a growing public sentiment against genetically modified organisms (GMOs) used as ingredients in the nation's food supply.

Drought conditions across portions of the central United States continued to moderate as rain and snow boosted soil moisture in the past week, according to a report released on Thursday by state and federal climatologists. The "Drought Monitor" report, which tracks the land area affected by drought, said the High Plains, the region suffering the most from drought, was seeing significant relief.

Heavy use of the world's most popular herbicide, Roundup, could be linked to a range of health problems and diseases, including Parkinson's, infertility and cancers, according to a new study. The peer-reviewed report, published last week in the scientific journal Entropy, said evidence indicates that residues of "glyphosate," the chief ingredient in Roundup weed killer, which is sprayed over millions of acres of crops, has been found in food.

AquaBounty Technologies Inc expects regulatory approval by the fourth quarter of this year to produce its controversial genetically engineered salmon, its chief executive said on Tuesday. "There have been no new legal issues, no new regulatory issues, no new environmental issues raised," AquaBounty Technologies Chief Executive Ronald Stotish said on the sidelines of the BIO International Convention. "We should have approval before the end of the year."

Monsanto Co, the world's largest seed company, raised its full-year profit forecast on Wednesday after reporting a better-than-expected second quarter driven by strength in its global corn and herbicide businesses. Shares were up 1.5 percent after the company, a leading developer of genetically engineered corn, soybeans and other crops, said it expects to sell a record amount of corn this year as it expands product offerings and deepens its penetration in Latin America.