Summary of newspapers of the previous days – 18. – 20. 9. 2009

Bio-foods are not cheat, Frenchmen assert

Organic farming in the Czech Republic increases and an assortment is wide, however, despite the fact there is still little of it. Bio-foods are really healthy. It is not dealt with any forgery as it was asserted recently in some media. According to a French office for food safety Agence France de Securite Sanitaire des Aliments (AFSSA), bio-foods are much healthier than foods grown in a common agricultural production. “For example meat of cows and sheep contain as much as four-times less fat when animal are fed with grass and not concentrates used in large-scale raisings”, Denis Lairon tells who more than two year led a team of 50 experts researching bio-foods in AFSSA.

Bee-keepers in Zahrada Čech: This year´s honey production is under-average

This year´s honey production is under average in all the Czech Republic. According to bee-keepers exhibiting at today opened fair Zahrada Čech (Garden of Bohemia) in Litoměřice, breeders got roughly by 40 percent of honey less this year against last years. A honey price grows because of it. The same as last year, there almost was not dark honeydew, Petr Táborský from a presidency of the Czech Bee-keepers Union said to ČTK. A lower honey harvest was caused above all by the weather. Owing to fast coming of spring bee colonies did not have enough time to strengthen and to use a first productive harvest from fruit trees and rape.

Tens of Czech farmers prepare to sell milk from automats

Tens of Czech farmers plan to sell fresh milk by means of special automats directly to consumers. A sale for significantly higher price than dairy works pay could help to especially smaller producers in coping with a crisis caused by low buy-out prices. ČTK found it in an inquiry among farmers and automat producers. In last months many similar automats were successfully initiated in Slovakia and Hungary. They are also spread in Italy, Austria and Switzerland for many years.

Gene modifications henceforth taboos

Swiss agriculture should stay without gene modifications. Therefore the government wants to prolong a moratorium ending in November 2010 by three years. In Switzerland, commercial growing of genetically modified plants and breeding of transgenic utility animals are forbidden according to law. A sowing of genetically modified plants is allowed only for research purposes. A benefit and risks of gene modifications is examined already for three and half years in frame of a national research program approved by the government. A final report is expected in half of 2012. On base of scientific results it will be decided on further political progress in question of gene modifications,