Farming in the papers – Monday 3 November

A GM soya bean which could help to prevent heart attacks has been approved for sale in the USA, reported the Times.

The bean, trialled at the University of South Dakota, contains Omega 3, a healthy fish oil.

An soya oil made from the bean will be used in spreads, yoghurts and cereal bars by about 2011. But the products will still be banned in the EU – prompting the NFU to question the EU’s strict anti-GM policy.

The EU has dismissed Sainsbury’s “Save our ugly fruit and veg” campaign as a PR stunt, reported The Grocer.

Sainsbury’s campaign is trying to reduce waste – about 20% of British onions are currently being discarded because they are the wrong shape or size under EU rules.

But the EU is already working towards relaxing these regulations, said Mariann Fischer Boel, the EU Agriculture Commissioner. She also complained that supermarkets pushed the demand for “perfect” veg in the first place.

• Top agricultural students will be grilled in a competition described as “a cross between the Apprentice and Dragons’ Den” at the Royal Agricultural College in Cirencester. The rural entrepreneurs will solve a business problem in just six hours for a panel of judges from Kellogg’s, Asda and Ginsters.