Theft of vehicle parts investigated in Potter County…McKean County ATV accident investigated…Fire destroys two Johnsonburg houses…..Gillett resident arrested for assaulting woman….PSU Study finds GE labeling reduces food sales….
Potter County
A theft occurring August 10 or 11 in Bingham Township is being investigated by state police at Coudersport. Thieves stole three commercial vehicle batteries; three passenger vehicle
batteries, a lawn mower battery, 100 pounds of copper wire and about 50 pounds of copper pipe. Value of the stolen items is estimated to be $875. Anyone with information is asked to contact state police at 814.274.8690.
A 52 year old Lancaster, PA man was arrested by Coudersport state police for DUI/drugs after stopping his 2004 Toyota Highlander on East Main Street in Galeton during the early morning of July 2. Police claim they found Michael Deangelis in possession of drugs and paraphernalia.
McKean County
State police at Lewis Run investigated an ATV accident on private property on Sackett Hollow in Norwich Township Tuesday afternoon. Troopers said the victim was flown by Mercy Flight from the scene with non-life threatening injuries and is expected to make a full recovery.
Elk County
Two residential dwellings on High Street Johnsonburg were destroyed by fire of undetermined origin early Tuesday morning. The
total loss is estimated to be $200,000. There were no injuries . Flames broke out a few minutes before 4:00 am.
Tioga County
An attempted burglary at a Tioga County business is being investigated by state police at Mansfield. Someone jammed a piece of metal into the door latch at Mead’s Greenhouse in Mansfield Monday morning but entry was not gained even though the door casing was damaged.
A 52 year old Gillett, PA man is being charged with physical harassment for an assault allegedly occurring on the night of August 1 on Route 328
in Lawrence Township, Tioga County. Troopers report an argument between the suspect and a 42 year old woman became physical.
Minor injuries were reported for one driver after a minor rear-end collision Sunday afternoon in Osceola Township. Mansfield state police say Joseph Kaufman of Pine Grove, PA was following too closely and allowed his Hyundai 380 GT to run into the back of a Honda Accord driven
by Jerry Plank of Elkland as Plank was turning right onto Tuscarora Street. Plank was taken by ambulance to Soldiers and Sailors Hospital. Kaufman and a14 year old passenger in Plank’s car were not hurt. Both vehicles were driven from the scene.
Troopers at Mansfield arrested 43 year old Eliel Moreno of Indianapolis, IN for DUI after pulling over his Nissan Altima on Route 6 in Richmond Township on the night of August for traffic violations.
Statewide
Labels alerting customers that products contain ingredients from genetically engineered plants may reduce sales, at least in the short term, according to a new study from a research team including an agricultural economist in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences.
The study analyzed sales trend data from Vermont after a law went into effect requiring labels on genetically engineered, or GE, foods — the only mandatory statewide GE labeling policy that ever has been implemented in the U.S.
The researchers found that after the law was implemented, sales of foods labeled as containing GE ingredients decreased by 5.9 percent. Meanwhile, sales of products labeled as not containing GE ingredients increased by 2.5 percent, and sales of organic products — which by law cannot contain GE ingredients — increased by 1.7 percent.
According to the researchers, GE and genetically modified organisms, often referred to as GMOs, are essentially the same thing but used in different contexts, both referring to humans altering an organism’s DNA or RNA. For example, scientists have tweaked the genes of potatoes to make them more resistant to browning.
The researchers noted that foods containing GE plants have been available since the 1990s. On January 1, 2022, the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard went into effect in the U.S. The law requires manufacturers to label GE foods, which the law defines as those “that contain detectable genetic material that has been modified through certain lab techniques and cannot be created through conventional breeding or found in nature.”
For the study, the researchers analyzed sales data from InfoScan, an Information Resources Inc. system that includes barcode-level sales records at major regional and national chain stores. They compared data from Vermont in 2016 after the state implemented Act 120 to data from Oregon and Washington, which were close to passing a statewide mandatory GE labeling law but failed to do so.
Data included the sales records of canned soups that were labeled as containing GE ingredients as required under the new law. The researchers also studied sales trends of organic products and products labeled “non-GMO,” since these could be seen as alternatives for customers who did not want to buy the GE-labeled products.
The researchers found that while sales of GE-labeled foods decreased while the law was in effect, this trend reversed once the law was repealed.
The United States Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture helped support the research.