Agricultural Regs & Ethics
Why seed saving and traditional farming may not be the most sustainable way to farm
Trying to protect farmers’ rights to save seeds only has an economic importance in low productivity systems where the benefits ...
Is anti-biotech mandatory labeling lobby now acknowledging GMOs are safe?
Two competing federal bills are working their way through Congress that would override the mishmash of state-by-state GMO labeling laws. One of ...
Study claims organic farmers earn more than non-organic counterparts
Growing organic food can be significantly more profitable than traditional farming, netting organic farmers 22 percent to 35 percent more than their conventional counterparts, ...
Would Monsanto-Syngenta merger trigger reorganization of seed business?
The new mega-corporation formed in the proposed deal between Monsanto and Syngenta would be “the world’s largest seed and crop ...
Anti-GMO bungle: Claim GM genes pass from food into blood collapses
In 2013, when PLoS One published a research paper, Complete Genes May Pass from Food to Human Blood, anti-GMO activists ...
By implying GMO ingredients less safe, labeling fails test for rationality
The gratuitous controversy continues over whether foods from plants and animals that have been genetically engineered should be labeled as ...
Is agroecology the key to feeding the world?
Developing alternatives to predominant systems takes time. The encouraging news is that progress is underway. Around the world, communities are ...
Lesson to India? Bangladesh got GMO approval by challenging ‘devious’ environmentalists
Bangladesh Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury has set an example by politically challenging extreme environmentalists and private-enterprise-hating ideologues, which is in ...
Genetic modification of trees faces forest of protests
Genetic modification of trees could help mitigate climate change and increase wood and paper production. But opposition to even basic ...
GMOs needed to avert global water shortages
The UN’s annual World Water Development Report, published last March, warned that unless the balance between demand and supplies is ...
The Case for GMOs and Sustainability
From conventional breeding to mutagenesis, none of our foods that we eat today is the product of Nature’s way. But ...
Proposed Costa Rican GMO moratorium prompts worried letter from U.S. ambassador
The United States is expressing its concern over a proposed 15-year moratorium on the cultivation of genetically modified crops and ...
Neil Young’s new anti-GMO song confuses science on Starbucks, Monsanto
Veteran rocker Neil Young, one of the founders of Farm Aid, is releasing a new album called “The Monsanto Years,” ...
Cattle breeders develop genetically superior embryos for countries with less productive cows
Cows, like humans, take about nine months to carry a calf to term. But in the 1970s, American cattlemen began ...
Pro-GMO marchers shocked at unfocused anger of March Against Monsanto protesters
The most striking and at times frightening aspect of the March Against Monsanto was the unfocused vitriol voiced by the ...
Fact-checking pro-organic lobby group GMO ‘facts’, attacks on conventional agriculture
Fact-checking pro-organic lobby group Cornucopia.org's 'facts' yield surprising results ...
Jackson County, Oregon GMO ban to take effect in June after federal judge ruling
A federal judge in southern Oregon on May 29 rejected a request by two alfalfa farms to block Jackson County's ban ...
Seattle Times: USDA’s GMO verification smarter than mandatory labeling
Many consumers want to know whether their food contains genetically modified ingredients, and some businesses are responding with the help of ...
Non-GMO labels promote superstition; Scan code labels would provide context
A couple of weeks ago I was deeply disappointed to read that the USDA might get involved in an aspect ...
Seed savers bank on genetic diversity for resilience in face of climate change
Hundreds of seed exchanges—in which hobbyists and professional green thumbs share the most resilient plants from their crops—have sprung up ...
Will organic farmers embrace precision gene editing if ancient wild traits are restored?
What’s in a name? A lot, if the name is genetically modified organism, which many people are dead set against ...
Hungary may be first in Europe to ban GMOs in agriculture
The growing anti-GMO movement has gained traction in Europe as Hungary aims to be the first European Union nation to ...
Indian prime minister breaks silence, calls for introduction of GM crops
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday pushed for technology-driven agriculture, including genetically engineered crops such as pulses, to boost farmer ...
Why a mother changed her mind on GMOs after Monsanto tour
On April 25, I was fortunate enough to tour Monsanto’s research center in St. Louis, Missouri, with a group of ...
Anti-GMO stance by Greenpeace, other environmental activists, worsen climate change
The evidence suggests that GM crops can and do contribute to reducing global climate change. But high profile environmental groups, ...
Pest developing resistance to phased out variety of GMO Bt corn, cotton
A new study from North Carolina State University and Clemson University finds the toxin in a widely used genetically modified ...
Scientist mom evaluates Simplot’s GMO Innate potato
The recently approved GMO potato offers some unique advantages, including better color and lower levels of acrylamide, which has been ...
