Agricultural Regs & Ethics
Mother plants pass on ‘memories’ of weather, helping seeds know when to sprout
Mother knows best—even if Mom is a plant. A common flowering plant, Arabidopsis, hands down “memories” of recent temperatures to ...
Organic food processor SunOpta to have first USDA-verified non-GMO label
A little-known but publicly traded organic food processing company, SunOpta, has persuaded the federal government that its system for detecting ...
Middle ground: Organic vs. conventional farming isn’t helping anyone
I'm pleased to see more people making the connections between our food choices, our health, and our impact on the ...
Monsanto slammed for Syngenta takeover proposal
Once an industrial-chemical titan, GMO seed giant Monsanto has rebranded itself as a "sustainable agriculture company." That rhetoric may have ...
USDA develops GMO-free label on behalf of unidentified company
The Agriculture Department has developed the first government certification and labeling for foods that are free of genetically modified ingredients ...
Activists in Argentina threaten life of biotech scientist Jose Miguel Mulet
Dear readers. As you know by the last post I am doing a tour to promote "Eat Without Fear" by ...
Transgenic solution to virus-threatened African cassava faces anti-GMO protests
The cassava, a key African staple especially valued because of its drought tolerance, is threatened by numerous viruses. Conventional agriculture ...
Honeybee deaths increase over past year
More than two out of five American honeybee colonies died in the past year, and surprisingly the worst die-off was ...
Politics of Indian farmer suicides
If the National Crime Records Bureau of India (NCRB) data is to be taken seriously, on an average over 15,000 ...
Removing antibiotics from food makes a difference, removing GMOs doesn’t
A lot of food companies are jumping on the transparency bandwagon. Panera, Chipotle, and Pepsi are labeling foods and removing ...
India changes tune and permits GM crop trials but states still block research
Five years ago, India was a hostile place for researchers testing genetically modified (GM) crops. Its government barred the commercial ...
Decades of research lead to new soybean diversity, rust-resistant soybean
It took decades of painstaking work, but research geneticist Ram Singh managed to cross a popular soybean variety ("Dwight" Glycine ...
Activists missing point: GMOs proxy for other concerns
In a recent article, Beth Skwarecki writes about the fact that people who are opposed to GMOs (genetically modified organisms) are ...
In defense of Chipotle: GMOs may be safe to eat but they aren’t safe to grow
Critics of Chipotle’s new GMO-free menu claim the restaurant chain is pandering to paranoia and that GM foods are perfectly ...
Video: Bill Nye explains conversion to GMO supporter
Bill Nye made waves last March when he changed his views on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) following a visit with ...
Organic foods claimed nutritional benefits rest on shaky anti-oxidant study
High Antioxidant meta-study criticized for being too inclusive, for not dismissing studies with flawed methodology used to support boasting claims ...
My journey from suburban mom and chef to GMO and science advocate
I’m a suburban mom. I became an accidental activist when I uncovered a nefarious corporate/government scheme to poison my food ...
Why GMOs? Challenging anti-technology conspiracy theories
Used appropriately, genetic engineering is a fantastic tool—to create new life-saving drugs and encourage cutting edge ecologically based farming techniques ...
If not anti-science, what’s in the heads and hearts of GMO opponents?
For years, supporters and opponents of genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) have debated questions ranging from the safety of engineered crops, to ...
Kauai residents win lawsuit against DuPont for property damage from farm test fields
A federal court jury has awarded more than $500,000 to 15 Kauai residents who say they can’t enjoy their homes ...
Why GMO-giant Monsanto made offer for Syngenta’s chemical-focused company
Over the last two decades Monsanto has cast off its century-long history as a chemical company and refashioned itself as ...
Mandatory GMO food label not backed by science
GMO safety, once questioned by science-minded liberals, are now widely seen as not only safe but a key tool in ...
GPS, drones, robots: Precision agriculture transforming food and farming
Thanks to what is known as “precision agriculture,” farmers can now collect precise data about their fields and use that ...
Amid review of glypohsate, EPA official said he favors biopesticides
The Environmental Protection Agency has wrapped up its review of the world's most widely used herbicide and plans to release ...
Agroecology can ‘save the world’ from GMO-led industrial agriculture
Imagine the scenario: world food production has become concentrated in the hands of a tiny elite who, backed by powerful ...
African rejection of hybrid and GMO seeds in favor of heirloom varieties promotes food crisis
Africa’s seed industry is complex and can be inefficient, with most farmers using the same seeds they have been planting for generations, unlike farmers ...
History of farming suggests science is not the enemy of natural and nutritious food
Many consumers have the impression that, until recently, food and food production was something little changed. This mistaken view is ...