Agricultural Regs & Ethics
Organic farmer says “no” to organic-led ‘New MacDonald’ GMO demonization campaign
Polarizing "New McDonald" video sparks outrage among organic farmers more interested in sustainable farming than winning debate points. Will this ...
Oregon legislature divided on GMO “contamination” bills
Backers of two bills that would allow the state to regulate where genetically modified crops could be grown in Oregon ...
Is the antibiotics miracle about to end–And to what end?
Predictions that we might sacrifice the antibiotic miracle have been around almost as long as the drugs themselves. Penicillin was ...
Why do strawberries taste like straw, and can genetics bring flavor back to the big red berry
The modern supermarket strawberry looks sumptuous but often tastes like...well, straw. With a bit of help from modern genetics, can ...
Are Sygenta Viptera lawsuits appropriate reaction to GMO trade problems? US farmers split
Ask just about any farmer leader if they support science and innovation in agriculture and the answer will usually be ...
Forty years of food technology brought famine-riddled countries back from brink
In the mid-1970s, the outlook for food supplies around the world was grim. There were talks of "food triage" — food-rich ...
Genome editing more efficiently targets desirable traits in crops
A novel strategy to enhance genome editing promises to increase the efficiency of making genetic improvements in a wide range ...
Chemophobe activists vilify glyphosate, herbicide less toxic than many ‘natural’ alternatives
The latest scare tactic of the chemophobe lobby promotes the fear of chemicals in food. They seem oblivious to the ...
‘Contamination insurance’ for Australian non-GMO farmers?
Western Australian Greens Senator Rachel Siewert is calling for a national “contamination insurance scheme” to help protect farmers who choose not ...
New RNA gene technology fights potato beetles, reduces pesticides
Colorado potato beetles are a dreaded pest of potatoes all over the world. Since they do not have natural enemies ...
Despite big spending, food industry not winning GM labeling debate
Despite two decades of assurances from biotechnology firms, food processors, federal regulators and even a substantial share of scientists that ...
Only Organic, Stonyfield’s Gary Hirshberg promote “hate speech” against American farming?
A consortium of organic companies under the banner of Only Organic and led by the founder of Stonyfield Farm hired ...
Humans have been playing god with farm crops for 1000s of years, and that’s okay
Some time ago I was listening to a BBC-podcast called ’the world history in 100 objects’. The episode centered around ...
Study: GMO labels won’t deter consumers
Food and biotechnology giants fighting against mandatory labeling of genetically engineered food (commonly known as GMOs) claim that it would ...
Federal GMO labeling bill garners support from skeptical growers
The failures of statewide GMO labeling initiatives and the possibility that the courts will throw out the Vermont mandatory law ...
Parkinson’s disease: Nature, nurture or bad luck?
Scientists have long known that genes alone cannot explain why some people get Parkinson’s and others don’t. While a handful ...
Did Bill Nye, the anti-GMO guy, just flip? After visiting Monsanto? Stay tuned
The 'Science Guy' has not yet announced how his views about GMOs have changed--he has been a skeptic for years--but ...
Anti-GMO activists circulate Judy Carman’s latest suspect “study” to fan safety fears
Australian researcher whose study alleging GMO feed caused inflammation in pigs was widely discredited now claims more than 80% of ...
Food movement glorifies organic food but disdains average farmers
I'm a dodo bird. Or maybe a passenger pigeon. As a corn and soybean farmer, a chemical spraying, fertilizer spreading, ...
Conflicting principles: Are anti-GMO groups abusing public records transparency laws?
A succession of stories in recent weeks involving scientists and open records requests have anguished many who cherish two ideals: academic ...
Bioethicist calls for tighter regulation of non transgenic gene edited crops
A survey of rice, wheat, barley, fruit, and vegetable crops found that most mutants created by advanced genetic engineering techniques ...
Is it a GMO? Smart phone scan could address label concerns, but anti-GMOers oppose it
In the ever-complicated debate over labeling of genetically modified foods, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack offers this idea: Use your smartphone ...
Cultural differences over food and GMOs dog US-Europe trade talks
Everyone in agriculture—from farmers, to agribusiness executives, to the professors who conduct agricultural research—says that decisions ranging from what to ...
Plant breeding blamed for gluten problems but evidence isn’t there
Wheat—and the main protein it contains, gluten—has been cited as a cause of weight gain, “brain fog,” skin rashes, joint ...
Bolivia plans genetically unique quinoa brand to tap into gluten free mania
Australia and the United States, two of the world's biggest wheat exporters, are racing to become mass producers of the ...
Dicamba-resistant crops aim to fight ‘superweeds’ but critics worry about environment
To counter a "superweed" epidemic plaguing farmers, agribusiness giant Monsanto is steadily moving forward on the introduction of its next ...
Washington’s apple growers fear stigma by association after GM apple approval
The debate over genetically modified organisms didn’t end in 2013, when this state’s voters narrowly rejected an initiative that would ...
