Agricultural Regs & Ethics
Modern European languages traced to waves of migrating ancient Russian herders
New DNA evidence suggests that herders from the grasslands of today's Russia and Ukraine carried the roots of modern European ...
Eaten alive: Crops can ‘feel’ insects eating them, providing clues to insect resistance
A new study arrived at the fairly gruesome conclusion that plants can feel insects eat them alive. And a specific type of plant, ...
Robots find genetic mutations in crops, accelerating breeding solutions
If you want to find what’s probably the best example of what robots are doing in crop development, come to ...
5 reasons how Consumer Reports rejects science on GMOs
Consumer Reports is escalating its opposition to GMO foods. Now, even responses to subscriber/customer inquiries are met with the a ...
The Death of death? Review of “Evolving Ourselves” and unnatural selection
The meat of this controversial new book is the immense array of futurist and transhumanist possibilities for driving change on ...
Investigative food journalism should go for more than the yuck factor
Recent articles in the UK news media have 'lifted the lid' on the production of convenience food. While on the ...
New genetically engineered peanuts resistant to pests, diseases
Peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is a major species of the family, Leguminosae, and economically important not only for vegetable oil but ...
Cornell Alliance students challenge ‘anti-GMO bullies’ over FOI demand
The Cornell Alliance for Science--a global initiative for science-based communications at Cornell University--has launched a petition to support biotech scientists ...
Crusaders slam GM foods, glyphosate, conventional agriculture
A “GMO Plenary” held last month in Missouri featured a panel of anti-GMO activists who discussed multiple health and environmental risks ...
Atrazine critic-scientist Tyrone Hayes’ own data shows frogs thriving in ag regions
An herbicide popular with farmers but targeted by environmentalists because it is supposedly responsible for chemically castrating frogs has been ...
Monsanto said to offer ‘sustainable solutions’ to arrest decades long monarch butterfly decline
Monarch butterflies are in trouble. These popular insects, which have captured the public imagination with their several-thousand mile migrations, have ...
GLP’s Top 6 Stories for the Week
This past week, here are the #TOP6 among many great stories on human and agriculture genetics around the world. Please ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...