Agriculture & Food
We eat to live. Humans use approximately 11% of Earth’s land for the cultivation of crops for food, but also for clothing, medicine and biofuels. Globally, major crops include sugarcane, pumpkin, maize (corn), wheat, rice, cassava, soybeans, hay, potatoes and cotton.
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European bee policy criticized by industry
The new Guidance Document on Risk Assessment of Plant Protection Products on Bees sets unrealistic expectations and enforces measures that ...
Canada: Challenges to bee health are complex, banning neonicotinoids is not the answer
The following is an edited excerpt. The complexity of the issues facing bee health is, unfortunately, too frequently being overlooked ...
Hungary destroys all Monsanto GE crop fields
Hungary has destroyed 1000 acres of maize found to have been grown with Monsanto's genetically modified seeds, according to Hungary ...
Oregon: Groups battle GM crops using tactics from the fracking fight
Groups across Oregon are working to ban genetically modified crops at the county level through initiative petitions. Many of these ...
How weeds evolve
Depending on your point of view, barnyardgrass is a nightmare or a marvel. That’s because it’s a supremely triumphant weed ...
Grist story on ‘superweeds’ attempts to demonize biotech by describing evolution
Biotech crops, which represent almost all the corn, soy, and cotton grown in the U.S., have finally met their match ...
Bangladesh: GE eggplant set for approval
Bangladeshi scientists have readied the country’s first genetically modified (GM) crop — brinjal (also known as eggplant) infused with pest-resistant ...
GE labeling bill gets backing from natural-food, supplement group
The nation’s largest trade group for natural products is getting behind a legislative effort to require that consumers know when ...
Washington: State’s GE labeling battle attracts national interest
A national fight over labeling of genetically engineered foods is touching down in Washington this fall, fueled by money from ...
What’s the value of an “organic” label?
Supermarkets in North America and Europe are overflowing with organic-labelled fruit, vegetables, eggs and meats but consumers willing to pay ...
Grist: Genetic engineering versus natural breeding?
With a full understanding of the science, is genetic engineering really all that different than traditional breeding ...
Farmers continue to prefer biotech seeds—over 90 percent of soy, corn, & cotton are GE
Because of the environmental, economical and societal benefits they provide, genetically engineered (GE) varieties of soybeans, cotton and corn are ...
Judge to FDA: Decide whether GMOs belong in “natural” products
Lawyers argue that it's time for the FDA determine this matter once and for all, so such cases stop "needlessly ...
Call to action: Grist reevaluates crop biotechnology; It’s time the rest of journalism does too
Grist is taking a bold step in reevaluating its anti-GE stance. It's the latest in many milestones for reason and ...
A short list of points concerning genetic modification
Perhaps because I’ve had to repeat the following points many, many times–I’ve decided to put them in one place. I ...
Roseanne’s nuts about GMOs
Lately, a lot has been going on in the crop biotechnology arena in Hawai’i. There’s Hawai’i Bill 79, and Kaua’i ...
USDA chronicles rapid adoption of biotech crops
USDA recently released data summarizing the rapid adoption of herbicide-tolerant and insect-resistant crops since their introduction in 1996. Based on ...
US leads in GE production
The United States is the world’s top producer of genetically modified organisms (GMO), followed by Brazil. The International Service for ...
Italy moves to ban growing of GE maize type
Three Italian ministries have signed a decree banning the cultivation of a type of genetically modified maize, citing environmental concerns, ...
Anti-GE activists warns of “GE domino effect”
The following is an edited excerpt. Before the Connecticut's GE labeling law can take effect, four other states, including at ...
Food Fight: Public interest groups challenge CSPI position on GE labeling
A fight between public interest groups that has been simmering under the surface for years has busted out into public ...
Cornell geneticist seeks to reinvent broccoli
The following is an edited excerpt. Broccoli hates too much heat, which is why 90 percent of it sold in ...
The biotech IPO scene turns red hot
The following is an edited excerpt. During all of last year there were only 11 biotech IPOs. But even that ...
Argentina cuts GM red tape
The following is an edited excerpt. Argentina has streamlined its biotech crop regulatory framework to ensure neither red tape nor ...
The precautionary principle is a blunt instrument
The precautionary principle is a blunt instrument, a 90s throwback out of place in an era of "smart solutions" and ...
UK: Chief horticulture scientist backs calls to lift GM crop restrictions
The following is an edited excerpt. The UK's Agriculture & Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) chief scientist Professor Ian Crute has ...
The precautionary principle is out-of-step with the modern world
In place of informed, real-world choices that include the potential implications of both doing something and not doing it, the ...
