Agriculture Spotlight
USDA allows ‘organic’ label for soil-less farming, upsetting movement’s founders
The pioneers of the sustainable farming movement are mourning what they call the downfall of the organic program, following a Wednesday ...
Dicamba herbicide drift damaged 3.6 million acres of soybean crops in 25 states
A weed killer called dicamba has damaged more than 3.6 million acres of soybean crops, or about 4 percent of ...
No signs of resistance to GMO Bt corn in Europe after 16 years of use
The majority of Bt maize production in the European Union (EU) is concentrated in northeast Spain, which is Europe’s only hotspot where ...
Bangladesh releases high-yielding disease-resistant wheat variety to farmers
As wheat farmers in Bangladesh struggle to recover from a 2016 outbreak of a mysterious disease called “wheat blast,” the country’s National ...
Gene silencing could control disease, contamination in wheat and other crops
Fusarium graminearum is a major fungal pathogen of cereals worldwide, causing seedling, stem base and floral diseases, including Fusarium Head ...
Viewpoint: ‘GMO paranoia’ blocking scientifically sound solutions to food system problems
According to NPR’s All Things Considered, [genetically engineered pigs] could save farmers millions of dollars on heating and food. ...
Australia imports over 60 GMO food crops—but farmers can only grow one
Food derived from 60 genetically modified crops can be imported into Australia, but local growers can only grow one GM ...
South African saga: Anti-GMO activist groups’ disinformation campaign against new disease-resistant corn
South Africa's corn is already more than 90 percent GMO. An application to introduce an improved, disease-fighting variety has revved ...
The race to grow meat without slaughtering animals—can genetic engineering help?
Operating with a team of just 10 (though it's expected to grow to 40 in a matter of months), [Memphis ...
Viewpoint: Anti-GMO activist Doug Gurian-Sherman’s Food Evolution review misrepresents Uganda banana research
[Editor's note: Patricia Nanteza is a science communicator at Uganda's National Banana Research Program. The following is excerpted from her letter to ...
Two US Congressional committees ask IARC cancer agency to testify, citing ‘scientific integrity’ concerns
Two influential U.S. Congressmen have asked the World Health Organization’s cancer agency to get ready to testify about its work ...
New rice variety that grows in salty water could feed millions in China
Scientists in China have developed several types of rice that can be grown in seawater, potentially creating enough food for ...
How one farmer stood up to anti-GMO activists and the Italian state—and won
As chair of the local farmers federation [Giorgio Fidenato, a small-holder farmer growing corn, tomatoes and soybeans in Italy] pushes for ...
Toxin-neutralizing GMO peanuts could solve serious food safety issue in Africa and Asia
Aflatoxin contamination in peanuts poses major challenges for vulnerable populations of sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Developing peanut varieties to ...
Video: How glyphosate herbicide enables no-till, environmentally friendly farming
[Editor's note: Jake Freestone is the manager of an arable and sheep LEAF Demonstration Farm in Tewkesbury, England.] [N]o-till or zero-till, ...
Will advanced breeding technologies render GMO crops obsolete?
Genetically modified (GM) crop technology is not the answer to helping UK farmers produce more food, according to the head ...
Could we protect bees from neonicotinoid insecticides by planting trees?
[I]t's unlikely farmers will give up or limit pesticide use, so instead, a team of researchers at the University of ...
Viewpoint: European anti-tech groups threaten to derail CRISPR gene editing in agriculture
The political decision of how to regulate gene editing and other New Breeding Techniques (NBTs) will determine whether Europe becomes ...
Should the government regulate gene-edited crops?
“They call us the food police.” That’s how Greg Jaffe described his work as director of biotechnology for the Center for ...
Disease-resistant GM potatoes that reduce pesticide use ‘worked brilliantly’ in UK field trial
A genetically-modified (GM) potato designed to resist a devastating plant disease has worked “brilliantly” during the first year of field ...
Can any GMO documentary, pro or con, get the issue right?
Both films [Food Evolution and Island Earth] were fun to watch. They both also get a lot of the facts right. But ...
EU ban of globally used glyphosate would disrupt agricultural and food markets
Some of Europe’s biggest trade partners fear a potential EU ban on glyphosate could hit exports of crops ranging from ...
Viewpoint: IARC glyphosate cancer advisor Christopher Portier’s history of lying about conflicts of interest
In a deposition last month for a court case pending against Monsanto for glyphosate “damages,” [Christopher Portier, the scientist who ...
Just in time for Halloween: Scientists successfully sequence pumpkin genomes
Scientists ... have sequenced the genomes of two important pumpkin species, Cucurbita maxima and Cucurbita moschata. The finished genomes appear in the October ...
‘Media war’ erupts in Ghana as GMO cowpeas set for 2018 release
The debate over whether biotechnology applications are safe in food production has intensified in Ghana as the country prepares for ...
EU votes on 5-year glyphosate extension November 9; France for shorter renewal
The European Commission has proposed extending the license for weed-killer glyphosate by five years after its initial plan for a ...
Glyphosate herbicide ban won’t save anyone from cancer, will harm environment
The widely used weedkiller glyphosate is available in every garden store, but now there are fears it can cause cancer ...
