Agriculture Spotlight
African scientists push governments to embrace GMOs to address fall armyworm crop losses
Over 17 million people in Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda have reached emergency food insecurity ...
French grain farmers’ union opposes glyphosate ban, calling herbicide ‘essential’
With France set to vote against EU glyphosate re-registration this month, a group of French farmers have said they will ...
Reinstatement of pesticide glyphosate use in Bermuda stirs protestors’ concerns
Lieutenant-Colonel David Burch, the Minister of Public Works [on the island of Bermuda] announced that his ministry would be granted ...
Video: Malaysian scientist’s TED talk on how to elevate public understanding of science and genetics
Fear-mongering ‘facts’—like tomatoes engineered with spider genes or cars exploding from full gas tanks on hot summer days— show how ...
Utilization of GMO crops could double Bolivia’s corn yields
Bolivia has been harvesting genetically modified (GM) soybeans since 2008, and its production exceeds one million hectares per year since 2012 ...
Viewpoint: Christopher Portier—well-paid activist scientist at center of the ban-glyphosate movement
Christopher Portier, special adviser to the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer, is bringing down the reputation ...
Livestock feedlots more sustainable than organic cattle grazing, research shows
[Editor’s note: Dan Blaustein-Rejto is a food and agriculture analyst at the Breakthrough Institute.] A new report provides further evidence ...
Viewpoint: Do neonic traces found in world honey pose problems to bees or humans?
The last taste of honey you enjoyed likely came from bees exposed to neonicotinoids, the world’s most widely used class ...
Kenyan GMO task force to oversee commercial rollout of Bt insect-resistant cotton
[On October 11th, Kenya] unveiled a national task force to oversee the commercialization of genetically modified cotton in the next ...
Cancer drugs could be grown in chicken eggs
Japanese researchers have genetically engineered hens whose eggs contain drugs that can fight serious diseases including cancer, in a bid ...
Viewpoint: Should US be subsidizing organic farming when label seems increasingly meaningless?
Congress is considering tripling the budget for the USDA's organics program. Should we be asking for more answers from regulators ...
GMO debate intensifies as Ghana prepares for first crop release in 2018
The debate over whether biotechnology applications are safe in food production has intensified in Ghana as the country prepares for ...
Monsanto, other seed developers invest in gene editing in hopes of sidestepping GMO fears
Seed developers including Monsanto Co. and DowDuPont Inc. have invested in gene-editing technology, which enables scientists to make precise changes ...
Viewpoint: Many fears around ‘processed foods’ not based on science
[Most] of us don’t have a clear understanding of what “processed food” means. Many foods we like to think of ...
Genetically enhancing the nutrients in corn using synthetic methionine
Methionine, found in meat, is one of the nine essential amino acids that humans get from food, according to the ...
Researchers map genome of famously strong-smelling durian fruit
[A team of five researchers from the National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS) ] used state-of-the-art sequencing platforms to map the ...
Viewpoint: GMO debate needs more innovation, not scientific consensus
[Editor’s note: David Zaruk, who writes under the blog name ‘The Risk-Monger’ is a professor based in Brussels writing on ...
Viewpoint: EU’s glyphosate reauthorization should depend on science, not precaution
[Editor’s note: Pieter Cleppe is the head of the Brussels office of Open Europe, a non-partisan and independent policy think ...
More evidence parasitic Varroa destructor mite poses most serious threat to bee health
[Editor’s note: Karen Rennich is the Project Manager for Bee Informed Partnership and APHIS National Survey, working out of University ...
Nigeria’s biosafety director supports advantages of GMO crops despite criticisms
Despite the criticism that has trailed the used of Genetically Modified Organisms, GMOs, Nigeria’s bio-safety chief has defended the use ...
Monsanto settles GM cotton royalties dispute with Indian seed firms
Three leading Indian cotton seed makers have settled an intellectual property dispute with Monsanto Co over its genetically modified (GM) ...
10 truths about GMOs, organics and modern farming
As the debate over GMOs has gone viral, city-dwellers often position themselves as experts on farming. But there's often a ...
Pumpkins, cucumbers, and watermelons diverged from a single melon ancestor
About 100 million years ago, the genome of a single melon-like fruit copied itself. Over time, this one ancestor became ...
Muscular pigs in Cambodia raise false concerns about GMO technology, safety
Pigs are being bred on a farm in Cambodia, and their enormous size and hulking muscles are raising alarm. The ...
Viewpoint: Dannon’s transition to non-GMO has hurt image as sales decline
[Editor’s note: Michelle Miller is the Farm Babe, is an Iowa-based farmer, public speaker and writer, who lives and works ...
Viewpoint: Self-interest, rather than ignorance, key driver in GMO and climate change rejectionism
GMO opponents and climate change deniers often share a common characteristic -- their actions and decisions are driven by the ...
Viewpoint: Attacks against ‘Monsanto shill’ illustrate ridiculous claims of anti-GMO lobbyists
[Editor’s note: David Zaruk is the Risk-Monger. He has been an EU risk and science communications specialist since 2000, active ...
