Daily Food & Agriculture Digest
Every day, the staff of the Genetic Literacy Project scours the Web for stories on a range of agricultural and food issues, including the GMO debate, conventional and organic farming, regulations, new breeding technologies and sustainability. We publish excerpts of those stories and encourage our readers to visit the original publications for the complete stories.
Would Monsanto-Syngenta merger trigger reorganization of seed business?
The new mega-corporation formed in the proposed deal between Monsanto and Syngenta would be “the world’s largest seed and crop ...
Glyphosate has led to phasing out of toxic herbicides
One of the common criticisms of commercially available Genetically Engineered (GE) seeds is the idea that they have led to an ...
‘Quack science’ NaturalNews website blames glyphosate for Beau Biden’s cancer death
Yes, glioblastomas (and other forms of brain cancer) are nasty tumors. They’re one of the kinds of tumors that, admittedly, ...
Will naturally GMO sweet potatoes change public perceptions of genetic engineering?
One of the world's most important staple crops, the sweet potato, is a naturally transgenic plant that was genetically modified ...
Vermont medical centers ditch GMOs over alleged safety concerns
University of Vermont Medical Center serves two million meals a year, and is a national leader in purchasing, preparing and ...
By implying GMO ingredients less safe, labeling fails test for rationality
The gratuitous controversy continues over whether foods from plants and animals that have been genetically engineered should be labeled as ...
Embracing GMOs presents psychological challenges to average consumers
Think of a science denier, and you might picture someone arguing that climate change isn't real or vaccines cause autism ...
Is agroecology the key to feeding the world?
Developing alternatives to predominant systems takes time. The encouraging news is that progress is underway. Around the world, communities are ...
Lesson to India? Bangladesh got GMO approval by challenging ‘devious’ environmentalists
Bangladesh Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury has set an example by politically challenging extreme environmentalists and private-enterprise-hating ideologues, which is in ...
GMOs needed to avert global water shortages
The UN’s annual World Water Development Report, published last March, warned that unless the balance between demand and supplies is ...
WHO body looks for links between 2,4-D herbicide and cancer
The World Health Organization is set to examine a widely used pesticide and agribusiness is bracing for bad news, less ...
Proposed Costa Rican GMO moratorium prompts worried letter from U.S. ambassador
The United States is expressing its concern over a proposed 15-year moratorium on the cultivation of genetically modified crops and ...
Florida newspaper encourages readers help monarch butterflies by planting milkweed
Once the spectacular black-and-orange monarch was one of the most prolific butterfly species in North America. Its range stretched from ...
Taco Bell, Pizza Hut go natural, but no one knows what that really means
Last week, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut both announced they are going natural. Goodbye Yellow-5. Ciao trans fat. Sayonara unsustainable palm oil. “Today’s ...
Neil Young’s new anti-GMO song confuses science on Starbucks, Monsanto
Veteran rocker Neil Young, one of the founders of Farm Aid, is releasing a new album called “The Monsanto Years,” ...
Why state by state GMO labeling laws won’t work
Over the past few months, there have been several big stories on the labeling of GMOs. The one factor that stands ...
Glyphosate’s environmental and health risks should be addressed by regulators
Monsanto's herbicide glyphosate -- trade name RoundUp -- which is used on most genetically engineered crops (also known as GMOs), ...
Seattle Times: USDA’s GMO verification smarter than mandatory labeling
Many consumers want to know whether their food contains genetically modified ingredients, and some businesses are responding with the help of ...
Cattle breeders develop genetically superior embryos for countries with less productive cows
Cows, like humans, take about nine months to carry a calf to term. But in the 1970s, American cattlemen began ...
What people around the world are saying about the safety of GMOs
VICE News traveled around the world speaking to people about genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and differences in opinion about engineered ...
Could food companies face class action suits for carrying organic label?
Last month, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (S.D.N.Y.) issued a ruling on a ...
Jackson County, Oregon GMO ban to take effect in June after federal judge ruling
A federal judge in southern Oregon on May 29 rejected a request by two alfalfa farms to block Jackson County's ban ...
Why aren’t there any studies proving GMO safety?
When discussing transgenic crops, I regularly get asked to provide a paper that “proves” that GMOs are safe. Whether you ...
Non-GMO labels promote superstition; Scan code labels would provide context
A couple of weeks ago I was deeply disappointed to read that the USDA might get involved in an aspect ...
Seed savers bank on genetic diversity for resilience in face of climate change
Hundreds of seed exchanges—in which hobbyists and professional green thumbs share the most resilient plants from their crops—have sprung up ...
Researchers look for genetic clues to combat herbicide resistant weeds
On Colorado’s eastern plains, increasingly resilient strains of kochia have created a headache for both researchers and farmers. At Colorado ...
Will organic farmers embrace precision gene editing if ancient wild traits are restored?
What’s in a name? A lot, if the name is genetically modified organism, which many people are dead set against ...
