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.
Should milk from cows that eat genetically modified feed be labeled GMO?
[A] woman in California is suing Chipotle because it advertises a GMO- free menu, while serving meat, cheese and sour ...
IARC glyphosate bombshell: Scientist who lead review of herbicide withheld data showing no cancer link
When Aaron Blair sat down to chair a week-long meeting of 17 specialists at the International Agency for Research on ...
Should the government have ordered the destruction of harmless and beautiful ‘illegal’ GMO petunias?
Sometimes government regulators do things that are not merely misguided but gratuitously stupid. A classic example came [May 2017], when ...
High yield gene-edited rice: Field trials begin in Japan
A food research body [in Japan] has started growing genome-edited rice plants outdoors on a trial basis for the first ...
AquaBounty acquires first US fish farm to raise fast-growing GE salmon
When salmon from AquaBounty Technologies reach grocery stores and restaurants, some of them will come from America’s heartland. AquaBounty has ...
National Academies of Sciences rebuke claim 2016 GMO crops report ‘tainted’ by conflicts of interest
[Editor's note: The following is a letter to the editor of the Chronicle of Higher Education from the Committee on Genetically ...
China approves new varieties of GMO corn, soybeans for import from US
China approved two new varieties of genetically modified (GMO) crops for import June 12, after the world's top buyer of ...
Organic industry forms ‘anti-fraud task force’ following discovery of ‘contaminated’ USDA-certified imports
A task force convened by the Organic Trade Association will get to work [June 2017] on developing a best-practices guide for ...
Canada delays neonicotinoid insecticide ban decision until at least December 2017
Health Canada won’t issue a final decision on whether it will ban imidacloprid [until at least December 2017], says a ...
Will Trump continue Obama-era ‘streamlining’ of crop and animal biotech and gene-editing regulations?
[Editor's note: Hank Campbell is president of the American Council on Science and Health.] President Donald Trump spent a great deal ...
Are farm chemicals to blame for Iowa’s sick oak trees?
Iowa’s state tree is under stress. Visible damage to oak trees in recent years may be caused by farm chemicals, ...
Why biotech crop advocates should stop saying ‘GMOs are safe’
The anti-GMO movement has perfected the art of cherry picking. Take the mainstream media headlines that scream “GMOs are safe!” ...
Can CRISPR gene editing revive promise of GMOs to provide hardier, more nutritious, better tasting crops?
Using CRISPR to add—or remove—a plant trait is faster, more precise, easier, and in most cases cheaper than either traditional ...
Ghana’s farmers should have right to grow GMO crops, says Cornell professor Sarah Evanega Davidson
Ghanaians are being urged to give Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) technology a chance as a possible tool for dealing with ...
Dissecting MIT computer scientist Stephanie Seneff’s claim that glyphosate herbicide causes autism
[Editor's note: Josh Bloom is director of chemical and pharmaceutical sciences at the American Council on Science and Health. He ...
Nature editorial: USDA and FDA need to ‘harmonize’ gene-edited plant and animal regulations
In January [2017], two US agencies proposed the first substantial overhaul in 30 years of how they regulate genetically altered ...
Could a mushroom save honey bees from Varroa mites?
What is killing honey bees? The most prevalent cause of death is due to infestation by the invasive Varroa mite, ...
GMO foods vs. GM medicine: What’s the difference in public acceptance?
This analysis sought to quantify US residents’ acceptance of [genetic modification (GM)] across five potential uses (grain production, fruit or ...
Video: Dietitian Abbey Sharp’s hilarious look at the GMO debate
[Editor's note: Abbey Sharp is a Registered Dietitian (RD), food writer and blogger, and founder of Abbey's Kitchen Inc.] Did ...
Climate change may speed up pest’s tolerance of insect-resistant GM Bt corn
Climate change might be great news for pests looking to munch on genetically modified crops, researchers propose. In particular, researchers ...
EPA to investigate ‘glyphosate review-related matters’ after allegation of Monsanto collusion
The inspector general for the Environmental Protection Agency is initiating a probe into possible collusion between a former high-ranking EPA ...
Genetically modified ‘resurrection’ crops could help Africa deal with drought, climate change
[Jill] Farrant is the world's leading expert on plants which can "resurrect" from a desiccated state after they are rehydrated ...
‘Gut punch’: Canadian farmer takes attacks against GMOs personally
[Editor's note: Andrew Campbell is a dairy and crop farmer near London, Ont.] Our corn and soybeans are mostly genetically ...
Recording bees’ buzzing could help farmers identify, count beneficial pollinators
Like jets radioing in their call signs to air traffic control, bees’ buzzing could help scientists know who’s pollinating what ...
How genetics helps make cows more profitable and environmentally friendly
[J. P.] Brouwer, along with his father and two brothers at Sunalta Farms in central Alberta, runs the first commercial dairy ...
Debate swirls over yield and bee health impact of neonicotinoid seed treatments
A study by Purdue entomologist Christian Krupke [May 2017] was the latest to conclude that honeybees are widely exposed to ...
India’s National Academy of Agriculture Sciences backs commercialization of GM mustard
Agriculture scientists came out in the open on Monday, backing the indigenous genetically modified mustard, which they said would lead ...
