Daily Food & Ag 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.
Confronting the growing challenge of increased plastic pollution in agriculture
Over the past decades, plastic has become an integral part of agriculture and this use is increasing with the intensity ...
Florida E. coli outbreak linked to raw milk
Raw milk has been linked to an ongoing E. coli and campylobacter outbreak in Florida that has already sickened 21 ...
Can gene editing dramatically reduce global hunger?
In 2015, the United Nations (UN) adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals with Goal 2 (SDG 2): Zero Hunger, aiming to ...
Politics of agriculture? Large southern farms expect to benefit from $258 million in Trump subsidies but others face grimmer future
In the high plains of western Texas, 600 or so farms in Gaines County are projected to receive an additional ...
Potato, tomato: Today’s French fries linked by evolution to tomatoes 9 million years ago
Ketchup and fries make a tasty pair. But the connection between tomatoes and potatoes may go beyond making a good ...
Why gene editing of food crops remains controversial
Gene-editing techniques such as CRISPR-Cas9 have many uses in the area of food and agriculture. They can combat persistent drought ...
Agroecological farming is not financially sustainable and will need substantial government subsidies
A new study by the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) has suggested that while nature-friendly farming methods improve ...
7 year study of the effects of GMO corn on primates shows what every other study has found: ‘No significant health risks’
A study spanning more than seven years has found no significant health risks associated with the long-term consumption of genetically modified (GM) maize in ...
The confluence of AI and biotechnology will drive the development of unprecedented sustainable crops
A major review published in the prestigious journal Nature today outlines how artificial intelligence and biotechnology could transform global crop production — ...
Genetically modified fish seed high in omega-3 oil awaits UK approval
Nufarm Seed Technology is awaiting final decisions from the European Union and the United Kingdom on whether they will follow ...
Viewpoint: France’s scientifically backward view on an alleged bee-killing neonicotinoid pesticide will ensure serious destruction of leafy vegetables and fruits
France is a blessed country. After having counted 68 million doctors during the Covid crisis, then 68 million athletes during ...
How climate change is helping drive food price inflation
Florida is one of the country’s top producers of fruits and vegetables. ... But climate change has already altered Florida’s ...
Viewpoint: Productive intensive agriculture scapegoated in scientifically-ignorant MAHA report
Much of the [MAHA] report, like the notion of “making America healthy again,” seems like a good idea on the ...
Viewpoint: Europe’s backward view on pesticides—Banning synthetic crop chemicals for effective organic alternatives ensures armyworms will devastate corn crops
The polyphagous Spodoptera frugiperda (fall armyworm), a Lepidopteran pest, has European farmers in a panic and, when the environmental NGOs ...
No tears, no taste? Naturally bred tearless onions sparks debate
“Tearless” onions have made it to New Zealand, now being grown in Auckland and sold nationwide. Woolworths New Zealand launched ...
Viewpoint: Toxic narratives—Fear is the environmental activists’ only product
Welcome to the Age of Alarmism, where the “Fear Industry” operates like a well-oiled machine, churning out daily doses of ...
How does Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill impact farmers
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act that was signed into law July 4 is indeed big, but just how beautiful ...
How gene editing could transform the humble potato into a sustainability powerhouse
In Peru, [gene editing] is already beginning to emerge as an ally in facing the challenges posed by climate change, ...
7 technologically futuristic foods are already rolling out
As the global population accelerates towards nearly 10 billion by mid-century, the imperative to transform food production systems has never ...
Food security: US Ag Department blocks support of many foreign nationals
The Agriculture Department is applying more scrutiny to research done by its employees alongside noncitizens. The directives, laid out in ...
How our diet impacts hormones
Hormones are chemical messengers that quietly dictate everything from how well you sleep to how alert you feel, how easily ...
Stepping out of the shadows: UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization voices stronger support for crop biotechnology
While many private firms, research institutions and public agencies have been very active in communicating the benefits of agricultural biotechnology ...
AI, drones and robots: Future farming
Many modern farms already use GPS-guided tractors and digital technology such as farm-management software systems. Now, advances in artificial intelligence ...
Chemophobic misconceptions people have about chemicals
We must accept that the word 'chemicals' is commonly used as a short hand for toxic and poisonous, and that ...
Fungus free rice? Dream CRISPR gene edited breakthrough could significantly address global hunger
In a groundbreaking advancement, researchers from the University of California, Davis, along with an international team, have harnessed the power ...
Viewpoint—Latest junk science: Ohio State pushes probiotic yogurt
A new paper from Ohio State University can be considered a giant endorsement for yogurt that makes you poop - but unfortunately ...
‘Disconnected from biological and agrultural reality’: Green Party opponents of deregulating gene editing in New Zealand slammed by scientists
Claims made by gene technology opponents in arguments surrounding the Gene Tech Bill suggesting gene-editing of plants could occur via ...
