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.
Rejecting the suggestions of RFK, Jr.’s MAHA report targeting crop chemicals, White House says it won’t pursue tighter pesticide restrictions
Trump administration officials say the White House has no plans to crack down on pesticides in farming, despite a report ...
EU orders further studies on glyphosate in the wake of controversial study in which activist scientists used cancer-prone rats and found some developed cancer
The European Commission has told two EU agencies to run a study for up to 21 months to figure out ...
Sen Cory Booker aligns with MAHA, RFK, Jr., his discredited Children’s Health Defense, and Environmental Working Group to hold companies liable for alleged injuries from crop chemicals found safe by US regulators
U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) is receiving major support from anti-“Big Ag” activist organizations for his newest bill, the Pesticide ...
CRISPR bacon and hot dogs will soon be commonplace. Here’s why they are safe
From hot dogs to crispy bacon, US food staples could be made of gene-edited meat as early as 2026. Yes, ...
Viewpoint: Why two sacred cows of organic farming, grass-fed beef and biofuels, are hurting the planet
Anne Kim: [M]ost of us aren’t farmers, we’re eaters. Can you drill down a little bit about the specific practices ...
India developing climate-adaptive gene edited varieties to supplement already-approved GMO rice
In a significant stride towards bolstering food security amid escalating climate challenges, researchers at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) ...
Malaysia scientists hopeful government will reform laws to open the way for sustainable gene-edited rice
Since 2021, several scientists have been developing new genetically edited rice varieties with targeted traits, such as resistance to disease ...
Fossil fuels are embedded in our food chain. What can be changed to reduce the environmental trade-offs
A new report from renowned international thinktank IPES-Food, Fuel To Fork, documents how fossil fuels are the lifeblood of the food industry ...
Beyond herbicides: AI opens the door to sustainable weed control
Weeds remain one of the most persistent problems in agriculture. But the biggest issue facing modern farmers isn't getting rid ...
What are the trade-offs if India allows the import of U.S. GMO feed?
As India inches closer to announcing an interim trade deal with the United States...[the] proposed inclusion of genetically modified (GM) ...
Why brussels sprouts taste better, and how will genetic engineering help create new varieties
About 30 years ago, a Dutch scientist identified the chemicals that made brussels sprouts bitter. He selected seed varieties with lower levels ...
Viewpoint: A disturbing conversation about glyphosate with a science-denier
The intent of my previous column on glyphosate was simply to encourage some critical thinking. In it, I wrote: Glyphosate is an ...
Viewpoint: A world without glyphosate would mean more weeds, soil erosion and carbon emissions, and smaller crop yields
Too much rain can devastate a crop. That was especially true when cultivators were the primary weed technology. It was ...
‘Bee death spiral’? Pesticide-resistant Varroa mites driving record number of U.S. honeybee losses
“Every time I went out to the beehive there were less and less,” says Bret Adee, one of the largest ...
What chemicals are used in organic farming?
[N]atural agricultural chemicals ... provide organic farming with pest management, nutrient supplementation and soil improvement solutions. [These include:] ... Pyrethrins: ...
Abu Dhabi’s ADQ to focus on vegetable gene editing as it seeks stake in seeds company
ADQ, Abu Dhabi's wealth fund, plans to acquire a 35 per cent stake in France's Limagrain Vegetable Seeds as the ...
From Lab to Forest: Biotech Trees for a Sustainable Future
Climate change is making forests more vulnerable to stress such as wildfires and pests, amid growing demand for their products ...
Unpacking RFK, Jr.’s claims: Are canola, soy bean and safflower oil feeding the obesity epidemic and poisoning America?
[Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.] has said...vegetable oils — extracted from the seeds of plants, like canola, soybean and safflower — are ...
Viewpoint: ‘Alarming new research on glyphosate?’ Here’s how the Ramazzini Institute distorts science, spreads alarmism and fuels baseless lawsuits
According to a new study, glyphosate, the most widely used pesticide in the world, is extremely carcinogenic. In this study, ...
Tennessee becomes 16th state to require labelling of cell-based meat
Tennessee is laying the groundwork for how any "cell-cultured food product" can be sold in the state as lab-grown meat ...
Viewpoint: Europe’s meandering path on gene editing policy may soon near a breakthrough moment
A very large number of countries (more than 30 spread over every continent: America, Asia, Africa and the Pacific Rim) ...
AI is helping to develop gentically engineered food for long-term space missions. We may all benefit
Stored meats, tomatoes and even onions can't last a few weeks let alone a seven-to-10 month journey to Mars but ...
Opportunities, challenges and concerns as gene edited pigs may soon be on the regulatory platter in Europe
The US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) recent decision [approving gene edited pigs] has prompted [quesions about] what this technology ...
Younger Chinese farmers readily embracing AI and other smart technologies
From AI-powered data platforms to drones flying across the skies, Generation Z farmers in China are embracing a modern approach ...
How plant-based meats are made
As a vegetarian I’d be the first to say that plant-based meat has gotten significantly more pleasant in the last ...
Gene editing could revolutionize sustainable food production in Peru
Peruvian agriculture is [characterized] by crops such as potato, maize, rice, asparagus, mango, banana, avocado, cassava, onion, oil palm, chili, ...
M&M’s and Fruit Loops — two symbols of dyes in processed food — are resisting RFK, Jr.’s call for ‘voluntary’ replacements
[A]fter he declared war on synthetic food dyes, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has already secured the cooperation of ...
