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.
GMO corn that tolerates temperature drops could help farmers protect crop yields
Around the world, each person eats an average of 70 pounds of the grain each year, with even more grown ...
Technology breeds sustainability on Brazilian family farm
As Brazilian farmer and attorney Henrique Gustavo Fiorese sees it, the future of agriculture depends on technology and sustainability.Though either ...
Dicamba trial: Bayer contends peach farm damage occurred before drift-prone Monsanto herbicide hit the market
In all-day testimony on the eighth day of the trial, [farmer Bill] Bader said as long as dicamba is sprayed ...
Video: Impossible Foods hits back at Super Bowl ad alleging plant-based beef contains laxative
The Center for Consumer Freedom ran a Super Bowl commercial alleging that plant-based meat alternatives are not as healthy as ...
Bumblebees disappearing at rates ‘consistent with mass extinction’ as climate changes
When you were young, were you the type of child who would scour open fields looking for bumble bees? Today, ...
Former holistic nutritionist explains why she demonized GMOs—and how science changed her mind
For years, I was deeply embedded in the wellness world in my own life. Then I decided to work in ...
Consumer curiosity fuels popularity of GMO Impossible Burger and other plant-based meats, survey shows
The top reason why consumers decided to eat plant-based meat alternatives is because they like to try new foods, according ...
‘Maladapted’ EU regulation hinders non-toxic biopesticide development, despite growing farmer demand
Biological pesticides are rapidly gaining attention as a sustainable and viable environmentally friendly alternative to chemical pesticides. However, they are ...
Video: Filipino farmers ‘clamor’ for access to GMO insect-resistant Bt eggplant
SEARCA Biotechnology Information Center (SEARCA BIC) releases The Bt Eggplant Story, a new video series that documents the development of Bt ...
Dicamba on trial: Peach farmer testifies Monsanto knew its drift-prone herbicide would damage his 1,000-acre operation
Since 1970, Bill Bader has worked on peach farms in Dunklin County, Missouri, just north of the Arkansas border. Bader ...
Diet wars: Heavy meat consumption carries ‘small but increased’ cardiovascular disease risk, study finds
[In October 2019], the Annals of Internal Medicine published a controversial report that encouraged people not to worry about the ...
GMO herbicide-tolerant canola increased Canadian farm profits $233 million, saved consumers $26 million
Many think that the developers of new technologies are the ones who gain virtually all of the benefits, with consumers ...
Low-calorie sweeteners ‘poison’ for expecting mothers? Epidemiologist says that’s unlikely
News sources around the globe have been calling out warnings about a new study that appears to have shown that ...
Post-Brexit rules on glyphosate, neonicotinoid pesticides may reveal UK’s willingness to break from EU regulations
Post-Brexit regulation of controversial pesticides including glyphosate and neonicotinoids could be test cases for how far the U.K. is prepared ...
Farmers cheer EPA rulings on glyphosate, neonicotinoid pesticides, while activists pan them as concessions to industry
In a move heralded by farmers but panned by environmental groups, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to reapprove ...
Bees may fare better in flower-rich cities than countrysides, research shows
Cities all over the world are expanding. A number of studies have already shown that the conversion of natural areas ...
EPA reaffirms glyphosate herbicide poses no human health risk, says additional review slated for fall 2020
EPA has finalized its interim registration decision on glyphosate, once again stating the herbicide poses no risk to human health ...
Roundup-cancer settlement could include clause that bars plaintiffs’ lawyers from soliciting new clients
As Bayer AG tries to settle U.S. lawsuits claiming that its weedkiller Roundup causes cancer, the company is considering a ...
EPA approves continued use of controversial neonicotinoid insecticides, with added restrictions to protect bees
The EPA announced [Jan 30] it supports the continued use and registration of neonicotinoids, a class of insecticides linked to ...
Microbes that treat parasitic infection could yield natural, safe insecticide
For hundreds of years, practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine have used an herb called Stemona sessilifolia as a remedy for ...
Bayer reportedly discussing halt of Roundup weed killer sales to consumers as part of glyphosate-cancer settlement negotiations
Bayer is considering stopping sales of the weedkiller glyphosate to private users who apply it in their gardens, German newspaper ...
Genetically engineered bacteria could inoculate honeybees against deadly varroa mites, deformed wing virus
Scientists from The University of Texas at Austin report in the journal Science that they have developed a new strategy ...
Monsanto expected farmer complaints when it released drift-prone herbicide dicamba, court documents show
Monsanto expected thousands of farmers to complain about its new weedkiller drifting and harming their crops when it launched the ...
Lab-grown dairy proteins could make vegan cheese as good as the real thing
Vegan cheese isn’t what it used to be. The products of yesteryear had a reputation for being plastic-y slices with ...
Starbucks to launch plant-based breakfast sandwich as part of ‘environmentally friendly’ menu
Starbucks announced it will become the latest food chain to introduce a plant-based breakfast patty for its customers in the ...
Veganism bad for your brain? Recent research raises controversial questions about plant-based diets
The idea that avoiding meat is bad for our brains makes some intuitive sense; anthropologists have been arguing about what ...
A Rwandan farmer’s son: Why I advocate for GMO crops in Africa
Being raised in a family where all income came from my mother’s farm is something hard to forget. My mother ...
