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.
Bayer attorney says televising upcoming glyphosate-cancer trial could threaten Monsanto employees’ safety
Letting TV cameras into a trial over the safety of Roundup herbicide might put witnesses and employees at Bayer AG’s ...
Monsanto may seek bankruptcy protection without favorable deal in glyphosate litigation settlement talks, Bayer lawyers warn
Bayer AG’s settlement talks over tens of thousands of lawsuits alleging its Roundup herbicide causes cancer are heating up as ...
EPA poised to approve new Bt-based insecticide Bta ABTS 1857 to help beekeepers battle destructive wax moth pest
EPA is proposing to register a pesticide product containing Bacillus thuringiensis .... to prevent and control wax moths in beehives ...
France’s new pesticide-free zones threaten country’s vineyards, winegrowers say
The idea of so-called pesticide-free zones (or non-treatment zones) has gradually emerged as a solution to protect against the harmful ...
Viewpoint: ‘Bee-pocalypse’—one of the 2010s biggest overblown moral panics
Human beings are anxious creatures. We worry about things that might kill us. We worry about things that might kill ...
Pro-GMO documentary ‘Food Evolution’ censored in France?
In a confidential report, the cinematographic distribution company 2iFilms recounts its misadventures concerning the broadcasting of the documentary Food Evolution ...
Succulents for dinner? Heat-tolerant ‘sea beans’ may become important food source as climate change accelerates
In southern Israel’s stifling heat, rows of salicornia, commonly known as sea asparagus or sea beans, grow under translucent tarps, ...
Losing glyphosate herbicides would be ‘major blow’ to sustainable farming, weed scientist argues
Glyphosate, the herbicide that has revolutionized weed control since its introduction in 1974, faces steadily increasing restrictions and in some ...
US grocery stores roll out private label plant-based beef to compete with Beyond Meat, Impossible Foods
Cashing in on rising demand for imitation meat, major retailers including Kroger and Walmart recently began to carry Beyond Meat’s ...
Tomato plants kill their own cells to fight infection
When a plant senses an invading pathogen, it [can sacrifice] host cells to the pathogen. This is a tightly controlled ...
CRISPR-edited crops reveal gene responsible for salt tolerance in rice
Scientists from China National Rice Research Institute reported that FLN2, a gene that encodes fructokinase-like protein2, influences sugar metabolism as ...
Archaeologists revive ancient North American crops that may have fed thousands of people
The scientific cultivation of lost ancient seed crops has yielded much higher than expected growth rates, challenging assumptions about maize ...
Courts may suspend additional glyphosate trials as Bayer, plaintiffs negotiate possible settlement
Discussions are underway to postpone one or more highly anticipated Roundup cancer trials set to start in January, including trials ...
This simple technology could help prevent 72,000 tons of food waste every year
Imagine bananas that never go bad. To Aidan Mouat, chief executive of Chicago-based Hazel Technologies, it’s not so far-fetched. His ...
Impossible Foods cancels plans for McDonald’s GMO plant-based burger
Impossible Foods is no longer trying to win a coveted deal to supply McDonald’s Corp with plant-based burgers, telling Reuters ...
Viewpoint: California jury’s decision that Monsanto failed to disclose glyphosate could cause cancer undermines EPA’s oversight of pesticide regulations since evidence suggests it is safe, agency claims
It’s no secret that Monsanto and glyphosate have taken a beating in court over the last couple years. After IARC ...
Genetically engineered poplar trees slash air pollution in 3-year field trial
Field trials in the Northwest and Southwest show that poplar trees can be genetically modified to reduce negative impacts on ...
With Enlist, biotech firm Corteva aims to displace Roundup as top-selling herbicide as Bayer fights glyphosate litigation
Before it was targeted by tens of thousands of plaintiffs in lawsuits, Roundup was the king of the field—the world’s ...
Plant-based ‘Impossible Sausage’ set to debut
Impossible Foods just announced a new product: pork. And thanks to the new fake pork, there’s also sausage. It’s not ...
GMO cotton boosted farmer incomes $52 billion over 20 years, study finds
The area planted to biotech cotton in 2018 reached 24.9 million hectares, a 3% increase from 24.1 million hectares in ...
Five ways CRISPR plants can combat climate change
Plants occupy a unique nexus when it comes to climate change. On the one hand, they can help prevent climate ...
Canadian judge rejects activist bid to immediately ban neonicotinoid pesticide Thiamethoxam
Ottawa-Federal Appeal Court Justice Richard Southcott has dismissed an application by environment groups challenging a 24 month phase out of ...
Agriculture companies accelerate biopesticide development amid consumer pressure for less chemical-intensive farming
Agribusiness is increasingly turning to natural and sustainable alternatives to chemicals as consumers rebuff genetically modified foods and concerns grow ...
Viewpoint: Bill banning neonicotinoid insecticides from wildlife refuges based on bad science
The House of Representatives Committee on Natural Resources recently approved HR 2854, the 2019 Protect Our Refuges Act, prohibiting the ...
Most food flavorings could be made with GMO microbes, sparing large amounts of farmland
In future, the majority of natural flavors could be produced from microscopic armies of microbes programmed to convert sugars into ...
EPA re-approves controversial weed killer atrazine, arguing benefits outweigh potential ecological risks
Atrazine is widely used in agriculture across a range of crops, primarily corn but also sugarcane and sorghum, as well ...
Anti-glyphosate activist Carey Gillam ‘collaborated’ with attorney charged in extortion plot
In a press release, the [Department of Justice] said that one of the lead plaintiffs' attorneys, Timothy Litzenburg, who helped ...
