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.
Viewpoint: On GMOs, energy production, ‘fear of progress’ is Europe’s main attribute
Shale gas, GMOs: here are two topics that usually arouse the public's worst fears. [Europe] has managed to ban the ...
Thailand glyphosate ban threatens over $500 million worth of American crop exports, USDA warns
Thailand’s ban on three chemicals used in farming that its government deemed hazardous could threaten imports of American agricultural products ...
Engineered molecule could protect key food crops from intensifying droughts as climate changes
An engineered small molecule called opabactin that targets the receptor for the hormone abscisic acid (ABA), which plants release in ...
CRISPR crops, precision medicine could fuel 17.2% annual growth in North American gene-editing research
"The growth of the genome editing market is primarily attributed to the rise in the production of genetically modified crops ...
Iron-carrying protein myoglobin improves growth, texture, color of lab-grown meat
A team of Tufts University-led researchers exploring the development of cultured meat found that the addition of the iron-carrying protein ...
EU lawmakers: New bee safety rules won’t protect pollinators from neonic pesticides long term
The European Parliament on [October 23] blocked a diluted proposal by the 28-nation bloc’s executive arm on protecting bees from ...
Cotton industry prepares to commercialize FDA-approved GMO seeds to help ‘feed 500 million people’
The cotton industry hopes to launch a new market for a genetically modified cotton plant whose seeds are edible for ...
Viewpoint: ‘There are no long-term GMO safety studies,’ and 9 other biotech myths debunked
Can salt be a GMO? Is it true that no long-term studies have been done on GMOs? There are many ...
‘No evidence’ low-level glyphosate exposure causes kidney damage in children, study shows
The goal of this study was to assess biomarkers of exposure to glyphosate and assess potential associations with renal function ...
California grows 1/3 of US produce—95% of state’s fruits, vegetables below EPA pesticide limits, and none pose a health risk
Once again, tests showed that the vast majority of fresh produce collected by the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) ...
Rodale Institute lashes out at Swedish study that finds yield shortfall, increased land use, ‘huge climate change downside’ in organic farming
Not surprisingly, the debate over organic versus conventional farming is heavily polarized in academic circles .... In December 2018, researchers ...
Simple test could speed development of drought-tolerant wheat as climate change accelerates
Scientists from The Australian National University (ANU), ARC Center of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology, and CSIRO Agriculture and Food ...
Impossible Foods seeks approval for GMO plant-based burgers in biotech-wary Europe
Impossible Foods Inc. has applied to start selling its plant-based burgers in the European Union as it looks to expand ...
Battle over sugar’s health effects spurs development of new biotech-based sweeteners
The idea that, beyond their ability to inflate the calories of food, added sugars are uniquely bad for us is ...
Viewpoint: Experts urge India to embrace technology in pursuit of food security
In India, farming is being held back by the efforts of activists like philosopher Vandana Shiva, Ph.D., who charge $40,000 ...
Thailand bans glyphosate weed killer as Roundup-cancer legal debate rages in US, Europe
Thailand’s government agreed [October 22] to ban the use of three farming chemicals widely regarded as dangerous to human health ...
If Britain and Wales went 100% organic, crop yields would crash by half and carbon emissions would double, UK study shows
Greenhouse gas emissions would go up if all farms in England and Wales went organic. Though the emissions of individual ...
Dunkin’ launching Beyond Meat breakfast sandwich at more than 9,000 US stores in November 2019
Dunkin' is launching its Beyond Meat breakfast sandwich nationally in November, two months ahead of schedule, after a highly successful ...
Viewpoint: From biofuels to food flavorings, here’s 10 ways biotechnology boosts sustainability
As climate change looms over our future, many industries are turning to biology for solutions to make all aspects of ...
Argentina approves GMO virus-resistant potato expected to save farmers $45 million annually
After being de-regulated [in] August 2018, the National Council of Technical and Scientific Research (CONICET) [began] the formal process [of ...
EU bans neonic insecticide thiacloprid after 2020, citing threats to human reproductive health, bees
EU countries [Ocotber 22] voted not to extend the license of the insecticide thiacloprid when it expires at the end ...
‘The Martian’: More science than fiction? Crops could grow in space, study suggests
Whoever is going to survive on the Moon and Mars is going to have to eat. There’s just one problem ...
Beyond Meat pea supplier mulls lentils, oats, rice as beef substitutes to meet plant-based burger demand
One of the world’s biggest pea processors is considering expanding into fava beans as the boom in alternative proteins fuels ...
Nigerian scientists call for biotech to address food security in Africa
“We need to do more advocacy for biotechnology in Nigeria and ensure accurate dissemination of scientific information." ...
Viewpoint: New Zealand’s ‘archaic’ GMO laws hold back research that could boost sustainable farming
New Zealand's archaic GMO laws heavily regulate the research and release of genetically engineered organisms. Those wanting to test on ...
Avoid produce because of pesticides? No ‘sound science’ behind that recommendation, new report says
A new report from the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology aims to reduce consumers’ worries by describing how information ...
Viewpoint: Golden Rice—how ‘stultifying overregulation, fear and hostility’ kept a GMO superfood off the market
The superfood thus seemed to have everything going for it: It would be the basis for a sea change in ...
