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.
Will RFK, Jr. try to ban glyphosate weedkiller?
After targeting dyes and other chemicals allowed for use in food, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is zeroing ...
India approves its first gene edited crop—rice that uses less water, reduces carbon emissions and increases yields
India has made a historic leap in Sustainable Farming by unveiling the world’s first Genome-Edited Rice varieties. “Pusa DST Rice ...
Viewpoint: Is the cultivated meat movement a way to reduce ‘nonhuman suffering’ or is it animal exploitation greenwashing
There’s a criticism which I see with some frequency in the animal-rights movement which argues those who view cultivated meat ...
Viewpoint: Vitamin-rich Golden Rice mired in the ideological infighting
White rice is the staple crop in many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). It must be polished for storage and ...
Empowering small farmholders and indigenous cultures is central to preserving at risk plants and forests
Empowering farmers, Indigenous Peoples, local communities and scientists to conserve and use genetic resources is key to resilient agrifood systems ...
Viewpoint: RFK, Jr. walking a tightrope in regulating pesticides and agriculture
Fifty-seven percent of national voters agreed that farmer control over weeds, diseases and pests on crops keeps food affordable, according ...
Could residues of growth promoters used in meat production result in Olympic athletes testing positive for drug use?
Scientists at UCLA's Olympic Analytical Laboratory turned their sophisticated analytical capabilities for testing athlete samples for performance-enhancing drugs to research ...
Global regenerative farming market is booming. Here’s why
As global concerns about climate change, soil degradation, and food security intensify, regenerative agriculture has emerged as a beacon of ...
The growing role of AI, automation and renewables in agriculture
The use of artificial intelligence in agriculture is revolutionizing how people grow food. AI-powered systems can analyze vast amounts of ...
Empowering small farmholders and indigenous cultures is central to preserving at risk plants and forests
Empowering farmers, Indigenous Peoples, local communities and scientists to conserve and use genetic resources is key to resilient agrifood systems ...
Should genetically modified crops be regulated by the process that created them or the final product?
In many regulatory frameworks, a transgenic organism is one that contains deliberately altered genetic material which does not occur "naturally" ...
RFK, Jr.’s MAHA Health Commission attacks vaccines, ultra-processed food for chronic health problems, tiptoes around criticizing crop chemicals
President Trump's Make America Healthy Again Commission blamed factors including bad diets, chemical exposure and unnecessary medication for causing childhood ...
Tariff war: Europe open to trade concessions but draw the line at importing America’s hormone treated ‘beautiful beef’
Strict European Union food regulations, including a ban on hormones, govern [international butcher's work]. And those rules could turn into ...
Swedes, especially youth, are open to crop gene editing and want regulations relaxed
Gene editing offers the opportunity to breed with precision, adapting crops and farm animals to a changing climate, providing disease ...
Viewpoint: Organic farming is not as sustainable as popularly believed
At the supermarket, you’re often met with a choice: organic or not? Organic foods — largely free of synthetic pesticides, hormones and ...
How plant genetics could dramatically lower the environmental impact of fertilizer use in farming
Beneficial relationships between plants and soil microbes play a critical role in agriculture, providing sustainable solutions to reduce dependency on synthetic ...
Can AI play a signficant role in addressing world hunger?
Achieving zero hunger is a huge task and humanitarians need to use every advantage that is available to them. AI ...
Italy’s ban on cellular meat: Protecting tradition or blocking innovation?
In December 2023, Italy passed Law 172/2023, making it illegal to produce, sell, or distribute cultivated meat. Agriculture Minister Francesco ...
In the developing world, smallholder farms are key to climate resilient, sustainable agriculture
Smallholder farmers are integral to sustainable agriculture, contributing to climate mitigation through soil carbon sequestration, methane reduction, and agroforestry. Techniques ...
Food insecurity crisis intensifies: Almost 300 million people globally face hunger and malnutrition.
In 2024, over 295 million people across 53 countries and territories faced acute hunger—an increase of almost 14 million people ...
90% of new food and beverage products fail. AI is improving the odds
Recent data highlights a striking reality: 90% of new food and beverage products fail. Why? Lengthy product development cycles, outdated consumer ...
Bayer ponders bankruptcy option in renewed push to resolve 60,000 pending glyphosate suits
Bayer is making another push to resolve lawsuits linking the popular weedkiller Roundup to cancer, while exploring a bankruptcy filing ...
AI can play a crucial role in making agrifood more resilient but could lead to increased carbon emissions
Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technologies are offering powerful tools to transform the agrifood system, and new research ...
Nebraska and Montana ban lab grown, cell-based meat
Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte announced on [May 13] that he signed House Bill 401 into law. The legislation banned the ...
Public support for CRISPR gene edited food surges in the UK
The UK is backing emerging innovation to protect the future of our food supply, with 69% of UK adults strongly ...
Viewpoint: Agricultural science shouldn’t be partisan but that’s the way we are trending
Science itself is not partisan. It is based on data, evidence, testing and peer review. It does not take sides ...
Kenyan government announces action plan to counter activist GMO misinformation
The government has pledged to strengthen public education and combat widespread misinformation around genetically modified organisms (GMOs), as it launched the ...
