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.
‘Supercharged’ GMO crops could store 20 times more CO2 than average plant
Scientists are experimenting with new genetic modification technology that “supercharges” plants to enhance what they already excel at– sequestering carbon ...
Judge tosses glyphosate-in-Cheerios lawsuit for no evidence of ‘injury’
The active ingredient in popular weed killers, glyphosate, has gotten bad press lately .... Some advocacy groups are claiming that ...
Why the USDA employed taste testers to change how Americans eat
Lucy Alexander boasted one of the strangest jobs on the federal payroll. Her official title was the innocuous “chief poultry ...
AI could help farmers cut weather-related crop losses by 25% as global food demand soars
The AI in agriculture market was valued at USD 600 million in 2018 and is expected to reach USD 2.6 ...
USDA green lights commercialization of GMO, drought-tolerant soybean
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has given its approval to Verdeca for HB4® drought tolerant soybeans which will allow ...
Is lab-grown meat really a solution to climate change?
To tackle the threat of climate change, there has been a proliferation of harebrained solutions. Right now, the fad du ...
Viewpoint: EPA has science on its side in glyphosate-cancer label battle with California
By any measure, California’s Proposition 65 is an exercise in madness. The law, which is officially titled “The Safe Drinking Water ...
This indoor farmer wants to turn rural Kentucky into America’s ‘high-tech agriculture capital’
Jonathan Webb’s farm doesn’t look like much: tawny soil stretching to a line of trees, a trailer with a few ...
Strict evidence standards in upcoming glyphosate-cancer trials could yield science-based verdicts, legal analyst says
Three trials in California against Bayer have sided with plaintiffs involving allegations that the glyphosate in the herbicide Roundup causes ...
Biotech corn with multiple GMO traits poses no threat to human health, environment, EU study confirms
Following the submission of [an] application .... from Monsanto Company (referred to hereafter as the applicant), the Panel on Genetically ...
Microorganisms could help rid soil of lingering pesticides
Pesticides have been widely used after the Second World War in management of weeds, diseases and pests of plants. Most ...
California advances ban on insecticide chlorpyrifos, claims ‘politics’ prevent EPA from acting
California regulators on [August 14] took formal legal steps to ban a widely used pesticide that had been rescued from ...
9 popular ‘eco-friendly’ everyday things that really aren’t…including buying non-GMO foods
We all care about the environment at least a tiny bit. Some of us more than others. But there are ...
Going vegetarian might boost your health, but probably won’t slow climate change
It pays to be a picky eater—at least, when it comes to meat. A study published ....in Scientific Reports suggests ...
Thailand, home to early crop biotech research, proposes strict GMO safety, labeling rules
Thailand has drafted a new set of regulations for comments, targeting food and food products containing or consisting of genetically ...
UK aquaculture researchers welcome Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s pro-GMO, CRISPR stance as Brexit proceeds
Some of the most progressive researchers in the UK’s aquaculture biotechnology sphere have welcomed Boris Johnson’s pledge to support the ...
Viewpoint: Biologist Tyrone Hayes, author of suspect atrazine weed killer study, nominated for EPA’s Scientific Advisory Panel
Comments opened on the recent EPA nominations to serve on the Scientific Advisory Panel (SAP) .... The name at number ...
India won’t ban glyphosate to stop illegal planting of herbicide-tolerant GMO crops
The government is unlikely to put a ban on the controversial herbicide glyphosate as there is no proven record to ...
GMO Impossible burger headed for grocery stores. Here’s the nutrition facts you should know
Having jumped all the appropriate FDA hurdles to ensure safety, the Impossible Burger in its uncooked form is coming to ...
Banana-destroying fungus hits South America. Is genetic engineering the solution?
A fungus that has wreaked havoc on banana plantations in the Eastern Hemisphere has, despite years of preventative efforts, arrived ...
Monsanto, GMOs and journalism ethics: Science writer Tamar Haspel responds to HuffPost attack on her work
[On August 6], HuffPost published a hit piece about me. It was about conflicts of interest, and I think it’s ...
Acute exposure to controversial insecticide sulfoxaflor doesn’t impact bee learning, study shows
Systemic insecticides such as neonicotinoids and sulfoximines can be present in the nectar and pollen of treated crops, through which ...
Glyphosate label war escalates: Spurning EPA objections, California keeps cancer Prop. 65 warning on herbicide
California has no plans to change its rule that certain products containing the herbicide glyphosate require warnings to consumers that ...
Viewpoint: Eating less meat, boosting crop yields will help prevent famine as climate changes
Humanity is on a collision course with nature. Already 72% of the global ice-free land surface is dedicated to supporting ...
Viewpoint: Eating organic is a ‘personal choice,’ but pricier produce won’t make you healthier
Many folks automatically assume that organic equals healthier. But have you ever wondered if the product you're most likely paying ...
‘Humanity’s exploitation’ of land hastens climate change, United Nations’ IPCC says
[August 8] brings yet another devastating report from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, this time outlining how humanity’s ...
Roundup on trial: Glyphosate-cancer settlement talks progress, but report of an $8 billion payout is ‘pure fiction’
Bayer AG is proposing to pay as much as $8 billion to settle more than 18,000 U.S. lawsuits alleging its ...
