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.
‘Blame nature not pesticides’: Bee health detectives unravel mystery of 2013 Oregon bumblebee mass deaths
In June 2013, in a Target parking lot in Wilsonville, Ore., an estimated 50,000 bumblebees dropped dead. Shoppers reported bees falling from ...
GMO glyphosate-tolerant soybean has ‘no adverse effects’ on male rat reproduction system
Glyphosate tolerant soybeans represent a large portion of soybeans grown and fed to farm animals around the world. Despite their ...
Bollworm pest shows signs of resistance to latest GMO Bt corn, cotton in southern US
Also known as the corn earworm, the cotton bollworm has spent the last decade steadily evolving resistance to most of ...
Roundup trial: Bayer’s glyphosate-cancer legal losses signal public’s flagging trust in regulators
Jurors have sided with plaintiffs in all three cases over Bayer AG’s herbicide Roundup to go to trial so far, ...
USDA: Purple corn could help battle obesity, diabetes
Purple corn is more than tasty and eye-catching. Scientists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have discovered a game-changing ...
Impossible Foods ramps up supply as Burger King plans nationwide GMO plant-based Whopper launch
Plant-based burger maker Impossible Foods on [July 31] announced a partnership with major meat supplier OSI Group, a longtime producer ...
Denied access to neonicotinoid insecticides, UK farmers scramble to control deadly plant virus
Controlling the spread of plant viruses has just got harder with the demise of neonicotinoid seed treatments putting the emphasis ...
‘Synthetic signalling networks’ between GMO plants, bacteria could boost crop yields
The root microbiota is critical for agricultural yield, with growth-promoting bacteria able to solubilize phosphate, produce plant growth hormones, antagonize ...
Controlling this gene boosts plant tolerance to water, salt stress
Plant Science reports that OsNCED5 gene regulated tolerance to water and salt stress, as well as leaf aging in rice ...
Just-discovered rice gene could fuel development of new GMO herbicide-resistant crops
Rice experts from the National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO) in Japan and partners found a rice gene that ...
Bayer scraps launch of Monsanto worm pesticide over safety concerns as glyphosate-cancer legal battle rages
Bayer AG has scrapped plans for wide sales next year of a chemical that is intended to protect U.S. crops ...
Smartphone-powered device quickly detects diseased plants, could help protect crop yields
Researchers at North Carolina State University have developed portable technology that allows farmers to identify plant diseases in the field ...
Glyphosate on trial: Bayer would consider settling all cancer lawsuits on ‘reasonable terms’, as suits now number 18,400
Bayer on [July 30] said it would consider settling with U.S. plaintiffs suing over the German group’s Roundup herbicide only ...
Kenyan farmer ‘confused and disappointed’ by anti-science agenda at International Conference on Agroecology
The three-day first International Conference on Agroecology Transforming Agriculture and Food Systems in Africa, held recently at the Safari Park ...
Scientists recruit drones, GMOs and weed-killing robots to help farmers thrive as climate changes
In decades to come, African farmers may pool their money to buy small robot vehicles to weed their fields or ...
Sen. Chuck Schumer: Pesticide industry behind USDA suspension of honeybee population research
Sen. Chuck Schumer on [July 28] blasted the US Department of Agriculture for suspending data collection of the decline of ...
EU green lights imports of 10 GMO crops following comprehensive safety assessment
On [July 26], the Commission authorized ten genetically modified organisms (GMOs): seven for food and feed uses .... two renewed ...
Bayer faces expensive lawsuit in Brazil as more farmers challenge firm’s GMO soy patent
Germany’s Bayer AG, which completed the takeover of U.S.-based Monsanto [in 2018], has been dealt a legal blow in Brazil ...
Viewpoint: Eat organic apples to improve gut health? There’s reason for skepticism
Yogurt marketing and supplement claims aside, there is no evidence that your body is impacted by probiotics unless you suffered ...
Nutritionist: You can’t buy GMO wheat—so don’t blame it for celiac disease
Amber Pankonin, a registered dietitian and an adjunct instructor in the science department at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, places trust ...
Infographic: How CRISPR gene editing works
Here's a quick look at the mechanics of CRISPR, courtesy of Euroseeds, a trade association for European seed producers. The ...
New breeding techniques can boost food security in Africa, report finds
New breeding techniques can help Africa meet its food security and industrial needs while improving farmer livelihoods, according to a ...
Roundworm pheromones could boost crop pest resistance, cut chemical use
Protecting crops from pests and pathogens without using toxic pesticides has been a longtime goal of farmers. Researchers at Boyce ...
Bayer trial: Judge cuts ‘excessive, unconstitutional’ $2 billion Monsanto glyphosate-cancer damages to $86.7 million
A California judge on [July 25] reduced a $2 billion jury verdict, slashing the award for a couple who blamed ...
Plant-based Beyond Burger healthier than beef? Nutrition experts weigh in on popular meat alternative
Canadians can't get enough of Beyond Meat's plant-based burger that's designed to taste just like beef .... But does Beyond's ...
GMO Bt corn has ‘no impact’ on health of soil animals, two-year study finds
Scientists from Jilin Academy of Agricultural Sciences conducted a 2-year field trial and found that genetically engineered maize producing insecticidal ...
Video: Can we keep this parasitic, bee-killing mite out of the US?
“Bees are not just an incredibly charismatic insect, they’re also incredibly vital to our way of life as human beings,” ...
