Daily Food & Agriculture 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.
Berkeley professor Zilberman: No, Michael Pollan, Food Evolution movie is not ‘propaganda’
[Editor's note: David Zilberman is a professor of agriculture and resource economics at the University of California Berkeley.] Food Evolution is a ...
Monsanto’s hidden influence? Glyphosate’s future in hands of EPA and the courts
Roundup has revolutionized farming. Now, human health and Bayer’s $66 billion deal for Monsanto depend on an honest appraisal of ...
Opinion: Bloomberg journalists botch another anti-Monsanto article
[Editor's note: Hank Campbell is president of the American Council on Science and Health.] Bloomberg Businessweek has written another anti-Monsanto article.... It's ...
EU Health and Food Safety Commissioner: Glyphosate safe but herbicide’s reapproval unsure
The European Union will only extend its approval for the herbicide glyphosate if there is sufficient support from the bloc's ...
Alaskan Sen Murkowski introduces bill to label GMO ‘frankenfish’ salmon that could ‘wreak havoc’
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, has introduced new legislation mandating that genetically engineered salmon be so labeled. The Genetically Engineered Salmon ...
Green Line: Why plant scientists need to talk about climate change impacts on farming
[Editor’s note: Kevin Folta is a molecular biologist and chair of the horticultural sciences department at the University of Florida.] As a molecular ...
China approves import of Syngenta, Monsanto GMO corn but leaves four crop varieties in hiatus
China has approved two more genetically modified (GMO) crops for import, the Ministry of Agriculture said, the second such move ...
Video: Plant defenses turn caterpillar pests into cannibals
If you’re a hungry caterpillar and you’ve got a choice between eating a plant or another caterpillar, which do you ...
New York organic farm group opposes release of genetically engineered moths to rescue brassica crops
A local farming association is criticizing the U.S. Department of Agriculture for issuing a permit for the world’s first open-air ...
Kevin Folta: ‘Berkeley 45’ has opportunity to rethink ‘activist aided’ attack on Food Evolution movie
[Editor’s note: Kevin Folta is a molecular biologist and chair of the horticultural sciences department at the University of Florida.] The release of ...
5 ways the food industry can earn consumer trust for gene-edited foods
[Editor's note: Charlie Arnot is CEO of the Center for Food Integrity.] Trust research from The Center for Food Integrity ...
‘Ebola of plants’: Can gene sequencing save tropical food staple cassava from whitefly-borne virus?
Almost a billion people around the world rely on cassava as a staple food. The root vegetable is a versatile ...
Viewpoint: Organic industry faces credibility crisis as USDA investigates ‘phony’ imports
Amazon’s acquisition of Whole Foods, the grocer that brought pricey organic food to the masses, comes during a time of ...
Organic water? Asarasi exploits loophole to get USDA-certified label on bottles
Much like asparagus water and water sommeliers, organic water is giving us pause. Though the concept isn’t new, it’s surprising to see it making ...
Indian agricultural scientist: ‘Gene revolution’ needed to feed growing population
[Editor's note: The following is a Q&A with Vasanth Kumar Thimakapura, an internationally-recognised agriculture scientist and social entrepreneur who runs Green ...
Add Tennessee to list of states restricting dicamba herbicide after drift complaints
The Tennessee Department of Agriculture, facing some 70 suspected dicamba-drift complaints largely in western Tennessee, has issued new rules on ...
Sen. Pat Roberts: ‘Uncertainty and dysfunction have overtaken’ USDA organic program
The far-reaching difficulty that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has in determining whether imported “organic” food meets standards or is ...
Milk without cows, eggs without chickens? Synthetic biology could lead to more sustainable food
[Editor's note: The following is a Q&A with Swedish bio-hacker Hannes Sjoblad.] Bio-hacking applies technology in innovative ways to modify biological systems ...
How ‘pollinator entrepreneurs’ helped stave off ‘beepocalypse’
[Editor's note: Shawn Regan is a research fellow at the Property and Environment Research Center (PERC) in Bozeman, Montana.] Despite ...
CRISPR food is coming: How gene editing will change agriculture
In the near future, scientists will engineer food that grows faster and does not spoil. This is the promise of ...
Opinion: Think twice before purchasing products with the ‘fake news’-spreading Non-GMO Project label
[Editor's note: Randy Krotz is CEO of the US Farmers & Ranchers Alliance.] I am increasingly finding items that are labeled ...
Uganda’s ag minister: Opposition to GMOs means ‘telling people to remain poor’
The Uganda government says it is determined to ensure that the Biotech Bill is passed into law to facilitate safe development ...
Garbage? Study challenges claim that Americans waste $165 billion of food each year
Say you’re a journalist, and you’ve been assigned a story about food waste. You’re on a deadline, and you need ...
Scientists skeptical EU neonicotinoid ban would help bees
As the EU prepares to rule on extending a ban on neonicotinoid pesticides, a large-scale study opened the door for industry to argue ...
Opinion: USDA ‘should rely upon science and facts’ to update GMO regulations
[Paul Enríquez is a lawyer and scientist currently doing research in structural and molecular biochemistry at North Carolina State University.] ...
Lesson from debate over Food Evolution movie? ‘Doesn’t make sense to judge GMOs as a monolithic entity’
[Marion] Nestle told The Outline that her comments in the film were taken “out of context” because its narrow focus on the ...
USDA plans to publish draft of proposed federal GMO labeling rule this fall
USDA will publish a draft of its proposed federal GMO labeling rule in the fall of this year (which will ...
