Daily Food & Agriculture Digest
Fake news alert: Melania Trump did not ban Monsanto products, GMOs from White House
CLAIM: First Lady Melania Trump banned all Monsanto products from the White House after reading about the dangers of genetically modified ...
Genetic tweaks could boost yields of pigeon peas, important source of protein in developing world
Researchers have identified key genes associated with flowering time in the pigeon pea, a finding that could lead to more ...
Can EPA ‘restore science and common sense’ to neonicotinoid insecticide regulations?
[A] federal district court judge has ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency failed to consult with the FWS before approving ...
Organic food imports plagued by ‘corruption, bribery and falsified documents’
Roughly 40% of all organic food sold in America tests positive for prohibited pesticides, according to two USDA studies. And, ...
What’s driving the wave of agrichemical company mergers?
After a decade without any big deals, since 2015 three mega-mergers, collectively worth around $240bn, have been proposed. When they ...
Can the FDA convince public that GMOs are safe to eat, good for environment?
The Food and Drug Administration has a tough job ahead of it, a job that the food and agriculture sectors ...
Video: Genetically modified pollinating cyborg dragonfly drone takes flight
[Editor's note: As has been previously reported, these dragonflies could be used for artificial pollination.] A new experiment bypasses the ...
Did EPA and Monsanto conspire to downplay potential danger of glyphosate before EU review?
The European Food Safety Authority dismissed a study linking a Monsanto weedkiller to cancer after counsel from a US Environmental ...
Epigenetically modified cotton could lead to hardier varieties without altering genes
With prices down and weather patterns unpredictable, these are tough times for America’s cotton farmers, but new research led by ...
US beekeepers report lowest overwinter losses since survey began in 2006
Beekeepers across the United States lost 33 percent of their honey bee colonies during the year spanning April 2016 to ...
Fake food news: Non-GMO Project sets standard for misleading consumers
[Editor's note: Kavin Senapathy is a freelance writer and co-author of The Fear Babe: Shattering Vani Hari’s Glass House.] As a ...
Unsustainable farming: Why your organic T-shirt might be bad for the environment
The word “organic” is a powerful marketing tool. In clothing—just as in food—brands love to tout their use of organic ...
Video: ‘Weed seed pulverizing machine’ could help combat herbicide resistance
Known by a name seemingly out of a superhero comic book, the Harrington Seed Destructor is a mechanical beast that ...
10 ways Whole Foods misleads consumers about organic food and farming
[Editor's note: Hank Campbell is president of the American Council on Science and Health.] I was at a meeting with ...
Pests and pathogens cost global agriculture $540 billion a year
The spread of pests and pathogens that damage plant life could cost global agriculture $540 billion a year, according to ...
Liberal awakening: Ignorance of GMO science has no ideology
[Emily Thorne is a 17-year-old aspiring journalist from Athens, Georgia.] For a long time, I was part of the anti-GMO movement. It ...
Philippine’s GMO media coverage has moved from fear to science, study finds
The Philippine media developed a matured editorial position over 17 years of modern biotechnology reporting, according to the new publication ...
Myth busting: Does Monsanto ‘control’ farmers with contracts that bar seed saving?
[Editor's note: Read the GLP's coverage of farmers' responses to Bette Midler criticizing Monsanto’s seed patent contracts here.] [Editor's note: Brian Scott ...
21st century veggie burger: ‘Bloody-pink and fleshy’ thanks to genetic engineering
The 20th century veggie burger was a beige patty packed with whole grains and carrot chunks, sold in a brown ...
Video: Organic food is a great business but a bad environmental investment
[Editor's note: Bjorn Lomborg is director of the Copenhagen Consensus Center and a visiting professor at Copenhagen Business School.] There are no health benefits ...
Kenya faces hunger, but refuses to import GMO corn from South Africa’s record harvest
Africa’s corn harvest this year is a tale of two extremes as worries about overflowing silos and rotting crops in ...
Video: Pest-resistant GE cowpeas could reduce pesticide use, increase yields of African staple
Dr. TJ Higgins discusses a global effort to genetically engineer a pest-resistant variety of cowpea (black-eyed peas) that will help ...
Spinach genome will help breeders improve disease-resistance, yield and quality
While you may not gulp spinach by the can-fulls, if you love spanakopita or your go-to appetizer is spinach artichoke ...
Scared to Death: Environmental Working Group fails the ‘sound science’ chemicals test
The Environmental Working Group (EWG) uses an authoritative sounding name to peddle scientific half-truths and outright fabrications. Along with Greenpeace ...
‘Sugar is sugar is sugar’: What Hershey doesn’t want you to know about its GMO-free chocolate
[Editor's note: Wanda Patsche and her husband own and operate an independent farm in southern Minnesota, raising corn, soybeans and pigs.] ...
How GMOs could slash livestock methane greenhouse gas emissions
Genetically modified ryegrass developed to reduce methane emissions and nitrate discharges by livestock is being tested in the United States. Limits on ...
‘Extra sweet’ GE pink pineapples flower on Instagram
The unicorn of fruit is here and it comes in the form of a hot pink pineapple. Pink. Freaking. Pineapples ...