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.
Genetically tweaked ‘seasonless’ broccoli may double yields
Scientists at the John Innes Centre are developing a new line of fast-growing sprouting broccoli that goes from seed to ...
GMO-free diet adds almost $3,000 per year to average US family food budget, study finds
[Editor's note: The following is a study by Barry Goodwin, Michele Marra, and Nicholas Piggott, from the Agricultural and Resource ...
EU may block import of GMO crops from Britain if country allows biotech crops post-Brexit
Plans to grow genetically modified crops in Britain could result in the EU blocking imports of the produce after Brexit, ...
Chinese scientist convicted of stealing GMO rice seeds from Kansas research facility
A federal jury on [Feb. 16, 2017] convicted a Chinese scientist in Kansas of conspiring to steal samples of a ...
Insect-resistant GMO cowpeas speed toward commercialization in Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan African farmers will soon have access to improved cowpea varieties that will lead to increases in yield. This follows ...
Farmers in 10 states file lawsuit alleging Monsanto responsible for crop damage from drift of dicamba herbicide
[Editor's note: In November 2016, the EPA approved a formulation of dicamba that contains an additive that reduces volatility. This ...
Consumption of soy milk and herbicide glyphosate may alter your sperm? Horticulturist Kevin Folta says not so fast
[Editor’s note: Kevin Folta is a molecular geneticist and chair of the horticultural sciences department at the University of Florida.] Carey ...
What factors shape women’s perceptions of GMOs?
[Editor's note: Heather Bray is a senior research associate and Rachel Ankeny is a professor of history, both at the ...
Did EU abuse emergency authorizations of neonicotinoids?
The EU has been criticised after a new legal analysis showed it had allowed scores of “emergency authorisations” of banned ...
US producers struggling to keep up with rising demand for organic, non-GMO grains
Increasing consumer demand for organic and non-GMO foods led to a sharp rise in organic grain imports in 2016 — ...
‘Oregon prohibition on local GMO restrictions should remain’
[Editor's note: The following is an editorial by Capital Press, an independent news website that covers the agriculture industry in and ...
Indian farmers can benefit tremendously from planting GM crops, new book says
Former director of [the] Centre for Plant Molecular Biology at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University [in India,] S Sadasivam on [Feb ...
Corn catalog: Crop’s climate adaption genes identified to help breeders speed up improvements
Over many thousands of years, farmers have bred maize varieties so the crops are optimally adapted to local environments. A ...
Drought-tolerant genetically engineered maize poised to help African farmers adapt to changing climate
[Editor's note: Mark Lynas is an author and journalist who reports on crop biotechnology around the world.] Tanzania's first-ever genetically ...
‘Clean food’ is a marketing ploy and offensive to hard-working scientists, farmers
[Editor’s note: Kevin Folta is a molecular geneticist and chair of the horticultural sciences department at the University of Florida.] When ...
Europe appears poised to overturn neonicotinoid pesticides ban
[Editor's note: Matt Ridley is a columnist for the Times (UK), a member of the House of Lords and the ...
Food, farm and anti-pesticide groups ask US attorney general to block 3 agri-business mergers
Nearly 325 consumer, food, farm and anti-pesticide groups sent a letter [on February 13] to newly confirmed Attorney General Jeff Sessions ...
Organic industry fears Republicans are targeting National Organic Program
Back in December [2016], the Freedom Caucus [a group of US House Republicans] released a "recommended list of regulations to ...
Pediatrician debunks claims that GMOs and chemicals used with them are bad for the environment
[Editor’s note: Emiliano Tatar is a pediatrician at the Einstein Healthcare Network Roxborough Plaza. The following is an interview with ...
Former UK chief scientist: Europe’s opposition to GMOs ‘dangerously naive’ in the face of climate change
A former UK chief scientist has warned that politicians around the globe are ignoring science for the sake of short-term ...
Nigeria faces drought, famine, malnutrition and hunger, but GMOs offer hope
A report recently published by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) says a total of 8.1 million people ...
More nutritious and tastier vegetables? CRISPR gene editing could dramatically boost consumption
Spinach. Tomato. Watermelon. Broccoli. Besides being good for you, these four vegetables are just a few that could benefit — ...
Tough times on the farm: US profit squeeze expected to continue for fourth straight year
This year, U.S. farmers are expected to net profits of $62.3 billion, or one-half of the record $123 billion they reaped ...
GOP Congress could deploy long-standing law to repeal Obama-era FDA GMO animal biotech policies
A game-changer for regulatory reform, [the Congressional Review Act] could be a significant stimulus to job creation and economic growth ...
Post-modernism fans world-wide skepticism of modern technology, endangering biotech revolution
[Editor's note: Marcel Kuntz is Research Director at the French Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)] Postmodernism is an ...
Shareholders reject proposal to curb antibiotic use at third largest US chicken producer–Sanderson Farms
A Sanderson Farms Inc shareholder proposal requesting the third-largest U.S. poultry producer phase out the use of medically important antibiotics ...
10 photos that capture how humans have genetically modified food for centuries
Just about everyone these days has someone in their life –a friend, a relative, a co-worker– who subscribes to the ...
