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.
What are natural flavors and scents? Biotechnology blurs the definition
A company in the United Kingdom can transform chemicals found in oranges into the coveted flavor of grapefruit. By mixing ...
CRISPR crops focused on sustainable farming could soften African resistance to genetic engineering
[Nteranya Sanginga is director general of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture.] The role of genetic engineering in agriculture and ...
Next generation insect-resistant GM cotton could be ‘game changer’ for Australian farmers
A new variety of genetically modified cotton is shaping up to be a game-changer for those looking to grow cotton ...
Drought resistant, higher-yielding GM rice developed by Japanese researchers
Scientists at the RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science have developed strains of rice that are resistant to drought in ...
Fertilizer-making GE microbes could boost crop yields, fight malnutrition in developing world
Industrial fertilizers help feed billions of people every year, but they remain beyond the reach of many of the world’s ...
Key to developing flood-resistant crops: Genetically engineering plants’ stress response survival strategy
[The following is a Q&A with Dr. Emily Flashman, organic chemistry researcher at the University of Oxford, about a study she ...
Greenpeace’s ‘double standard’ on lab-created seedless watermelons and GMOs
[Editor's note: Myles Power is a chemist in Manchester, England. Read the GLP profile of Greenpeace here.] Last year [2016], I ...
Bee-apocalypse update: Honeybee deaths linked to gut microbe-altering antibiotic
[Editor's note: Kasie Raymann, Zach Shaffer, and Nancy Moran are researchers in the Department of Integrative Biology at the University ...
ChemChina takeover of Syngenta approved by US, EU regulators in China’s biggest foreign acquisition ever
U.S. and European regulators have cleared a Chinese conglomerate's proposed $43 billion acquisition of Swiss agribusiness giant Syngenta on condition ...
GMO disease-resistant bananas may be key to saving African staple
Banana is an important staple food crop feeding more than 100 million Africans, but is subject to severe productivity constraints ...
Bangladesh announces release of 3 more GMO pest-resistant eggplant varieties
Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) will release three more varieties of the country's first genetically modified (GM) crop--Bt Brinjal [eggplant], ...
Maui versus Monsanto: Battle over GMOs in Hawaii rages on
No one would be surprised if a presidential election or a decisive senate race held the title of most expensive election ...
Putting cancer risk in perspective: Random errors in DNA replication bigger factor than diet, lifestyle choices
[Editor's note: Jayson Lusk is a professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics at Oklahoma State University.] [E]ven if you eat ...
Non-GMO Wild Turkey whiskey? Latest absurd food label illustrates hypocritical anti-GMO cancer fears
[Editor’s note: Kevin Folta is a molecular biologist and chair of the horticultural sciences department at the University of Florida.] [April 2, ...
Disease resistant, stress tolerant GE mustard could replace rapeseed as source of vegetable oil, biodiesel
University of Copenhagen and ... Bayer CropScience have successfully developed a new oilseed crop that is much more resistant to ...
Biotech proponents ask Trump Administration to fast-track updated GMO regulations, unshackle innovation
In July 2015 the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, under President Barack Obama, mandated that the USDA, ...
To ban GMO crops, European countries must prove ‘serious and evident risk’ to health, environment
An EU high court adviser on Thursday [March 30, 2017] gave member states a very limited go-ahead to ban the ...
Video: Facts, fears and future of GMOs—in a nutshell
GMOs are one of the most controversial areas of science. Genetic engineering is used in many fields, but even though ...
Opposition to Dow-DuPont merger emerges among major farmer group
[Editor's note: The National Farmer's Union is the second largest general farm organization in the country. It represents more than 200,000 ...
Oregon considers new restrictions, labels for neonicotinoid insecticides over bee health concerns
Neonicotinoid pesticides, which critics blame for death and illness among pollinators, would be subject to new restrictions and labeling rules ...
How we can preserve biodiversity while maintaining agricultural yields, meet nutritional demands
[Editor's note: Claire Kremen is a professor of conservation biology at University of California, Berkeley, where she also co-directs the Center for Diversified ...
Uganda’s president supports bill allowing country’s farmers to grow GMO crops
The pressure to pass the Biotechnology and Biosafety Bill 2012 has started building up in recent weeks after some parts ...
Nobel laureate biochemist Sir John Roberts calls anti-GMO activism a ‘crime against humanity’
Though developed countries stand against genetically modified organisms (GMOs) for specific political and economic reasons, it is an effective tool ...
Non-GMO movement plagued by ‘rampant sexism’, critic says
It’s no secret that [moms are] among the most coveted demographics of the non-GMO marketing machine. Jeffrey Smith, one of ...
Australian commission calls for state governments to lift GM crop bans
The Productivity Commission has released a range of sweeping recommendations to cut the costs of regulation in agriculture. ... It ...
Potato pest developing resistance to neonicotinoid insecticides
The potato industry may be losing a mainstay in the battle against [the plant-feeding insect] psyllids, according to a recent ...
Former UN head Kofi Annan: Science must play role in advancing agriculture, particularly in Africa
“Science and technology should play a role in raising agriculture productivity, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa,” said [former secretary general of ...
