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.
Why it’s time to end the ‘farmers versus environmentalists’ fight and work together
[Editor's note: Suzy Friedman is the senior director of agricultural sustainability at the Environmental Defense Fund.] On paper, I appear ...
Canadian farmers, beekeepers: Neonicotinoid replacement ineffective, bad for bees
A proposed replacement for a key neonicotinoid pesticide is proving unpopular with everyone — including farmers and beekeepers. Farmers adopted ...
Medical school investigation finds ‘no evidence’ Monsanto ghostwrote paper on safety of herbicide glyphosate
After a quick investigation, officials at a medical school in New York State say they have found "no evidence" that ...
Is Cargill supporting ‘removal of GMOs from planet’ by partnering with Non-GMO Project?
[Read the GLP profile of the Non-GMO project here.] [Cargill] recently partnered with the Non-GMO Project to help build a ...
Did Cargill ruin its reputation with scientists, farmers with one #NonGMO tweet?
[Read the GLP profile of the Non-GMO project here.] Reputations are a funny thing. It takes years to build them ...
Prepping crops for climate change: Genetics of bloom time may be key
Plants possess molecular mechanisms that prevent them from blooming in winter. Once the cold of winter has passed, they are ...
Afraid of burnt toast? Food expert says it’s dangerous to fear modern food
Many foods contain acrylamide, so the chemical can't be avoided, [Joe] Schwarcz [of the Office for Science and Society at McGill University in Montreal] said ...
General Mills angers environmentalists over inclusion of invasive species in ‘save the bees’ seed mix
Environmentalists are buzzing about a new campaign started by General Mills to promote awareness surrounding the world's declining bee population ...
Video: Watch how plants grow in 3D with high-tech microscope, lasers
It’s hard to take a picture of something that’s always moving—just ask anyone who’s had to photograph a child. Now, ...
Royal disagreement: UK’s Princess Anne contradicts brother Charles, says ‘we have to accept’ GM crops
Princess Anne has said genetically-modified crops have important benefits for providing food and she would be open to growing them ...
Will toxin-blocking biotech corn help win over skeptics of genetic engineering?
Aflatoxin is a well-known global health threat. This poison, produced by the Aspergillus fungus, is common in corn, wheat, rice ...
Environmental Working Group must turn to sound science to address public fear created by ‘dirty dozen’ list
There are now two peer-reviewed studies from respected academic institutions (Johns Hopkins and Illinois Institute of Technology) with similar conclusions ...
Rusty patched bumblebee officially added to endangered species list
[Editor’s note: Read the GLP’s coverage of pollinators here.] The rusty patched bumblebee on Tuesday [March 21, 2017] became the ...
How will China’s decision to import fewer GM crops affect US farmers?
China is approving fewer new biotech crops for import than before, hampering the launch of new products globally and hurting ...
Kenya rejects GMO corn field trials, citing environmental concerns
It will take longer before Kenya conducts open trials on genetically modified (GM) crops after the government said the country ...
‘Resurrection plants’: Future drought-resistant crops could spring back to life thanks to gene switch
Could harnessing the power of "resurrection plants" - with the ability to survive severe water shortages for years - hold ...
Canadian farmers poised to plant GM potatoes for first time
In 2016, no acres in Canada were seeded to J.R. Simplot Company’s genetically engineered first-generation Innate potato lines. But industry ...
Infographic: Explore the future of genetic engineering and food
The first genetically engineered apple, Arctic Apple, a modified variety of Golden Delicious, hit stores in test markets in the ...
5 biotech products US regulators might struggle to regulate
A new report issued by the National Academy of Sciences says U.S. regulatory agencies need to prepare for new plants, ...
Bananas and many staple crops may be doomed to disease if we cannot biodiversify
[Editor's note: The following is an excerpt from the book "Never Out of Season: How Having the Food We Want ...
CRISPR crops face regulatory and public acceptance obstacles
[Editor's note: Armin Scheben is a PhD student and David Edwards is a professor at the School of Biological Sciences ...
Which GM crops might be embraced by the organic movement — if sustainability matters
[Editor's note: Gerhart Ryffel is a professor at the Institute of Cell Biology, Essen University Hospital in Germany.] Several years ago, I ...
Future of milk? Genetically engineered yeast could replace cows
The latest new buzzword in food tech? Fermentation. And we’re not talking about the kimchi or kombucha kind. Rather, it’s ...
‘Save the Bees?’ General Mills campaign perpetuates myths about GMOs, pesticides
Watch out – Buzz, the iconic mascot for General Mills’ Honey Nut Cheerios, is going to be missing in action ...
Should US spend more on agricultural R&D to make food cheaper, more sustainable?
[Editor's note: Margaret Zeigler is executive director of the Global Harvest Initiative, a private-sector voice for productivity growth throughout the agricultural ...
Palm reading: How genetic, epigenetic scans could boost palm oil yields, reduce environmental footprint
Palm oil is a commodity that generally evokes images of mass deforestation, human-rights violations and dying orangutans. In Indonesia and ...
Plants challenged to ‘breath’ because of climate change — This gene tweak could change that
New work from a joint team of plant biologists and ecologists from Carnegie and Stanford University has uncovered the factor ...
