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.
Supercharged sugarcane: How CRISPR gene-editing angles of leaves optimizes photosynthesis and boosts crop yields nearly 20%
In a new study, researchers used the genetic scissors CRISPR/Cas9 system to tweak the leaf angle in sugarcane, enabling the ...
Taking Ozempic or Wegovy? Fearing reduced appetites, Nestle and other companies market food directly to people taking weight loss drugs
Millions of Americans have begun taking the pricey new drugs—particularly Mounjaro, Ozempic, Wegovy, and Zepbound—and millions more are expected to go ...
On the outside, not looking in: Peru again rejects opportunity to lift GMO ban
The president of the Consumer Defense Commission [of Peru], Wilson Soto Palacios, has expressed his satisfaction with the decision of ...
Raw milk provides ‘immunity’ from bird flu? Misguided beliefs spark spike in sales
Sales of raw milk in the U.S. have risen 21% since bird flu was first confirmed in dairy cattle in ...
Grazing sheep under solar panels? How ‘intercropping’ livestock and clean energy boosts animal wellfare and farmer incomes
As a flock of about 2,000 sheep graze between rows of solar panels, grazier Tony Inder wonders what all the ...
From food waste to plastic-free biodegradables? Leftover rice byproducts might be key to sustainable packaging
You know that protective outer layer you toss out before cooking rice? Scientists at Kyungpook National University in South Korea ...
How long is forever? Chemical manufacturers challenge what they believe are unscientific attacks on PFAS — what environmental activists call ‘forever chemicals’
Chemical and manufacturing groups sued the federal government [June 10] over a landmark drinking-water standard that would require cleanup of ...
More than 50% of Gen X Americans have never tried tofu or other plant-based proteins. Here’s a strategy to shake up the alt-meat market
A Dig Insights poll revealed that 64% of US consumers are looking to increase their protein intake, especially younger demographics ...
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos invests $30 million in alternative proteins
In recent years, billionaires like Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, and others have taken an interest in farmland and ...
Antibacterial wax coating made from cinnamon? Here is a ‘natural’ way to extend shelf life of food
A team of researchers at Texas A&M University determined a way to make fruits and vegetables last longer — using only ingredients approved ...
Viewpoint: Why advocating for idealistic activist goals is ‘not necessarily heroic and may not be benign’
A precise gene-editing technology can make crops tastier, more nutritious, and more resilient to climate change. But can it avoid ...
Milk without cows? As bird flu crisis persists, biotechnology may offer safer workaround
A precise gene-editing technology can make crops tastier, more nutritious, and more resilient to climate change. But can it avoid ...
How CRISPR gene-editing technology could change the way we eat
A precise gene-editing technology can make crops tastier, more nutritious, and more resilient to climate change. But can it avoid ...
Gourmet dinner crafted from edible insects? Despite the ‘eew factor,’ taste profiles are promising
Edible insects, like ants, are considered a delicacy in many cultures, as well as being very nutritious and an environmentally ...
Viewpoint: Forget environmental and organic mumbo-jumbo — Here’s what you really get at farmer’s markets
There is populist rhetoric about Buy Local but what few in the public realize is that the definition is subjective ...
Here is why CRISPR is a more helpful tool than transgenic GMOs and organic farming to sustainably transform crops and food
Despite scientific consensus on the safety of genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, they have faced significant regulatory hurdles and public ...
Viewpoint: Zambia’s drought crisis suggests critical need to reassess misplaced two-decade-old decision to ban genetically modified maize
In 2002, Zambia made headlines when President Levy Mwanawasa declared a ban on the importation and distribution of genetically modified ...
Climate-adaptive alternative proteins could replace up to two-thirds of animal proteins by 2050 and dramatically reduce need for agricultural land
In the least optimistic scenario, alternative proteins could displace a sixth of meat and dairy consumption in Europe. In the ...
Bayer partners with gene-edited food start-up Pairwise to bring nutritionally-enhanced, less bitter mustard greens to a wider market
Last year, startup Pairwise started selling the first food in the US made with Crispr technology: a new type of mustard ...
Yuck factor: Insect protein foods would yield enormous climate change benefits — but acceptance remains a slow slog
The emergence of insects as a form of alternative protein in many ways provides the best of both worlds. While ...
China develops gene-edited rice variety that could resist debilitating crop disease
Scientists have made an exciting breakthrough that resulted in mutant rice with enhanced immunity against a devastating disease ...
90% of wild fisheries are dangerously depleted. Plant-based and cultivated seafood products may offer an alternative without the need for destructive practices
Up to 2.7 trillion wild-caught fish are believed to be slaughtered globally each year, resulting in approximately 90 per cent ...
Methane-releasing cow ‘burps’ are a major global contributor to climate instability. Could a vaccine fix that?
The methane emitted by the world’s billion-plus belching cattle has roughly the same impact on the climate as all the ...
‘Gene editing is a more elegant way of tackling crop disease than spraying more pesticides’: CRISPR revolution opens door to ‘disaster-proof’ crops
Traditional crop breeding can be time-consuming and laborious. Brad Ringeisen, the executive director of the Innovative Genomics Institute (IGI) at ...
Here’s why Europe’s only GMO crop approved for cultivation is gradually being abandoned
For more than two decades, the European Union has maintained regulations in the sector focused on ensuring that GMOs that ...
AI advantage: Why embracing precision gene editing will help India grow food in a climate change challenged world
Climate change is bound to affect our food systems. The impact of rising CO2 levels may impact crop yields in ...
‘New opportunities to democratize gene-edited crops and promote global sustainability’: Nature Biotechnology editors outline how small companies drive agricultural innovation
CRISPR technologies offer new opportunities to democratize gene-edited crops and promote global sustainability ...
