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.
Upgrading photosynthesis through genetic engineering
The amount of land dedicated to farming is shrinking, the world's crop productivity is stagnating, and the population is still ...
False alarms raised by groups demanding stricter GMO regulations
There have been calls recently from predictable sources demanding “tougher regulations for genetically engineered (GE) crops under the federal Plant ...
Will regulators show flexibility toward ‘double-muscled’ pigs made by editing single gene?
Belgian Blue cattle are hulking animals that provide unusually large amounts of prized, lean cuts of beef, the result of ...
Why are bees hurting? A lineup of suspects
In my last piece I made the case that the rumors of honeybee extinction have been greatly exaggerated, but honeybees ...
Failed GMO wheat trial only fits anti-GMO narrative if you don’t understand science
Back in 2012, a group of clueless protesters tried to disrupt a trial of genetically-modified wheat, which was taking place ...
Genetics and selective breeding create better blueberry
At the Flavors of Florida — a cornucopia of science-enhanced produce, seafood and meat recently held at the University of ...
Ecomodernist Manifesto: Technology based agriculture more sustainable than ‘green’ myths
The Ecomodernist Manifesto, a short but brilliant essay published online recently by 18 prominent greens, gets sustainability right at last. Until ...
Wrong to discredit herbicide-resistant GMOs with C-word
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved for use in 15 states a new product called Enlist Duo, which is ...
Indian scientists avoid GMO regulations through gene editing
With their ambitious plans to undertake genetic modification of crops failing to take off as the debate on the suitability ...
IARC’s designates herbicide 2,4-D ‘possibly carcinogenic’ but no data suggesting carcinogenicity
A near kin to the GMO controversies that ITIF deconstructed earlier this year in a comprehensive guide for policymakers is ...
Why the bee crisis isn’t as bad as you think (but still matters)
There’s a note of evangelical glee in some of the predictions of bee extinction. Vanishing bees are a sign of the end ...
Greenpeace Australia’s tax status challenged after unlawful destruction of GM wheat trial
Greenpeace's unlawful protest and destruction of Genetically Modified (GM) crop trials at CSIRO facilities in Canberra in 2011 are a key ...
Media should view GM wheat trial as ‘success,’ not ‘failure’
Back in 2012, the activist group Take the Flour Back was settled on destroying a science experiment. The trial was ...
Farmers net more profits growing GMOs globally, particularly in developing world
In the PLOS Biology article "A Meta-Analysis of the Impacts of Genetically Modified Crops," researchers used data from 147 separate ...
Consumer Reports president: GMO labeling ‘makes common sense’
Everyone deserves to know what's in their food so they can make informed decisions about what to feed themselves and ...
GM safflower oil byproduct approved as livestock feed
Arcadia Biosciences Inc. said Tuesday it has won approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to sell a byproduct ...
How will farmers keep up with growing demand for ‘antibiotic-free’ and ‘cage-free’ animal products?
Though Chipotle Mexican Grill started as a big-as-your-head burrito chain, today its media coverage usually focuses its "morals" rather than ...
Monsanto eyes Bayer’s crop chemical division as option if Syngenta merger fails
More than nine weeks after Monsanto Co. offered to buy Syngenta AG for $45 billion, the U.S. maker of seeds ...
Florida newspaper case story: How anti-GMO politics masquerades as journalism
It is dangerous to scream fire in a crowded theater, when no fire is present. So why would the Naples ...
Unique GM wheat that repels pests naturally by giving off odor worked in lab, failed in tests
A strain of genetically modified wheat developed in the UK has failed to repel pests as intended in field trials. In ...
Plant-breeding solutions such as gene editing could aid California drought
As California farmers grapple with the fourth year of the drought, seed tech giants Monsanto and DuPont's Pioneer are focusing ...
Public wariness over GMOs rooted in “instinct” and “imperfect logic,” not science
Proponents of modern genetic food modification through biotechnology expect it to help keep civilization going by feeding people who otherwise ...
GMO lamb with jellyfish glow gene sold at French market poses no risk to humans or environment
A lamb born to a genetically altered sheep was deliberately sold for meat at a Parisian meat market, according to ...
State legislatures step back to let Congress try to resolve GMO labeling standards
U.S. Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-KS) may want to send some thank-you letters out to state legislative leaders who shut down ...
Consumer groups and businesses ask USDA to tighten GMO regulations
Dozens of consumer and food groups and businesses filed recommendations with the U.S. Department of Agriculture seeking tighter regulation of ...
Drought-resistant crops could mitigate water shortages and climate challenges
One of the world’s important food crops are threatened by drought but the solution lies possibly in the first step ...
Indian agricultural progress smothered by anti-GMO idealists
Genetically modified crops have better yields, are more resistant to conventional pests than organic crops, and use less fertilizer. India ...
