Daily Food & Agriculture Digest
Why Chipotle’s GMO-free move got so much backlash
The last few days at Chipotle HQ could not have been much fun for the people running the marketing and ...
Playing God? Many faiths agree that tinkering with genes is out of bounds
Last fall, at the peak of the contentious, expensive fight over Oregon’s ballot measure to label genetically engineered foods, about ...
Antibiotic use in livestock may pose health threat to farm workers
A new study by the researcher who has done the most to pin down the presence of “pig MRSA” in the United States ...
Doctor Is In: Despite evidence of GMO safety, this doctor still skeptical
Chipotle announced plans this week to stop serving foods made with genetically modified ingredients — after being the first corporate ...
Millennials drive fast food to change: From non-GMO to antibiotic-free pledges
Millennials across the country are more aware of their food than ever before, from seeking out farmers markets to fill ...
One baboon gene could vastly improve lives of millions of African farmers
With one gene, molecular geneticist Steve Kemp may someday be able to boost the success of small farms across a huge swath of ...
New Jersey Senator Cory Booker irritates Twitter followers for being pro GM labeling
Cory Booker has a lot of fans among progressives — not just in New Jersey, but across the country. His ...
Chipotle’s move toward GMO-free supply chain will raise prices for consumers
Chipotle Mexican Grill and Panera Bread for years have led the fast-casual restaurant segment, and their moves away from genetically modified ...
Farmers choose seeds, not corporations
For years now, there has been a myth going around the internet about how farmers seed options have been growing ...
Pamela Ronald profile: Organic farming and GMOs can be ‘bedfellows’
Pamela Ronald is a plant pathologist and geneticist—a professor at the University of California, Davis whose lab has isolated genes from ...
Mythbusting: Little understood facts to calm chemophobia
All too often the use of the word “chemicals” in the news, in advertising and in common usage has the implication ...
Rapid DNA test identifies bacteria that can spoil beer, wine
Something very simple can throw that flavor off before most types of beer are even bottled, and cause further troubles ...
USDA advances approval of another GM potato, with lower sugar and blight resistance
USDA moved another variety of genetically engineered potatoes developed by J.R. Simplot Company forward in its approval process, the agency ...
Biofortifying rice with folate could prevent birth defects
Bolstering rice with a gene to produce more folate, or vitamin B9, could ward off birth defects, according to a ...
Why is mainstream media promoting ‘quack’ anti-GMO book?
Anna Medaris Miller, writing for U. S. News and World report, gives what I hope was unintended free advertising to ...
Farmer and consumer cost of delaying approval of single GM trait estimated at $19 billion
A new white paper shows that a three-year postponement in global approval of biotech-enhanced soybean traits any time in the ...
USDA organics chief silent on whether organic is safer, healthier
Are consumers right to think that organic food is safer and healthier? It seems like a straightforward question, especially for ...
In debate over organic or conventional, is there third way to feed growing, warming world?
Proponents of organic agriculture say it leads to better soil management, uses fewer pesticides and fertilisers, and is a better ...
Soon-to-be marriages in Big Ag: Monsanto-Syngenta? Dupont-Dow?
A combination of Monsanto Co. and Syngenta AG would set the stage for even more mergers and acquisitions. Monsanto has ...
USDA rebukes EPA for claiming neonics provide no ‘clear’ farmer benefits
During a public comment period for a review of the use of neonicotinoids by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Robert ...
Washington Post editorial: Chipotle promotes fear in gimmick claim to remove GMOs
Chipotle Restaurants have earned billions of dollars by making indulgence wholesome, or seem so. Its latest marketing campaign, however, takes ...
Rules force British organic farmers to use homeopathic remedies on their animals
British organic farmers are being forced to treat their livestock with homeopathic remedies under European Commission rules branded ‘scientifically illiterate’ ...
Organic board busts ‘no synthetic pesticides’ myth, okays new herbicides and fungicides
You might think the USDA "organic" label is reserved for foods produced without any man-made chemicals. But under government rules, "organic" ...
Canadian Cancer Society gives green light to prudent use of glyphosate
The Canadian Cancer Society isn’t calling for a ban on glyphosate. The Society says it’s acceptable to use pesticides to ...
Latest blow for Oz: Oprah dumps his radio show, replaces him with Sanjay Gupta
The Dr. Oz media empire just took a blow from the woman who helped make him famous: Oprah Winfrey. According ...
Chipotle’s non-GMO announcement overshadows some facts
When fast-food chain Chipotle announced yesterday that it had ditched ingredients containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs), you may have looked at ...
Why young Americans are cynical about GMOs, climate change
The growing distrust among Americans towards scientists and their work is well documented. In an era in which scientific output ...