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.
Video: What are GMOs and are they safe?
In a recent Pew poll, 88 percent of AAAS scientists said that genetically engineered crops were safe to eat. In contrast, only ...
Synthetic biology threatens to displace African vanilla, stevia in global market
An ongoing expansion of an extreme form of genetic engineering threatens to deny Africa its share of the global market ...
“The Triumph of Seeds” tells how seeds and farming shaped human history
That spark of dormant life may be hidden and hard to measure, but mother plants will do almost anything to protect ...
Let’s not exaggerate concerns about organic farming
Many people in my ‘tribe’ (people who support appropriate use of GMOs and pesticides in agriculture), get really upset when ...
Consumer Reports, anti-GMOers bizarre attack on Bt pesticide used by organic farmers
There goes Consumer Reports again, with another scientifically illiterate attack on conventional agriculture and genetic engineering, this time targeting Bt ...
Dr. Oz set to respond as more physicians, scientists, journalists call for Columbia to drop “quack” promoter
Dr. Oz plans to strike back at the doctors who wrote a letter (see below) to the Dean of Health Sciences and ...
Biotech activists caught plagiarizing web polemic in journal article challenging GMO safety consensus
Did you ever read something and swear you have read it somewhere else before? It happens to me now and ...
Bill Nye explains switch from ‘Anti-GMO Guy’ back to ‘Science Guy’
Bill Nye caused a bit of drama over his stance on GMOs with the publication of his recent book, Undeniable: ...
Center for Public Integrity says key food industry safety scientists tied to Big Tobacco
A Center for Public Integrity analysis of publicly available data found that Joseph Borzelleca is the most active of a small group of ...
‘Melt’ chocolate gene discovery could lead to medical advances
Scientists have discovered a gene involved in determining the melting point of cocoa butter, a critical attribute of the substance ...
Dr. Oz complaint letter may backfire, undermining efforts to expose his ‘fear mongering’
Recently I wrote about a letter sent to Lee Goldman, MD, the Dean of the Faculties of Health Sciences and Medicine ...
Growing demand for organic corn forces US to import
A growing demand for organics, and the near-total reliance by U.S. farmers on genetically modified corn and soybeans, is driving ...
Breeding tastier tomatoes: Are there better options?
Not long ago, I read about a scientist named Harry Klee, who is trying to make the world a better ...
Leaked EU report suggests countries’ right to ban GM animal feed upsetting trading partners in US, Canada
The Genetically Modified (GM) feed debate rumbles on in the EU with a leaked report suggesting that individual countries will ...
FDA uses genome sequencing to combat food-borne illnesses
Last week, two companies issued national recalls of their products due to listeria contamination. For Sabra Dipping Company, which is recalling ...
Fall of Dr. Oz: Tour of the world of a celebrity medical quack
Dr. Oz is arguably the most influential health professional in America. The Dr. Oz Show, which started in 2009, has an average ...
GMO skeptic leery of organic-GMO ‘coexistence’
When Robert Frost first coined his oft-quoted wisdom that “good fences make good neighbors,” he clearly failed to anticipate the ...
Have preconceived opinions about big farms? Meet Iowa farmers
Iowa commodity growers are often demonized for what and how they grow, and monocultures and ethanol aren’t exactly healthy for the ...
What do breast milk and narwhal milk have in common? Possible basis for vegan cheese?
Counter Culture Labs takes its name pretty literally. It is a bio lab, for sure, complete with pipettes, carboys, microscopes, and ...
What’s behind knee jerk concerns about glyphosate, GMOs?
The world’s most commonly sprayed herbicide—glyphosate—is currently trapped in a familiar media cycle. The cycle goes something like this: 1) ...
Chinese citizens sue government over its Roundup approval process 27 years ago
Three Chinese citizens are taking China's Ministry of Agriculture to court in a bid to make public a toxicology report ...
Monsanto helped cover legal costs of Australian GM lawsuit
Global agribusiness Monsanto contributed to a West Australian farmer's legal costs in a battle over alleged contamination of his neighbour's ...
Proponents, critics of GMOs agree on how to mediate co-existence conflicts in Oregon farming
Disputes over genetically modified crops would be mediated by Oregon farm regulators under legislation that has won support from biotech ...
GM tobacco aids in sustainable biofuel production at lower cost
Researchers will genetically modify tobacco plants to produce enzymes that can break down biomass from forest raw materials. This may ...
Exposing ‘charlatans’: Why Vani Hari’s days of popularity are waning
I am a friend of Yvette d’Entremont, A.K.A. Science Babe, and I am proud of her. She’s done a great ...
Ag industry fears foreign countries hold ‘veto’ over US-approved GMOs
The barrage of farmer lawsuits against a biotech developer could give foreign buyers more influence over genetically modified crops grown ...
Monsanto haters take note: How it plans to protect environment
Monsanto has been called one of the US’s most hated companies (see this, which is credible, and this, which is ...
