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.
Ban on Bt brinjal (eggplant) in India unjustified
Five years ago, on 10 February, India’s then minister of environment Jairam Ramesh announced a so-called temporary moratorium on the ...
Substitutions like Non-GMO can be inferior or harmful
Many supposedly health-conscious consumers who choose products with labels like “BPA-Free” or “non-GMO” may be getting less than they bargained ...
Pro-GMO campaign tours to bring golden rice to Asia
A campaign is set to be launched on March 16 in the country to allow golden rice for tackling Vitamin ...
Insect-resistant maize likely second GM crop in Europe
EU politicians signed a new law on growing genetically modified (GM) crops in the European Union, clearing the way for ...
Vandana Shiva trashes GMOs—Florida’s best hope for orange tree disease
I get rather irritated when I listen to Vandana Shiva, mostly because her ideas are rooted in a place of ...
Leading entomologist Marla Spivak: ‘We can have both pesticides and pollinators’
Marla Spivak, who holds a McKnight professorship in entomology at the University of Minnesota and directs the Bee Lab there, ...
Consumers willing to pay more for GM potatoes with food safety benefits
New research from an Iowa State Univ. economist found consumers were willing to spend more for genetically modified potato products ...
Judge considers delaying GM lawsuit in Hawaii
A federal judge said she would consider delaying proceedings for a lawsuit challenging Maui's ban on the cultivation of genetically ...
GM labeling bills on docket in Massachusetts, Rhode Island
New England could once again be a hotbed of action for GMO labeling during this legislative session, with hopes particularly ...
Combination of stresses contributes to bee deaths
In a recent review paper for Science, a team of researchers argue that the combination of modern stresses facing bees ...
Non-GMO hybrid yeast leads to greater beer diversity and faster brewing time
Last month, a Finnish group reported on their efforts to improve beer by altering the nature of the yeast. They ...
Modern breeding produces genetically superior chicken
Sixty years ago, it could take up to 16 weeks to grow a three-pound chicken fit for eating. The breasts ...
Eaten alive: Crops can ‘feel’ insects eating them, providing clues to insect resistance
A new study arrived at the fairly gruesome conclusion that plants can feel insects eat them alive. And a specific type of plant, ...
Robots find genetic mutations in crops, accelerating breeding solutions
If you want to find what’s probably the best example of what robots are doing in crop development, come to ...
AAAS presidents: ‘Anti-GMO harassment of best scientific thinkers must stop now’
In the latest organised attack on science, 14 senior U.S. scientists are being targeted by anti-GM lobby group U.S. Right ...
Genetically altered rice variety yields for years without replanting
Ten thousand years ago, China’s ancient inhabitants harvested the grains of wild rice, a perennial grass growing up to 15 ...
Can Arctic apples be ‘poster child’ for GMOs?
Count me among the bystanders shouting encouragement to the gladiator to go in for the kill. The GMO arena seems ...
Activist groups demand Costco not sell GM salmon if approved
Food safety advocates are urging that Costco not sell genetically modified salmon if it is approved. Friends of the Earth, which ...
Would farmers grow GM wheat if approved?
Any future deregulation and commercialization of bioengineered/genetically modified wheat in the United States would pose questions. Might yield and disease-resistant ...
New genetically engineered peanuts resistant to pests, diseases
Peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is a major species of the family, Leguminosae, and economically important not only for vegetable oil but ...
Crusaders slam GM foods, glyphosate, conventional agriculture
A “GMO Plenary” held last month in Missouri featured a panel of anti-GMO activists who discussed multiple health and environmental risks ...
Atrazine critic-scientist Tyrone Hayes’ own data shows frogs thriving in ag regions
An herbicide popular with farmers but targeted by environmentalists because it is supposedly responsible for chemically castrating frogs has been ...
Monsanto said to offer ‘sustainable solutions’ to arrest decades long monarch butterfly decline
Monarch butterflies are in trouble. These popular insects, which have captured the public imagination with their several-thousand mile migrations, have ...
Genetics give conventional fruits and vegetables heirloom taste
When you order a sandwich at Subway you can watch the guy lay out pink, anemic tomatoes on your sandwich ...
Concerned consumers can easily avoid non-labeled foods with GMOs
The failure of Measure 92 in Oregon's last election, which would have required genetically modified food to be labeled, has ...
Searching for biotech alternatives to unsustainability of palm oil
Palm oil is a wonderfully versatile and cheap raw material. On its own or via chemical derivatives, the oil makes ...
EPA limits planting of GM corn to curb pest resistance
U.S. regulators for the first time are proposing limits on the planting of some genetically engineered corn to combat a ...
