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.
China’s wild plant species could provide global resilience to climate change
A team from the University of Birmingham in the U.K., and partners in China, have identified 871 wild plant species ...
GMO DEBATE RECAP: Battle over Biotechnology—Public backs GM research and farming
I was really excited to watch the Intelligence Squared debate. I've been looking forward to it for seemingly ages. Bottom ...
In wake of GMO debate defeat, antis throw leaders under the bus?
Within minutes after the routing of anti-GMO scientists Margaret Mellon and Charles Benbrook at Wednesday's Intelligence Squared debate--the motion in favor of ...
EU “independent” bee task force chair plotted to blame neonicotinoids for deaths then cook research to fit PR plan
Research blaming pesticides for the decline in honeybees has been called into question by a leaked note suggesting that scientists ...
Minnesota schools serve up non-GMO lunches as “educational” event
Just when the backlash over first lady Michelle Obama’s school lunch menu leveled off, students in a handful of Twin ...
UN contradictions: Opposition to biopharming, which could treat Ebola infections
High-level officials of the United Nations are not known for their perspicacity, competence, or scientific acumen, but the head of ...
GMO farmers sometimes more sustainable than organic ones
One of the common arguments against the use of genetically modified organisms (GMO), specifically plant GMOs, is that it allows ...
William Powell video interview on the return of the American chestnut tree
When European settlers came to America, they found vast forests in the Appalachian mountains, dominated by the American chestnut. But ...
Gene research can improve crops by traditional methods
Advances in understanding the genetic makeup of plants could ultimately help to produce more resilient, higher-yielding crops, the head of ...
Cost of GMO labeling of the harvest
The 2014 midterm elections are now history. Thank goodness! I am so glad my landline phone is now quiet again ...
British opposition toward GMO food softening
On a damp Sunday afternoon shoppers at Tesco, a supermarket, in south London seem uninterested in discussing genetically modified (GM) ...
Indian panel advises caution on GMO crops
The government-appointed High Level Committee (HLC) to review environmental laws, while proposing a near complete overhaul of the regulatory system, ...
Uganda researchers plead for advanced biotech seeds
Just like humans look for the good traits when choosing a partner for procreation, farmers should look for good seeds ...
Filipino farmers petition government to deny golden rice approval
Jon Sarmiento, a farmer in the Cavite province in southern Manila, plants a variety of fruits and vegetables, but his ...
Artic Apple’s gene-silencing tech presents new regulation challenges
Biotechnology is heading into the Garden of Eden. A Canadian corporation, Okanagan Specialty Fruits, is offering a genetically engineered apple that ...
Nassim Taleb’s disastrously naive GMO disaster scenario
Nassim Taleb, author of "The Black Swan" and other books, and his co-authors on a recent working paper suggest that we ...
Organic Center challenges view that organic farming lags in sustainability
Organic farming has many environmental advantages when compared to conventional farming. Organic farming supports biodiversity and soil health, decreases nutrient ...
Meet the Press Online video debate: Should GMO foods be labeled?
Colin O'Neil, director of government affairs for the Center for Food Safety, and Val Giddings, senior fellow at the Information ...
GMO breeding: Years of practice but still divisive
Proponents and critics of genetic modification (GM) have been arguing over the potential impact of genetically modified organisms (GMO) on ...
Anti-GMO activists in Hawaii hope for appeal after judge invalidates new restrictions
Oversight of genetically modified crops in Hawaii remains the state’s kuleana, a federal judge ruled last week when invalidating Hawaii County’s ...
GMO American chestnut tree unique among GM innovations
It was nearly 400 years ago that the Pilgrims sat down with the Wampanoag to share the feast that is ...
Even this organic advocate thinks African farmers need herbicide
Why aren’t agroecological techniques farming spreading faster among poor farmers? If you are a farmer in the rural part of an ...
Axing of European science czar over GMO issues: 1 step forward for Greenpeace, 2 steps back for EU and science
Since 2012, the distinguished Scottish biologist Anne Glover has served as chief scientific adviser to the President of the European ...
San Juan Islands’ 2012 ban on GMOs: Incubator for debate
In 2012, a humble farmer in the off-the-beaten-track archipelago of the San Juan Islands fired a shot in the form of ...
Gates Foundation, GMO banana face renewed attacks
Among the controversial projects funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is the development and testing of a biofortified ...
Millennials support sustainability and biotech
Health and nutrition related information are two important topics for US consumers, but recently there has been an increasing interest ...
Swiss GMO potato goes to field trial
The Swiss Agricultural Research Institute, Agroscope, wants to try growing genetically modified potatoes, reports the Swiss website Blick.ch. The goal of ...
