Daily Food & Agriculture 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.
Non-herbicide-resistant crops die from herbicidal drift from GMO fields
Last summer, June 17 to be exact, one of the volunteers on Margot McMillen’s organic farm in Auxvasse, Missouri noticed ...
Can Europe return to ‘knowledge-based’ society amid anti-GMO calls to topple science adviser?
Politics are winning at the expense of science in France and now the entire European Union faces a similar fate. On ...
Judge overturns Monsanto’s permit for GM soybeans in favor of Mexican beekeepers
A small group of beekeepers in Mexico has inflicted a blow on biotech giant Monsanto, which has halted the company’s ...
Vermont asks court to throw out lawsuit against GMO labeling law
Vermont has the right to require that genetically modified foods sold within the state be labeled, the state attorney general ...
Food makers begin ousting GMOs from products
Two decades after the first genetically engineered seeds were sold commercially in the U.S., genetically modified organisms—the crops grown from ...
Honor Norman Borlaug’s centenary, accept his position on GM crops
This year, 2014 is the 100th anniversary of the birth of Norman Borlaug, founder of the Green Revolution. The world faced ...
Scientist busts persistent GMO myths, focuses on real issues
One persistent theme in my writing about scientific topics is that, to optimally serve our own interests, public discourse and ...
Indian scientists afraid to show support for biotech, fear branding as ‘industry agents’
Scientists who support genetically modified (GM) crops refrain from making their stand public, fearing that they will be branded as ...
GMOs not any riskier than modern traditional breeding methods
"Traditional breeding methods" for crops have actually changed a lot over time — they haven't just remained static for 10,000 years. And ...
“In Vitro Meat Cookbook” visualizes humane meat-eating of future
Dutch-based scientists, chefs and artists have launched the world's first cookbook for lab-grown meat - serving up a bizarre assortment ...
Anti-GMO lobby wages war on small African farmers using advanced communication technologies
The year 2013 marked the 18th consecutive year of commercial cultivation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), now commonly referred to ...
USDA likely to approve new GM crops that resist two herbicides
U.S. regulators said they are leaning toward approval of a new line of herbicide-tolerant crops developed by Monsanto Co even ...
‘Bigger’ issues in food production than GMOs to worry about
There are some ways of modifying food that haven’t been around for hundreds, much less thousands, of years and are ...
Neil deGrasse Tyson rejects criticism, reaffirms stance that GMO agriculture is safe
I maintain the sense, thrust, and meaning of my comments. I never said GMOs were safer or more dangerous. I ...
Colorado’s GMO labeling initiative ‘misguided’
The Denver Post editorial on July 22, "Unintended consequences of GMO labeling initiative," outlined some concerns about Initiative 48, the ...
Rethinking stigma against GM meat
Genetic modification is an inflammatory subject. Especially when it comes to food. Crops are one thing, but the idea of ...
‘Quack’ American Academy of Environmental Science issues false statements about GMO safety
I write in response to Donna Worden’s letter of July 12. I was surprised by the citing of the American Academy ...
Indian environment minister hints government likely to go ahead with GM field trials
Environment minister Prakash Javadekar on Tuesday dropped strong hints that the NDA government is likely to allow controlled field trials ...
Wildlife refuges to phase out GM crops and neonicotinoid pesticides by Jan 2016
National wildlife refuges around the country are phasing out genetically modified crops and a class of pesticides related to nicotine ...
Costa Rica president declares native corn as cultural heritage, victory for anti-GMO activists
Awaiting a decision on legal reforms from the courts, anti-GMO activists in Costa Rica have taken the fight over transgenic ...
Food Babe ‘baffled’ by Neil deGrasse Tyson’s support of biotech
Full, original photo from Ow.ly user VeganGMO: VeganGMO fudbabendgtkarl.png ...
GE foods make comeback in New Zealand
The GE-free movement was one of the great activist successes in New Zealand history. In 1999, 20,000 people marched down ...
India needs informed debate towards common goal of food security on GM crop trials
As India asserts its position globally, it must develop and use the best technologies for the benefit of Indian farmers ...
Liberal thought leaders should be as harsh on extreme anti-GMO activists as on climate change denialists
When Neil deGrasse Tyson speaks, people listen. “Practically every food you buy in a store for consumption by humans is ...
Ruling upholding mandatory country-of-origin labeling may impact GMO labeling
A recent court ruling that upheld mandatory country-of-origin labeling (COOL) of meat may come to bear on litigation over labels ...
European Food Safety Authority rebukes France for prohibiting approval of Monsanto GM maize
On 25 March 2014, the European Commission requested the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) to assess the supporting documentation submitted ...
GMO ice cream war: Ben & Jerry’s and parent Unilever at at odds over GMO labeling
With Ben & Jerry’s CEO Jostein Solheim at his side, Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin signed the nation’s first law requiring labeling of ...
