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.
How would you stop a vineyard apocalypse?
Imagine a bacterial scourge that was silently spreading from vineyard to vineyard, striking down grapevines in their prime, bankrupting wineries ...
Is there really GMO pot?
An interesting issue came up through my volunteer work for the new website, "GMOAnswers.com." Apparently some pot users are concerned that ...
A blanket ban on all GMOs would be misguided
For years, I taught a course on genetically modified organisms. First, we covered the biology behind GMOs so that students ...
Fake websites, fake emails – new tactics in the fight against science
Beware. The underhanded elements of the anti-GM world are now impersonating scientists and companies in the electronic media. A few ...
Genetic engineering produces a genuine (regulation) monstrosity
Activists have warned for decades that genetic engineering would create some sort of monstrosity like Dr. Frankenstein’s creature. It turns out ...
Oil palm gene may be step to sustainable plantations
Scientists have identified the gene responsible for determining the yield of oil palm fruits. The discovery is being hailed as ...
New Hampshire House subcommittee begins work on GMO labeling bill
Two months after his state passed legislation requiring labels on genetically engineered foods, Maine Rep. Lance Harvell, the bill’s chief ...
Reconstructing facts in Bt cotton: Why skepticism fails
The case that the “triumph narrative” of Bt cotton in India comes mainly from economists, the biotech industry and their academic ...
What happened to the middle in the GMO debate?
The debate surrounding genetically modified organisms, often called GMOs, is an absolute mess. A huge part of the argument stems ...
Monsanto’s SmartStax maize ‘to be approved for growth in October’ in EU
A controversial, genetically modified super-maize from Monsanto is set to be approved for cultivation across the European Union by late ...
Petition: Global scientific community condemns the recent destruction of field trials of Golden Rice in the Philippines
Research on Golden Rice at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) is part of their humanitarian work to reduce vitamin ...
Seralini set for September UK tour to speak about his research
The most detailed scientific study ever conducted on the health effects of a genetically modified (GM) food was published last ...
On voters’ plates: genetically engineered crops
Get ready for a food fight. When Washington voters decide Initiative 522 this fall, they will do more than determine whether to ...
Plant geneticist Kevin Folta explains GMO process in foods
When humans began to farm between ten and twenty thousand years ago, they took the seeds from their best edible ...
Visit to vandalized Golden Rice field trial
On August 9 and 10, we traveled overland 320 kilometers to the Bicol region in Southern Luzon in the Philippines ...
African countries slowly warming up to the idea of GM crops
While South Africa has long grown genetically modified (GM) crops, resistance from across most of the continent is set to ...
GM rice delivers antibodies against deadly rotavirus
A strain of rice genetically engineered to protect against diarrhoeal disease could offer a cost-effective way to protect children in ...
Agriculture expert to become first scientist CEO of Monstanto India
A 24-year agriculture veteran, Dr Gyanendra Shukla, Ph.D. (Agriculture Botany) and MBA, recently took over as Regional Lead and CEO, ...
Details of Washington State’s GM food labeling bill released
If Washington State's Initiative 522 passes, raw agricultural products that are genetically engineered, and processed foods with such ingredients, will have to ...
‘Golden Rice’ research continues despite militants’ attack
MANILA - Research work on an experimental rice variety will continue despite an attack by militants who destroyed a test ...
Biotechnology is panacea for Africa’s green revolution
Answering a question on whether Africa really needs [biotechnology], Mrs Shakirat O. Ajenifujah-Solebo, Chief Scientific Officer and Head of the ...
The psychology of distrusting GMOs
Psychologists have long observed that there is a continuum in what we perceive as natural or unnatural. As the psychologist Robert Sternberg wrote in ...
GMOs and Science Denialists: A GMO Primer
Liberals often have a smug sense of superiority over conservatives when it comes to science literacy. True enough, a lot ...
Scotland: Farmers buck GM ban in hopes to reduce pesticide use
Recently, the UK Environment Secretary, Owen Paterson, called on the European Union to relax strict restrictions on growing GM crops ...
Golden Rice trial vandalized
According to the Business Mirror, a farmer group called Kilusang Magbubukid ng Bikol (Peasant Movement of Bicol, or KMB) and ...
Kauai anti-GMO bill deferred to September
The Kauai County Council unanimously deferred to September 9 a controversial proposal to demand disclosure of pesticide use and genetically ...
Mark Lynas: It’s time to ignore anti-GMO activists
Fifteen years ago I was an anti-GMO activist, determined to ensure that biotechnology was never adopted. I destroyed crops in ...
