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.
European scientists warn of dangers of “Precautionary Science”
Eighteen scientists recently weighed in on the unscientific and dangerous nature of the so-called "precautionary principle" in the July issue ...
UK: Ordinary laboratory animals are outnumbered by GM counterparts for first time
The following is an edited excerpt. The number of genetically modified (GM) animals used in scientific research in Britain has ...
Modifying Africa 10 years on: is public opinion shifting?
It's over a decade since I ghost-wrote Modifying Africa for well-known Kenyan biotechnologist Florence Wambugu. At the time the book ...
You can put lipstick on a pig (GE feeding study), but it still stinks
The following is an edited excerpt. The tiny cadre of anti-biotechnology activists who reside in the scientific community are perverting ...
Can ‘Frankenfish’ survive politics?
The following is an edited excerpt. Sometime this summer or soon after, the federal Food and Drug Administration may finally ...
President of World Food Prize Foundation: Ag’s huge challenge is growing ever more larger
My friend Rekha Basu wrote a tough column in the June 30 Sunday Register that was sharply critical of the ...
Monsanto to withdraw EU approval requests for new GE crops
Monsanto Co said on Wednesday it will withdraw all pending approval requests to grow new types of genetically modified crops ...
Chobani yogurt targeted by anti-GE activists
The following is an edited excerpt. Chobani yogurt, one of the country's fastest-growing CPG brands, is the latest to come ...
Indian president backs GE crops
The following is an edited excerpt. In what could be sweet news for the supporters of genetically modified (GM) technology, ...
Big money in Washington state labeling fight
The following is an edited excerpt. Although it's still early in the game the fight in our state over Initiative ...
European bee policy criticized by industry
The new Guidance Document on Risk Assessment of Plant Protection Products on Bees sets unrealistic expectations and enforces measures that ...
Canada: Challenges to bee health are complex, banning neonicotinoids is not the answer
The following is an edited excerpt. The complexity of the issues facing bee health is, unfortunately, too frequently being overlooked ...
Hungary destroys all Monsanto GE crop fields
Hungary has destroyed 1000 acres of maize found to have been grown with Monsanto's genetically modified seeds, according to Hungary ...
Oregon: Groups battle GM crops using tactics from the fracking fight
Groups across Oregon are working to ban genetically modified crops at the county level through initiative petitions. Many of these ...
How weeds evolve
Depending on your point of view, barnyardgrass is a nightmare or a marvel. That’s because it’s a supremely triumphant weed ...
Grist story on ‘superweeds’ attempts to demonize biotech by describing evolution
Biotech crops, which represent almost all the corn, soy, and cotton grown in the U.S., have finally met their match ...
Bangladesh: GE eggplant set for approval
Bangladeshi scientists have readied the country’s first genetically modified (GM) crop — brinjal (also known as eggplant) infused with pest-resistant ...
GE labeling bill gets backing from natural-food, supplement group
The nation’s largest trade group for natural products is getting behind a legislative effort to require that consumers know when ...
Washington: State’s GE labeling battle attracts national interest
A national fight over labeling of genetically engineered foods is touching down in Washington this fall, fueled by money from ...
A short list of points concerning genetic modification
Perhaps because I’ve had to repeat the following points many, many times–I’ve decided to put them in one place. I ...
Roseanne’s nuts about GMOs
Lately, a lot has been going on in the crop biotechnology arena in Hawai’i. There’s Hawai’i Bill 79, and Kaua’i ...
USDA chronicles rapid adoption of biotech crops
USDA recently released data summarizing the rapid adoption of herbicide-tolerant and insect-resistant crops since their introduction in 1996. Based on ...
US leads in GE production
The United States is the world’s top producer of genetically modified organisms (GMO), followed by Brazil. The International Service for ...
Italy moves to ban growing of GE maize type
Three Italian ministries have signed a decree banning the cultivation of a type of genetically modified maize, citing environmental concerns, ...
Anti-GE activists warns of “GE domino effect”
The following is an edited excerpt. Before the Connecticut's GE labeling law can take effect, four other states, including at ...
Argentina cuts GM red tape
The following is an edited excerpt. Argentina has streamlined its biotech crop regulatory framework to ensure neither red tape nor ...
The precautionary principle is a blunt instrument
The precautionary principle is a blunt instrument, a 90s throwback out of place in an era of "smart solutions" and ...
