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.
Use of GM cotton linked to rise in aphid numbers
The following is an excerpt. In an unexpected trade-off, the cultivation of cotton that has been genetically engineered to reduce caterpillar damage ...
Monsato debate takes root over genetic modification of seeds
The following is an excerpt. Farmer Dale Baker of Huntsburg Township understands the growing and business sides of the farming ...
When hysteria about GMOs takes root
The following is an edited excerpt. A homeopath (which means that she’s reality-challenged to begin with), [Heidi Stevenson has] produced ...
Monsanto attacking democracy in Vermont
The following is an excerpt. Biotech industry lawyers claim federal courts will strike down mandatory state GMO labeling for three ...
Is conventional corn worth considering?
The following is an excerpt. Carter Charles manages insects and weeds in his cornfields near Cyrus, Minn., without the benefit of ...
Alaska’s GM salmon protest comes to Prince Edward Island
The following is an excerpt. A member of Alaska's state government is meeting with P.E.I. politicians Thursday to share concerns ...
Genetically modified crops needed to ‘feed the world,’ says U.K.’s chief scientific advisor
The following is an excerpt. The case for genetically modified (GM) food is getting stronger because of its importance as ...
When a tomato is a just tomato
The following is an excerpt. Another paper comparing organic and conventional tomatoes (sort of) was published in PLOS One on ...
U.K. envoy champions GM crops
The following is an excerpt. Community attitudes towards cropping biotechnology are shifting in the European region, where resistance has been ...
Litigation is the root of the problem
The following is an edited excerpt. There has been some serious misinformation about the Farmers Assurance Provision running through the ...
If GM crops provide more food, that’s a good thing, right?
The following is an excerpt. What drives opposition to genetically modified crops? Well, there are a bunch of enduring myths, ...
Fears of GMOs based on ‘commercial politics’, says Gates director
The following is an excerpt. European fear of genetically modified organisms has more to do with “commercial politics than it ...
‘Gene-editing’ expected to develop disease-resistant breeds
The following is an excerpt. Scientists have developed a method of creating genetically modified animals that addresses one of the ...
Americans still wary of ‘greenwashing’, including organic labels: Harris Poll
The following is an excerpt. Concern for the environment may be increasing among Americans, but suspicion of corporate ‘greenwashing’ may ...
Wild parent spawns super salt-tolerant rice
The following is an excerpt. Farmers are set to reclaim salt-ravaged land thanks to a single rice plant born of ...
Chlamydia is killing koalas—will genetics find a cure?
The following is an excerpt. Why do some koalas die from chlamydia and an AIDS-like retrovirus whereas others manage to ...
Vermont lawmakers unlikely to resolve GMO labeling this year
The following is an excerpt. MONTPELIER, Vt. - Sen. David Zuckerman first proposed labeling requirements for food products containing genetically modified ...
Report on U.S. meat sounds alarm on resistant bacteria
The following is an excerpt. More than half of samples of ground turkey, pork chops and ground beef collected from ...
Could peaches hold the secret to biofuel?
The following is an edited excerpt. Humans are attempting a second massive transformation of the plant kingdom. The first was ...
Vermont food co-ops push for GMO labeling
The following is an excerpt. One of the most common questions these days among customers at Vermont’s food cooperatives is ...
Farmers would welcome policy on genetically modified seed
The following is an excerpt. The Bermuda Farmers Association has called for a new policy on genetically modified seeds following ...
Genetically modified animals could boost UK food security
The following is an excerpt. Professor Helen Sang and Prof Bruce Whitelaw from the University of Edinburgh’s Roslin Institute, who ...
Tesco poultry feed decision ‘misleading consumers’, say campaigners
The following is an excerpt. Tesco is “misleading” consumers over its scrapping of a pledge to only rear poultry on ...
UK envoy champions GM crops
The following is an excerpt. Community attitudes towards cropping biotechnology are shifting in the European region, where resistance has been ...
Seeds without sex – some racy findings on the cloning of plants
The following is an excerpt. Sex without seed. Seed without sex. It’s been said that the greatest gift of science ...
Frankenfoods: The debate over GM foods
The following is an excerpt. Also known as genetically engineered (GE), genetically modified (GM) foods have passionate opponents as well ...
GMOs: Why so controversial?
The following is an excerpt. “There’s no evidence that it’s harmful,” said Steven Strauss, a biotechnology professor at Oregon State ...
