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.
Eight-country European study finds numerous pesticides reduce fertility in bumblebees
A new study has confirmed that pesticides, commonly used in farmland, significantly harm bumblebees – Ireland’s most important wild pollinators ...
The ‘holy grail’ of beer yeasts: How genetically-modified IPAs could stay fresh forever
Yeast is central to brewing, as it turns the sugars provided by barley malt and other grains into alcohol, while ...
Facing billions more in potential settlements, Bayer holds to its legal strategy
Bayer is sticking to its legal strategy of trying individual Roundup cases in court, even as a series of recent ...
300% yield boost: Analyzing Nigeria’s first GM potato project, one year later
The Genetically Modified (GM) Potato Project ongoing in Nigeria has concluded its first-year multi-locational confined trial in three locations, with ...
How CRISPR trees could help us create optimized paper of the future
Wood consists of about 25 percent lignin, but the paper and fiber industries remove it because it lowers the quality ...
Relief to resilience: Bangladesh’s remarkable journey in biotechnology
In agricultural biotechnology, Bangladesh stands as a symbol of progress and innovation. Over the years, this South Asian nation has ...
Meat lobby restricting innovation? Florida legislature to take up cell based meat ban in the wake of Italy’s vote to restrict cultured meats
The Italian government has voted to ban cultured meat being produced or sold in the country, which could complicate the ...
Reckoning for European Green Deal ‘Farm to Fork’ strategy: EU lawmakers side with farmers and consumers, bury plan to cut chemical pesticide use by 50%
In a stunning upset, the European Parliament voted down the "Sustainable Use of Pesticides" bill, which marked the cornerstone of ...
A start-up hopes to create carbon-storing ‘super-trees’. Hype or a possible breakthrough to address climate change?
At Living Carbon, [Patrick] Mellor is trying to design trees that grow faster and grab more carbon than their natural ...
CRISPR-created strawberries that stay firmer and fresher longer could revolutionize fruit industry
The cultivated strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa, Duch.) is one of the Rosaceae family renowned for its flavor and health benefits, ...
Cell-based, lab grown food banned in Italy
Italy's lower house of parliament gave final approval for a law banning the use of laboratory-produced food and animal feed ...
Cleaning up the atmosphere: Can seaweed farming help capture carbon dioxide?
Researchers are looking into a wide range of approaches to removing carbon from the atmosphere. Some are straightforwardly technical, like direct ...
Boosting taste, shelf life and climate resilience: Why creating a genetic map is the first step in creating the perfect apple
Leveraging unique genome mapping research from Dalhousie’s Faculty of Agriculture, startup Foodimprover is set to transform the global fruit sector’s ...
Oil-based chemicals are used in everything from pillows to house paint. What are possible substitutes?
Petrochemicals are in everything from cleaning agents, paints and cosmetics to pillows, acrylic worktops and much of our clothing and ...
‘Our living seed bank belongs to future generations’: Colorado MASA Seed Project collects and preserves climate-change-resistant crop varieties
It’s not enough to just grow one’s own produce anymore; the first step is in planning for foods that can ...
What’s next for Bayer after losing $1.56 billion Roundup glyphosate case?
Bayer AG suffered its biggest drop ever, losing about €7.6 billion ($8.3 billion) in market value, after major legal and ...
Eliminating bird flu: How gene-edited chickens could mitigate threats
In a recent gene editing study, my colleagues and I showcased the potential of gene editing to protect chickens from the threat ...
Facing food security threats, Ghana makes 4-year commitment to promoting research and development on genetically modified crops
The designation of Ghana as the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) collaborating center for Africa, focusing on plant breeding and ...
Biofuels, e-fuels and solar fuels are possible substitutes for fossil fuels and electric vehicles. Is that realistic?
Synthetic fuels (or synfuels) are liquid or gaseous fuels that are practically similar to fossil fuels in everything but the ...
Glyphosate reauthorized for 10 years by divided EU
[November 16] the European Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed (PAFF committee) was again unable to get a ...
Can a company trademark ‘eco-friendly’ branding?
A decision over a sustainability-centric trademark in Argentina provides one of the latest looks at how trademark offices and courts ...
From potential to progress: Latest developments in Golden Rice deployment in the Philippines
In the Philippines, about two million children under five are at risk of vision issues and weak immune systems. These ...
Robot bees: How can artificial pollination help vertical farming thrive?
Robotic pollinators resemble oversized bees equipped with wheels and an arm. This technological innovation is designed to address the pressing ...
Africa needs collaboration, not harmonization to benefit from biotechnology transformation
Africa does not need to harmonize its biosafety laws before enjoying the benefits of the ongoing agricultural revolution powered by ...
Growing food on the moon: With an injection of bacteria, scientists turn inhospitable lunar soil into fertile home for crops
If humankind is ever to establish long-term bases on the moon, there will be a need for a regular source of ...
Deformed wing virus (DWV), one of the deadliest threats to bee health, seems to be evolving to be less harmful
This year’s cold and flu season is bringing good news for honey bees: Penn State researchers have found that the ...
Viewpoint: Inflation and climate change prompt American farmers to assess agricultural practices
Agricultural policy has gotten caught up in culture wars that have snarled other aspects of American life ...
