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.
Global agricultural biotechnology market growing at a rapid pace
The global market for agricultural biotechnology was $13.7 billion in 2011 and is estimated to grow to $14.4 billion in ...
GM crops lead to genetically modified tires
High yielding, genetically modified crops have transformed the economics of U.S. farming. But they also pack an unexpected punch: Their ...
Ireland: Protest over GM potatoes grows
It was reported last week that Ireland's Environmental Protection Agency had approved the trial of a genetically modified potato crop ...
Can genetics improve ethanol production?
A California company with a stake owned by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln announced it has discovered a yeast gene that ...
Swedish agricultural and food co-operative shuts feed line after GM rapemeal found
Lantmannen highlighted the severity of the European Union's opposition to genetically modified foods by revealing that it had closed down ...
Tel Aviv University researcher says plants can see, smell, feel, and taste
In his new book What a Plant Knows (Farrar, Straus and Giroux) and his articles in Scientific American, Prof. Daniel ...
Bananas and genetic engineering: Past, present and future
Scientists are fighting to protect the hundreds of bananas and plantains people eat around the world from a blizzard of ...
Ireland: Angry reaction to GM potatoes go-ahead
Top names from the food, restaurant, and tourism sectors have sharply criticised the Environmental Protection Agency for potentially destroying Ireland’s ...
Philippines: GMO trials to continue
Field trials and commercializing genetically engineered crops to address food security and raise farmer income will continue to be pursued ...
Ireland: Green light for GM potatoes test
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has given the go-ahead for a genetically modified blight-resistant potato crop to be tested on ...
Two-thirds in Britain support GM crop testing
Public opinion in Britain has turned in favor of allowing experiments on genetically modified crops, according to a ComRes survey ...
GM crop efficacy may be jeopardized by pest mutations
Genetic mutations in pests that allow them to develop resistance to genetically-modified (GM) cropsmay be much more diverse in field ...
EPA approves standardized set of controls for GM research
The Environmental Protection Authority has approved two applications by a group of New Zealand universities, Crown Research Institutes and independent ...
First man made, genetically modified species revealed
Professor Eduardo Moreno of the Institute of Cell Biology at the University of Berne announced the creation of the first ...
EU science advisor: Policy shouldn’t trump science regarding GMO’s
Politicians sometimes shy away from science, but they should be clear about why they reject scientific evidence in future, the ...
Commentary: What are the consequences of labeling GM food?
Genetically modified organisms in agriculture have been a source of controversy since their introduction in the mid-1990s. On the one ...
New book on ‘Darwinian Agriculture’ explains how evolution can improve agriculture
The largest drought in 50 years has severely damaged much of the nation's "corn belt" and is threatening the viability ...
Newly found genes may lead to nematode-resistant cotton
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) researchers have made significant progress in finding genetic resistance to two key cotton pests—the root-knot ...
GMO sugar beets get the green light from the USDA
Last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) ruled once and for all to allow unrestricted planting of Monsanto’s GMO ...
Philippines: Anti-GM activists raise alarm on testing of GMO rice
A field testing of genetically modified “Golden Rice” in two Camarines Sur towns has stirred debate between organic farmers and ...
Is there a limit to gains from genetically engineered cotton?
Since genetically modified cotton was introduced in India a decade ago, its popularity has skyrocketed. Last year more than seven ...
Genetically modified apple draws national attention and sparks controversy
Genetically modified apples can’t be found at a grocery store in the United States, but a Canadian company could change ...
Nigeria: Genetically engineered bacteria prevent mosquitoes from transmitting Malaria
In a renewed hope to eliminate the menace of malaria on human health, researchers at the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research ...
Barking up the right GM tree? Transgenic trees could make better timber
Although genetically modified crops such as cereals and cotton continue to attract much scientific and political attention, there has been ...
India: Transgenic sugarcane developed
The Sugarcane Breeding Institute has developed transgenic sugarcane incorporating gene constructs, said its Director, Dr N. Vijayan Nair. Speaking to ...
Genetics turns cows into export marvels
Hawke's Bay agri-businesses Brownrigg Agriculture and Firstlight Foods are turning a wasted resource into export gold. Hybrid dairy bobby calves ...
Nigeria: Biotechnology is Nigeria’s sure way to food security
The Chairman, Senate Committee on Capital Market, Senator Ayoade Ademola Adeseun, has said that biotechnology presents Nigeria the opportunity of ...
