Daily Food & Agriculture 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.
Precautionary principle should apply to GM food, claims former scientists
Genetic modification is not simply the insertion of genes which act independently of the rest of the genome. These genes ...
Time to start reaping GM benefits, says GM supporter
Ever since the Asilomar Conference on ‘Recombinant DNA' in February 1975, regulatory policies relating to recombinant DNA technology have focused ...
African agriculture: Antipathy to GM crops still strong in Zambia
Zambia has one of the strongest records of official opposition to GM crops in Africa. An official of the recently ...
Scientists map and sequence genome of switchgrass relative foxtail millet
A newly published genetic sequence and map of foxtail millet, a close relative of switchgrass and an important food crop ...
Hawaii’s biotech papayas hold a lesson for America
A new supply of fresh papayas from Hawaii will reach grocery-store shelves in Japan this year and consumers have biotechnology ...
GM foods: Science and society
Last weekend protesters gathered at Rothamsted Research, north of London, threatening to destroy a field of genetically modified wheat. In ...
Battle against GM soy intensifies in Brazil
Illegally smuggled into Brazil 14 years ago, transgenic soy has proved a boon to domestic farmers and now accounts for ...
Genetic discovery unlocks biosynthesis of medicinal compound in poppy
Scientists have discovered a complex gene cluster responsible for the synthesis of the medicinal compound noscapine ...
At last, the tomato genome sequence comes to fruition
For years scientists have slaved away, trying to piece together the genes that make up the ripe, red goodness that ...
GM food research site hit by cyber attack
"The cyber-strike came after hundreds of protestors went to the agricultural research station in Hertfordshire to try to attack the ...
Maize diversity discoveries may help ease world’s hunger pangs
Researchers at the University of California, Davis, report that ancient farmers had a stronger impact on the evolution of maize, ...
Global farming goes biotech
Farmers using improved seeds and biotech crop varieties continue to see significant economic and on-farm environmental benefits, according to the ...
Is Africa’s slow adoption of GM crops justified?
Africa was one of the first places that adopted GM crops, but most of countries in Africa have refused to ...
Poland beekeepers kick Monsanto out of the hive
The decision comes after thousands of protesters recently took to the streets in demonstration of the undeniable fact that both ...
Labeling of GMOs gains momentum
Despite the facade put in place by Monsanto that virtually all mainstream medical organizations believe there is no difference between ...
Could California force the rest of us to label GMO foods?
In November, California voters will decide on a ballot initiative that would require labeling of all foods containing ingredients from ...
Africa: Ban on GMOs
The government has maintained a ban on imports of GM crop seeds and GM products. The ban on products is ...
GMOs: What are they and what’s all the fuss?
We hear a lot about Genetically Modified foods, or Genetically Modified Organisms - GMOs. But what exactly are they, and ...
Despite Alaskan Senator’s protests, GM food is old hat
Somebody please get Sen. Lisa Luddite Murkowski, R-Alaska, down off her high-flying Frankenfish. Enough with the pandering to Alaska commercial ...
Africa: Biosafety regulators urged to strengthen links
In efforts to harmonise national biosafety regulations across Africa, the links between national regulatory authorities and key stakeholders must be ...
Are Pro-GMO scientists against chemical pesticides?
Even scientists promoting Bt eggplant are against excessive and injudicious use of chemical pesticides. In a press release, Dr. Emiliana ...
20 years of GMO policy keeps Americans in the dark, says GMO opposer
Popular resistance is boiling over on the GMO labeling issue, as the New York Times reported last week in a ...
GM lobby still trying to force discredited GM foods, says GM opposer
Genetic modification was supposed to be the ground-breaking science of the future. Its magic wand would feed the world and ...
Survey: Most see no need for biotech info on food labels
A new survey shows very few Americans cite biotechnology as an information need on food labels. Neither are most consumers ...
The inside story on the GM wheat trial debate
If the organisers of this weekend’s Take the Flour Back protest against the genetically modified wheat trial at Rothamsted in ...
Wal-Mart defies anti-biotech extremists, keeps sweet corn on market
Good for Wal-Mart! Despite intense pressure by anti-biotechnology activists, the retailing giant didn’t cave in to demands that it “reject” ...
Police keep anti-GM protestors in UK from destroying wheat crop
Police kept hundreds of protesters at bay as they attempted to destroy a field where genetically modified wheat is being ...
