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.
Farmers, activists seek ban on genetically modified plants in Oregon’s Jackson County
A group of local farmers and food activists wants Jackson County to pass an ordinance banning the planting of genetically ...
Researchers mark milestone in pursuit of switchgrass genome
In Washington, in an attempt to piece together the switchgrass genome, the DOE Joint Genome Institute (JGI) in an international ...
Farmers challenge GM trials on BBC’s Newsnight
Conventional wheat farmer Peter Lundgren will join other GM sceptics in a public debate on Rothamsteds GM wheat trial hosted ...
GM wheat trial promises fiery TV debate
Campaigners are set to lock horns with the scientists behind the GM wheat trial at Rothamsted Research in a live ...
Specialty crop group petitions EPA on herbicide-resistant crops
A coalition within the U.S. specialty crop industry has petitioned the Environmental Protection Agency and USDA’s Animal and Plant Health ...
Maps of Miscanthus genome offer insight into grass evolution
Miscanthus grasses are used in gardens, burned for heat and energy, and converted into liquid fuels. They also belong to ...
Government scientists won’t stop field-testing of BT eggplant
Government scientists will continue field testing a genetically modified eggplant despite the Supreme Court’s (SC) issuance of a writ of ...
Superweeds: A long-predicted problem for GM crops has arrived
I was a member of the FDA Food Advisory Committee when the agency approved production of genetically modified foods in ...
Bt eggplant safe for humans, environment says study
Studies conducted by the Department of Agriculture (DA) showed that the genetically modified eggplant being tested in the country is ...
Why biotech food labeling is met with resistance
In recent weeks, there’s been a lot of new discussion around the biotech labeling debate. On May 10, the International ...
India loses faith in GM cotton
Ten years after it was introduced to India, genetically modified cotton is not living up to its promise. It is ...
The upside of Frankenfood: Can GM crops reduce global food insecurity?
Last month, when I summarized the views of Calestous Juma, professor of the practice of international development at Harvard, on ...
Researchers showcase ‘easy’ GM tracking technology
A new technology could help to monitor and track genetically modified crops in the food processing chain, say researchers ...
GM crops threaten gluten free sorghum
Sorghum is a staple food crop that feeds millions of people in Africa and Asia. It is a popular breakfast ...
Who influences GMO approvals?
An article from the Harvard Business School proposes a theory about what factors influence how genetically modified crops are approved ...
Decision due on GM potato trial
Sir, – It’s not often these days that one finds oneself in agreement with virtually anything said by a government ...
Court battle for GM buffer zone
Steve Marsh, of Kojonup in Western Australia, lost his organic certification for almost 70 per cent of his 478ha farm ...
GM corn and sick honey bees – what’s the link?
No farmer in their right mind wants to poison pollinators. When I spoke with one Iowa corn farmer in January ...
Genetically modified food labels legislation fails in Connecticut
A key Connecticut lawmaker says efforts to enact state legislation requiring labeling of genetically modified food died in the face ...
Kenya: The GM debate is more than about biosafety
This month, after almost a decade of intense debate, Kenya is expected to become the third country in Sub-Saharan Africa ...
Why GM crops are a moral necessity
Professor of international development at Harvard, Calestous Juma has called on Africa to form an "International Institute for Biotechnology" that ...
Green fuel is possible with artificial ecosystems
Algae could become an important source of sustainable biofuel, as production doesn't compete with food crops for land. But we ...
Busy beekeepers
“The role of the backyard beekeeper is extremely valuable,” said Serge Labesque, one of the North Bay's most knowledgable beekeepers, ...
Monsanto’s deep roots in Washington
Love it or hate it -- and there are plenty of people on either side -- the company controls much ...
GM crops still far from mass cultivation
Genetically-modified (GM) maize has yet to be grown en masse as there is still a requirement for tests if the ...
Balancing needs and fears in the GM crop debate
On Wednesday's Today programme a spokesman for the Rothamsted biologists doing the "urging" (Scientists send video plea to anti-GM crop ...
Octopus genes may foretell climate rise problems
Now, genetic evidence from an Antarctic octopus reveals that this may have happened at some point in the not-too-distant past ...
