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.
Study: Scientists should use social media to fight advocacy group disinformation about modern agricultural biotechnology
Stakeholders need to be enlightened more about genes and viruses as these are the most misunderstood aspects that might have ...
Viewpoint: How did glyphosate became the target of advocacy groups and tort lawyers — considering no global science organization concludes traces in our food pose cancer risks?
No, Roundup glyphosate sprayed in his garden did not cause Mark McCostlin's non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (a rare form of cancer), a ...
As climate change devastation escalates across Africa, crop biotechnology innovation offers science-based help
Changing weather patterns including rising temperatures, increasing drought incidences, floods and the proliferation of plant diseases are some of its ...
Podcast: Why do so many people who start a vegetarian diet not stick to it?
Eating less meat is good for your health and the environment. Now a new study suggests genes may play a ...
These beekeepers don’t want you to start your own honeybee hives. Here’s why
The craze for honey bees now presents a genuine ecological challenge. Not just in Slovenia, but around the world ...
The 2020-2022 plant-based meat gold rush is over. What’s next?
Sales of vegan burgers, nuggets or eggs have struggled as rampant food inflation and the cost-of-living crisis force consumers to cut back ...
Tomatoes that are delicious, not too fleshy and yet harvestable? With gene editing, they may be on the way
A supermarket tomato can be a delicate thing, easily squashed. Tomatoes grown for canning are a lot tougher. Even when ...
India’s commercial rollout of newly-approved insect-resistant Bt mustard could help the country acheive self-sufficient edible oil — unless activist disinformation scuttles it
Hunger problems arise from multiple reasons—lack of purchasing power and low food availability. India is self-sufficient in cereal grains but ...
As the EU ponders glyphosate re-authorization, French national radio site examines claims that glyphosate is harmful
Europe is preparing to re-authorize glyphosate for 10 years and as a preamble to this re-authorization, the media war is ...
Hot-weather cherries? Drought-resistant melons? Here are 8 new climate-hardy fruits and veggies on the horizon
Recent floods left more than a third of California’s table grapes rotting on the vine. Too much sunlight is burning apple crops ...
The good and problematic elements of the ‘Green Revolution’ — and prospects for genetics-driven version 2.0
The Green Revolution led to a significant increase in agricultural productivity. New high-yielding crop varieties, such as dwarf wheat and ...
Viewpoint: Anti-pesticide hysteria brings together conspiracy theorists and science-illiterate people on the left and right
he list of opponents to pesticides is long and diverse: It includes conservative health nuts and very online paleo types, ...
Viewpoint: Why a glyphosate ban would lead to use of ineffective and more toxic alternatives
A complete ban on the use of glyphosate in agriculture in the short term will lead to farmers more frequently ...
‘Beer is so old that we don’t know how old it is’: Brewing evolution from the Stone Age to the era of craft beers
Beer is so old that we don’t know how old it is. Most of the earliest known cultures brewed it, ...
Viewpoint: Is organic food worth higher prices? A Harvard researcher advises on how to sidestep the con, save money and eat healthier
Organic foods, valued at over $75 billion, have long been touted as superior to conventionally grown foods, with some studies ...
Genetically-modified industrial hemp cleared for commercialization in US
A hemp plant genetically engineered to produce lower levels of the cannabinoids THC and cannabichromene (CBC) “may be safely grown ...
Are you trying to become a vegetarian? Genetics may influence whether you stick with it
Have you ever tried to be vegetarian but found it too difficult to stop eating meat? Your genes could be ...
Viewpoint: Why Cuba’s turn toward organic farming succeeded while Sri Lanka’s collapsed
Cuba is now a laboratory and research field for US experiments in organic food production. The United States hopes to ...
Tiger steaks and lion burgers? Cell-cultivated exotic meats open new market possibilities but raise controversial questions
Which animals we find acceptable to eat vary from person to person, according to our values, palates, and upbringing ...
China poised for new great leap forward on backs of new generation of biotech crops
A trial planting of genetically modified corn and soybean crops outside lab settings in multiple sites across China is projected ...
Viewpoint: GMO mustard crops newly approved in India enable farmer self-reliance and provide food oil sorely needed for growing population
India faces a major deficit in edible oils, with 60% of its demand being met by imports. Mustard is one ...
Food, serotonin and mood: Can your diet help combat seasonal slumps?
The following nutrition tips can help banish the seasonal slump and keep your spirits high: Salmon for anxiety relief Salmon ...
Animal-free cheese and other high tech foods taking page out of electric car industry’s financial strategies to grow in a highly-competitive market
"We need to meet people where they are today," said Magi Richani, founder and CEO of San Francisco-based Nobell Foods ...
‘Upside’ and ‘Goodmeat’: Two cell-cultured chicken companies take different paths in long road to consumer acceptance
No one knows yet what approach to cell-cultivated meat will ultimately resonate with consumers, which probably explains why Upside and ...
Will 2023 US ‘Farm Bill’ address escalating issues of agricultural innovation, climate change and exports?
With Congress back in full swing, agriculture advocates and policymakers are staring down a fast approaching deadline. On September 30, ...
Viewpoint: Misguided attacks on glyphosate ‘dangers’ ignore how the weedkiller enables sustainable soil systems in prairies and grasslands
Glyphosate is Canada’s top-selling pesticide, mostly used in agriculture as a herbicide and to desiccate crops for harvest. While it ...
Monsanto wins 9th consecutive court case in glyphosate litigation
St. Louis 21st Judicial Court Judge Brian May granted defendant's motion for a directed verdict at the close of plaintiff's evidence in Barbara ...
