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.
Gene-edited wheat that reduces cancer risk from acrylamide grown by UK scientists
Not very far from London, in the English county of Hertfordshire, lies an unusual wheat field ...
Viewpoint: American farmers concerned about using more land and chemicals to satisfy Mexico’s unscientific anti-GMO import ban
As snow swirled over the soil hundreds of acres in each direction, Owen Niese already was worried about a crop ...
‘Do they have an advantage for society and the planet?’: European scientists debate whether the EU should allow CRISPR crops
In June this year, the European Commission will issue new advice on the authorization of the use of CRISPR-Cas, a ...
Nuisance suits by anti-GMO activists could block efforts to save the near-extinct American chestnut tree
Currently being tested in field trials, the future unrestricted release and use of the American chestnut could stir enough controversy ...
Plant-based clean energy solutions are on the horizon
At a laboratory at the Western Norway University of Applied Sciences (HVL) in Bergen, we find Professor Dhayalan Velauthapillai hard ...
England becomes first European country to approve gene editing of plants and animals
We are pleased that the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act has passed into law, receiving Royal Assent from the King. This Act ...
Viewpoint: ‘It undermines farmers and confidence in regulators’ — Real impact of Environmental Working Group’s organic-promoting ‘Dirty Dozen’ list
Nutrition experts agree that many Americans should eat more fruits and vegetables, but that can be challenging for those with ...
With Germany voicing opposition to loosening crop gene editing rules, Europe now expected to table deregulation talks
The European Commission is expected to table proposals for loosening EU rules on gene editing, more specifically, new genomic techniques ...
Smart farming: How digital agriculture can synergize with crop biotechnology to help food-insecure nations
Smart farming refers to managing farms using modern ICT to increase the quantity and quality of products while optimising the ...
30% more meat: Switching off just one gene with CRISPR produces animals with larger muscles
Switching off a gene in animals using a technology called CRISPR can make them produce more muscles, leading to meatier ...
GMO wheat poised to address climate challenges — but US regulatory foot-dragging blocks innovation
Challenges in agricultural production over the past decade and a renewed regulatory push could be setting the stage for the ...
Algae contains high levels of protein and nutrients. Could it help boost food security in the face of climate change?
Scientists at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) believe that algae could be a new type of superfood, thanks to its ...
Viewpoint: ‘A grim record of denying poor countries new technologies’ — From climate change to crop biotechnology, Greenpeace promotes the interests of the wealthy
The Greens are elitist, representing rich people in rich countries. They do not want Africa to develop as Europe has ...
‘Infusing beans with a new genetic blueprint’: Synthetic biology startup engineers soybeans to produce ingredients for cancer drugs, vaccines and infant formula
As a first-generation college student turned molecular biologist, Brian DeDecker imagines a day when these humble soybeans, which his family ...
Mediterranean diet: Eating vegetables, nuts, whole grains and fish may reduce dementia risk — even for those with genetic predispositions
A diet that is rich in seafood, fruit, vegetables, nuts and olive oil may lower the risk of dementia, a ...
Growing rice on Mars? Gene-edited rice might be able to grow in the Red Planet’s soil
Martian dirt may have all the necessary nutrients for growing rice, one of humankind’s most important foods, planetary scientist Abhilash ...
Here’s how natural biologicals can produce environmentally-friendly fertilizers and pesticides
There are few problems larger than the climate crisis. But one potential solution is so small it cannot be seen ...
Green pesticides are plagued by fast-developing insect resistance. Here’s how that can be addressed
For more than 70 years, agriculture’s response to pesticide resistance has been to seek new pesticides in an endless race ...
Viewpoint: How genetically-enhanced crops can help chronically food-insecure Africa achieve self-sufficiency
With Africa currently struggling to meet its annual food needs, using genetically engineered (GE) or modified seeds should be an ...
Genetic engineering is not as trivial and straightforward as activists against GM crops try to portray it
Genetic engineering refers to the intentional and direct manipulation of DNA to enhance or modify an organism’s characteristics, for example, ...
Facing food security disruptions from climate change, Indonesia greenlights GM drought-tolerant rice
The Indonesian government has approved a variety of GMO wheat for human consumption designed to better resist drought, leading Argentine ...
Viewpoint: ‘10 billion by 2050’ — How gene editing can increase quantity and quality of calories for a world where 800 million go hungry
“When we talk about food insecurity, we know that over 828 million people worldwide are hungry,” says Sarah Evanega, lead ...
How using solar panels in agriculture can increase yields and fight climate change disruptions
Farms have a lot of open land and that has made them ideal for solar power installations. For example, though ...
How genomic-focused farming can reduce climate and population pressures
Many governments and scientists are now turning to agrigenomics to tackle food sustainability and security. Agrigenomics involves the genome sequencing ...
Viewpoint: We need fossil fuels, fertilizers, and pesticides — which improve crop production and keep food prices low
Thousands of Belgian and Dutch farmers are being sacrificed on the altar of climate change. They are losing their livelihoods ...
Viewpoint: ‘Now is not the time to make agriculture more difficult’ — Why Europe’s biotech and pesticide food policies do more harm than good
Centre right MEPs say they want to postpone the law proposal on pesticide reduction in its current form because it ...
Video: NASA data rebuke ‘green wisdom’ on cattle and carbon pollution. With 50+ million heads of cattle, Argentina has net positive carbon balance
Argentina is one of the few countries in the world with a positive carbon balance, according to a study published ...
