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.
Viewpoint: New Zealand’s case for genetically edited crops and foods
The world is struggling. The United Nations (UN) has calculated that the number of severely food insecure people had doubled ...
‘If tomorrow there were no transgenic crops, a third of humanity would starve to death’: Leading Cuban scientist outlines support for genetically modified crops
"If tomorrow there were no transgenic crops in the world, a third of humanity would die of hunger," advised Luis ...
Frying foods like wheat and potatoes can produce a carcinogen, acrylamide. A CRISPR gene-edited wheat in development could prevent that
Asparagine is a naturally occurring amino acid, and while most is made into protein, plants such as wheat can accumulate ...
‘We can’t go back to precolonial food self-sufficiency’: Current UK food policy blocks sustainable genetically modified crops and other agricultural diversification strategies
The UK has not been self-sufficient in food and drink production for hundreds of years. The first foreign outposts, trading ...
Dairy without the cow? One company’s plan to create cell-based cultured milk
[Cell-based milk start-up] Opalia’s process involves harvesting mammary cells from the cow udder, then growing these cells in sterile cell ...
How algae could make meat and seafood accessible daily dishes
Technologies for cultivating alternative proteins have been around for years, but they have been far too costly to bring a ...
Bioplastics and fuel from potatoes? CRISPR gene editing could make it possible
Potatoes, which are a rich source of dietary carbohydrates for humans, are abundant in starches that find use in numerous ...
Viewpoint: Countries opening doors to genetically modified wheat and other cereal grains, but regulatory reluctance remains
Genetically modified wheat is finding paths into crop production in some parts of the world, and the science behind it ...
Viewpoint: Is Russia undermining global food security by funding European-based environmental activists opposed to genetically modified crops?
Why is Europe's political class questioning the effectiveness of modern agricultural practices and the legitimacy of nuclear power when the ...
Viewpoint: Environmental advocacy groups continue to push misinformation about non-existent honeybee crisis, distorting public policy
Given everything bees contribute to our lives, it’s not surprising that the public’s interest in pollinators has increased over time ...
New research confirms that GM corn is safe for beneficial insects
Growing genetically modified (GM) corn has virtually no impact on the abundance or ecological function of beneficial insects, according to ...
Viewpoint: Rethinking pros and cons of livestock ‘factory farms’
Large-scale or industrial farming or factory farms — whatever you want to call them, are farms designed to maximize efficiency, just ...
Gene editing makes list of top 6 agricultural technology innovations
Thanks to advancements in technology, farmers can now do things that were once impossible. The agriculture industry is constantly evolving ...
Vegan gold rush: When will billions of dollars poured into plant-based meat ventures result in more than bland-tasting imitations?
The new foods I’ve tried are just a smattering of what’s on offer from the dozens and dozens (and dozens) of ...
Food security challenge: How Africa can benefit from the emerging agricultural bioeconomy
Improved governance, multisectoral and multistakeholder coordination, and “bioeconomy education” are among the potential enablers of more sustainable and climate-resilient food ...
Solicitor General’s amicus brief ‘unwittingly makes strong case’ for Supreme Court intervention in latest Monsanto case
The U.S. Supreme Court invited the Solicitor General of the United States to express the government’s views on Monsanto’s appeal ...
Independent European Chemicals Agency is 20th international group to find glyphosate is not carcinogenic
[The European Chemicals Agency, or] ECHA's Committee for Risk Assessment (RAC) agrees to keep glyphosate’s current classification as causing serious ...
World’s first GM lager: Could beer made from genetically modified wheat usher in a new era of GMO crop acceptance?
Argentina’s Bioceres Crop Solutions Corp., the farm technology company that’s trying to convince the world to eat genetically-modified wheat, is in talks with ...
Viewpoint: Europe’s rejection of biotechnology in favor of organics has played an unfortunate role in today’s global food crisis. ‘Precision agriculture’ can help
Leading officials including UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres are sounding the alarm over the alarming state of global food security. The war in ...
Viewpoint: Sri Lanka’s botched organic farming experiment illustrates danger of ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to agricultural sustainability
Even though the transition towards organic farming seemed like an environmentally sustainable step forward, the sudden switch was a time ...
Viewpoint: Britain’s deregulation of agricultural gene editing a good first step — but further reform needed
Britain's deregulatory plans around GMO crops focus on gene editing, a type of genetic modification that "is heavily restricted in the EU." ...
‘Sleepwalking into a food crisis’: High-yield, intensive farming using advanced biotechnology is key to address climate crisis
The world needs to increase food production and availability by 70 per cent by 2050 to keep pace with the ...
Can foods boost your immune system?
It’s easy to fall prey to marketing gimmicks deployed by food brands. After all, it’s comforting to think that there ...
Viewpoint: ‘Britain must address the madness of its organic-obsessed, science-denying agricultural system’
When the Ethiopian famine finally ended in 1985, with a million people dead, nobody expected it to be the last ...
‘Regenerative agriculture’ has replaced organic as the ‘green’ solution to farming and food. What does it really mean?
The hype about regenerative farming has some sustainable food and climate researchers and advocates concerned. Unlike organic farming, which is ...
Lab meat boom? Start-ups surging into the cultured meat sector
The global market for cultured meat is forecast to reach $499.9 million by 2030, up from $133.4 million last year, ...
Video: RNA technology used to develop COVID vaccines can protect crops from viruses, fungi and insect pests
It’s one of the biggest challenges facing the environment and farmers across the globe – pest control. But now, University ...
