Food & Agriculture Features
The GLP explores the role of genetic engineering in food production and the polarized debate surrounding it. We highlight the work of our own writers, as well as that of contributors from around the Web. The GLP does not take a position on genetics-related issues; any opinions expressed belong to the authors.
Categories include:
- Chemicals and pesticides
- Organics
- Conventional crops
- New breeding technologies
- Animal biotechnology
- Food systems
- Sustainability
- Regulations
- Politics
- Ideology
Mother Nature? More like ‘Mad Scientist Mama’—creator of chemicals good and bad for humans
Nature is not some sort of cosmic mother figure. On the contrary, nature is composed of diverse biological and physical ...
After successful demonization campaign against herbicide glyphosate, anti-GMO activists and environmental groups take aim at atrazine
In July, the US Environmental Protection Agency issued an extensive report that reviewed decades of science and declared that a ...
Viewpoint: It’s time to replace our fear-based genetic engineering regulations
In the early 1970s a group of scientists -- none involved in agriculture or food -- raised concerns about the ...
Costs and benefits need to be assessed in weighing bans on glyphosate and neonicotinoids
The continuing debates over whether the herbicide glyphosate or the insecticide class of neonicotinoids (neonics) could—or should—remain available for farmers ...
Viewpoint: How anti-GMO activist-journalist Carey Gillam primes the glyphosate litigation pump
The Guardian published an article by Sam Levin and Carey Gillam [on October 7] about the “new era of cancer lawsuits ...
‘Gold standard’ assessing neonicotinoids: Field bee hive studies find pesticides not major source of health issues
Some lab studies but almost no field ones suggest neonicotinoid pesticides are harming bee health. Why is there such a ...
Viewpoint: Link between bee death and glyphosate still a ‘far-fetched’ story
Glyphosate is a herbicide, in other words, it is toxic to plants. Its target enzyme is not found in insects ...
Why Ugandan banana breeders say it’s critical to add genetic engineering to their toolbox
Ugandan researchers have been successful at developing robust hybrid bananas through conventional breeding techniques. Yet they see a strong need ...
Viewpoint: Europe’s anti-GMO activists copy smear tactics of extremist US organic lobbyists
Some bad ideas have originated in America. Reality television, spray-on cheese, pineapple pizza, and deep-fried Hostess Twinkies come to mind. But the ...
Viewpoint: Activists promotion of ‘fog of misinformation’ about GMOs challenges science communicators
Activists spend all day peddling nonsense. If they spent that kind of time on constructive issues…sigh. [A] local radio station ...
Viewpoint: Frankenstein’s legacy is a ‘distrust of science’—and GMOs
The novel ushered in a concept that actively harms the Global South two centuries later ...
Canada’s suspect move to phase out neonicotinoids to ‘protect bees’ sets stage for US regulatory battle
Canada’s PMRA—its environmental regulatory agency, part of HealthCanada—rolled out for public comment its tentative decision to phase out almost all ...
Who should we thank for all those wonderful fruits and vegetables? ‘Not Mother Nature’
Half of the vegetables grown in the United States are from California. “California is famous for three things: “Hollywood, Silicon ...
Sustainability advantage: ‘High-yield’ intensive agriculture outpaces organic farming, large study shows
Opposition to “high-yield” agriculture has taken many forms: Accusations of corporate takeover of the idealized family farm; preference for organic ...
Trust issues: Scientific credibility suffers when industries sponsor research
Industry plays a central role in scientific research and development. But research shows that when companies fund science, credibility suffers ...
Opportunity lost: Has Uganda paid a price for not embracing GMOs, biotechnology?
It has been more than two decades since the commercial introduction of GMO crops. They have delivered a range of ...
Video: How the Environmental Working Group manipulated the math on glyphosate safety levels to create ‘Roundup in Cheerios’ scare
The weed killer glyphosate (aka Roundup in patented form) is lauded by farmers as a safe, effective herbicide. However, there ...
How anti-GMO research is manufactured: Challenging two Séralini-lab studies that fueled renewed safety concerns over GMOs and glyphosate
In the wake of the decision by a California federal court concluding that Monsanto’s Roundup, whose active ingredient is glyphosate, ...
GMO wine: Are we ready for it?
Genetic modification of grapes could help wine growers deal with a range of challenges -- if they can be convinced ...
Viewpoint: UC-San Francisco is the ‘academic home of the anti-GMO movement’
Being anti-GMO is the biotech equivalent of being anti-vaccine. The scientific literature overwhelmingly and definitively has concluded that GMOs are safe ...
Ontario study: Some good news about glyphosate
These days we are exposed to a great deal of negative, one-sided and inaccurate information in the media and online ...
Viewpoint: No, wild bees haven’t been decimated by neonicotinoids, glyphosate
Bees and pesticides (and not just insecticides) have been the focus of activists and scientists alike, particularly since a 2006-2008 ...
Earth’s carrying capacity and why the status quo ‘could be collectively suicidal’
The co-founder of the Breakthrough Institute has a cheery vision of the future. If only that vision were plausible ...
Predictability: Why there’s no reason to be looking for ‘unexpected surprises’ in GMO breeding
There's a big difference between "unintended" and "unexpected" effects from genetics and breeding, and regulators are looking for the wrong ...
Viewpoint: EU’s new gene-editing rules show failure of scientific leadership
On 25 July 2018, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that plants bred via recent mutagenesis techniques would fall ...
Roundup in breast milk? Disturbing new details in the plot to discredit nutritionist Shelley McGuire
In July 2015, Michelle (Shelley) McGuire, a nutrition professor and lactation expert then at Washington State University (WSU), was targeted ...
Embracing biotech crops and why Nigeria’s GMO fight is far from over
In July, Nigeria took a significant step down the biotech road by approving its first commercially available GMO crop, offering ...
