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
Who will have the most progressive crop gene editing regulations: England or the European Union?
When UK Ministers first unveiled plans to diverge from restrictive EU rules classifying gene edited products as GMOs, it was ...
6 fake news websites stoking fear about crops grown from genetically-engineered seeds
"Fake news" may be new to most people, but not to followers of the anti-GMO debate. Here are some of ...
Viewpoint: ‘Why farmers are essential partners in the fight against climate change’
The “Farm to Fork” strategy is an important part of the EU Green Deal. As a farmer, I endorse the ...
GLP podcast and video: 10 myths about modern farming, debunked; New malaria and polio vaccines could save thousands of lives
Many harmful myths about farming persist on social media. Let's explore some of the most common falsehoods about agriculture you're ...
Russia banned GMOs years ago to distinguish itself from the United States. What’s its current stance toward genetic engineering, CRISPR and other New Breeding Techniques?
Russia's decision to ban importation and cultivation of GMOs made sense from a political perspective. But it's a decision the ...
Is a split developing between the European organic establishment and the farmers it claims to represent over the regulation of CRISPR and other New Genomic Techniques?
Anti-GE activists spin a narrative that large agribusiness companies have seduced farmers into planting GMO crops where it’s legal, such ...
GLP podcast and video: Aspartame doesn’t cause cancer; Alcohol is good…and bad for you? An expert checklist for spotting health scares
Does the sweetener aspartame, found in all sorts of foods and drinks, cause cancer? Controversy over the chemical's safety has ...
Viewpoint: ‘It’s time for transparency’ — How promoting alleged benefits of organic food misleads shoppers and undermines our farm system
Rather predictable howls of protest from organic lobbyists greeted the recent decision to allow the temporary use of neonic seed ...
Viewpoint: Misleading guidance — Why so many nutrition studies get the basic science so wrong
How does what we eat affect our healthspan and longevity? The answer to this relatively concise question is unavoidably complex.” ...
Can regenerative agriculture live up to its hype and help feed a globally growing population?
Decades of industrial agriculture have caused environmental and social damage across the globe. Soils have deteriorated and plant and animal species are ...
GLP podcast and video: Allergy-free, gene-edited eggs; Mosquito-borne illness on the rise? Doctors should debate RFK, Jr.
Gene editing has yielded allergy-free eggs that might prevent severe episodes of anaphylaxis in young children. Ticks and mosquitoes are ...
Viewpoint: IARC’s aspartame report echoes globally-rejected glyphosate cancer determination
Food additives like artificial sweeteners are relentlessly tested by health authorities, researchers, independent labs and activist scientists (while we rarely ...
Leaked European Commission document recommends softening EU regulations of gene edited crops and other products of New Genomic Techniques: “The current EU GMO regulation is not fit for purpose”
The Genetic Literacy Project did not break the confidentiality restriction set by the European Commission (EC). A draft of proposed ...
Humans have been genetically modifying crops for thousands of years. Here are some examples of what some popular foods used to look like.
Ever wonder how your food would look and taste if humans had not genetically modified them over the course of ...
Following Europe’s lead, New York State is poised to ban most uses of neonicotinoid pesticides. Here’s why that will hurt consumers, farmers — and the environment
The state of New York is on the brink of a banning a pesticide that is critical for many farmers ...
GLP podcast and video: Pesticide ban crushes French sugar production; Activist group ‘greenwashing’; How farming affects presidential elections
A pesticide ban in France has sent the country's sugar beet production to a 14-year low, a troubling result that ...
Viewpoint: The difference between the science cited by academic researchers and activists? Peer reviewed, consensus evidence
In the 1660s, Robert Boyle advocated that the use of repeated experiments and written summary of the process, method and results, is ...
Viewpoint: How technology-rejectionist fearmongering poisons public opinion against farmers
As other NGOs are stepping away from campaigning against gene editing, CEO is becoming the last loud voice of protest ...
GLP podcast and video: Mind-reading social media platforms; Developing countries reject Greenpeace’s ‘privileged’ green beliefs; New antibiotic coming soon?
Social media companies are experimenting with new technologies that measure human brain activity. Does this drive to fine tune the ...
Good news for health-conscious, tech-embracing consumers: Here’s the science behind the latest gene-edited food, a tastier mustard green
Precision gene editing methods such as CRISPR are revolutionizing everything from cell and gene therapies to diagnostics, bioenergy, and agriculture ...
Viewpoint: How Russia teams up with US environmental activists to promote disinformation about the crop biotechnology science
As the now year-old war in Ukraine continues to unravel, so do the stories revealing the ruthlessness with which the ...
Viewpoint: ‘Organic is good’? — Greenwashing propagated by environmental advocacy group lobbyists and marketing-savvy green industry
Recent draft legislation on its way to the European Parliament and Council commonly known as the Greenwashing Directive (officially the Green Claims Directive) plans ...
Viewpoint: This guide should replace the Environmental Working Group’s Dirty Dozen list of ‘chemical-soaked’ produce
The Toxic Ten are chemicals in your family’s refrigerator and the government does nothing to stop it; it even takes ...
Viewpoint: Use of modern seed genetics greatly contributes to improved agricultural sustainability and climate change mitigation
The use of modern seed genetics (which includes genetically modified (GM) crops, chemical and fertilizer use) greatly contributes to improved ...
GLP podcast & video: How activism threatens technological innovation; Why mosquitoes only bite some people; Combating RFK Jr.’s scientific misinformation
Activist groups effectively use fear-based PR campaigns to drive pesticides and other important products off the market. What can scientists ...
From dirt to the dinner table: Tracking how foods make the journey across a massive globally-connected food system
I’m a naturally curious person, but sometimes life (read: kids) takes me off course. But recently, I seized the opportunity for ...
Here’s how AI is protecting bees and helping farmers pollinate crops
Artificial intelligence (AI) offers a new way to track the insect pollinators essential to farming. In a new study, we installed miniature ...
