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
Viewpoint: Do organic farms really produce ‘chemical free, healthier food’?
The multi-billion-dollar organic industry is thriving in large part because of dishonesty ...
Inside Nigeria’s efforts to protect its cowpea harvest with nation’s first genetically engineered seeds
The release of the GM cowpea will significantly improve livelihoods. But not everyone is happy ...
Conservation agriculture and why we must move beyond the organic vs. conventional debate
How can journalists navigate the 'pitched battle' between organic advocates and biotechnology? Focus on real measures of sustainability, not polemical ...
Question of liability: Why researchers are worried about Uganda’s new biotech act
Uganda’s Genetic Engineering Regulatory Act has sent a cold chill down the spines of scientists who dream of creating new ...
6 common misconceptions about the ‘dangers’ of genetic engineering and GMOs
Why does the GMO debate have a bit of Groundhog Day aspect to it? The way the issues are framed ...
Proposed U.S. regulation of gene-edited food animals is not fit for purpose
Both plant and animal breeders need access to gene editing tools to introduce sustainability traits ...
Viewpoint: Developing nations face onslaught of ‘fake news’ targeting GMOs
A recent article co-authored by a prominent Malaysian economist propagated several popular myths about GMOs. A Malaysian scientist and communicator ...
Plagiarism allegation likely to spur activist challenges of EU approval of Monsanto’s glyphosate-based weed killer Roundup
An alliance of Greens alleges that a key study in the approval process may have been copied in part from ...
Viewpoint: We should stop blaming cows for climate change
The claim that meat production generates more greenhouse gases than the entire transportation sector is demonstrably false, says Frank Mitloehner ...
What’s going to happen in farm biotech in 2019? Gene-edited foods; lab-grown meat surges; CRISPR regulation clarity
These are the trends I expect to define biotech in agriculture during 2019. ...
Young Ugandan biotech advocates push back against scare tactics of European and American-funded anti-GMO African environmental activists
While many of his classmates worried, Jonan decided to work in defense of biotechnology ...
Saving our seeds and why we could do more to protect genetic diversity
Nations of the world are working to preserve seed diversity through the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food ...
Glyphosate scares, Natural News’ Mike Adams unhinged and the ‘bee-pocalypse’: GLP’s 8 most impactful farm and food stories of 2018
These stories shaped a tumultuous year for agricultural biotech ...
With the ‘bee crisis’ fading and European farmers fearing an insect invasion, EU’s neonicotinoid ban fiasco stumbles into the New Year
The future of a controversial agricultural pesticide remains in limbo, thanks to scientific uncertainty and political malfeasance ...
2018 biotech review: Second generation of GMOs arrives as US anti-GMO movement falters
A prediction that the anti-GMO movement would become increasingly irrelevant in 2018 comes to pass ...
Viewpoint: Lab-grown meat isn’t as ‘clean’ as you might think
There are many polarizing false dichotomies around this emerging technology ...
10 GMO memes backed up by science
Anti-GMO activists have churned out memes critical of GM crops and food. Now science enthusiasts are fighting back with fact-based ...
Can we meet a growing need for food without destroying our environment?
'Sustainable intensification' takes the best ideas from conventional and organic farming ...
US regulators grapple with oversight of New Breeding Techniques (NBTs)
In the first installment of this series, we looked at the regulatory framework in the US for the products of ...
New biotech crop-breeding technologies struggle for traction across much of Africa
"Multinational companies from the developed world don’t want any scientific progress going on in Africa," says Ugandan researcher ...
Evaluating claims GMOs and modern agriculture have led to a 75% drop in crop diversity
The conventional wisdom is wrong: crop diversity is not collapsing. Our changing diets indicate there are reasons for both concern ...
Viewpoint: Scientific ignorance fuels skepticism of crop biotechnology
This one question is an effective test of scientific ignorance ...
Fighting weeds: Can we reduce, or even eliminate, herbicides by utilizing robotics and AI?
A quick look at some of the technical strategies being pursued in farming robotics and AI ...
Podcast: Jon Entine, Kevin Folta, Perry Hackett on how gene editing could dampen the partisan GMO divide
How do you win over people who view crop biotechnology and corporate influence as threats? One answer may be gene ...
Viewpoint: With reasonable regulation, we can turn wild plants into food with gene editing
The crops we rely on today have been bred over thousands of years to enhance certain characteristics. For example, sweetcorn ...
Viewpoint: Parents’ anti-GMO fervor just might contribute to children’s allergies
Eating organic and avoiding GMOs has no effect on food allergies. But the mentality underlying GMO avoidance and overly-protective parenting ...
Podcast with Dr. Paul Offit: Striking similarities between anti-biotech and anti-vaccine activism
The anti-vaccine and anti-GMO movements are increasingly overlapping in methods and outlook ...
