Food & Ag 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
Grist: Genetic engineering versus natural breeding?
With a full understanding of the science, is genetic engineering really all that different than traditional breeding ...
Biotech innovations rescuing near extinct American chestnut tree
Rival biotechnologists race to use genetic engineering to bring back the American chestnut tree ...
Japan’s harsh reaction to GM wheat rooted in culture and history
Why did Japan react so quickly and decisively (by suspending imports) to the discovery of unapproved GM wheat in Oregon? ...
Grist rethinks crop biotech, takes fresh look at regulatory process
Critics of genetic engineering say the industry is not required to do any safety testing. The developers of GE crops ...
Open-source GM: Separating Monsanto from modification
Open-source GMOs will "help fight climate change and stick one in Monsanto’s eye." ...
Grist finally acknowledges ‘no health threats from GE foods’
It’s hard to make the case that we should trust science on global warming while scoffing at the statements of ...
Eco-zealots want you to believe eating GM crops is dining with the devil
The Daily Mail offers a thorough summary of the GM issue, in particular its contentiousness in the UK ...
Analysis of Kaua’i County Anti-GMO Bill
Biofortified analyzes the bill proposed by anti-biotech groups in Kauai to curtail planting of genetically modified crops ...
Nature commentary: Europe losing ground in GM crop science
The EU must regulate GM plant varieties with sound science or risk losing ground in the race to grow more ...
A geneticist attempts to replicate the famed “stunning corn” study
Anti-GM crusaders don't really want independent replication, that would expose their lack of evidence ...
Genetically modified RNA scare seems bogus
A molecule as unstable as RNA likely couldn't even make it past our digestive system ...
Who really deserves a food prize?
Food writer Mark Bittman argues against the biotech-focused winners of this years World Food Prize ...
Italy: Agriculture minister wants GMOs banned
Italian ag minister wants to ban the cultivation of GMOs, with with backing from the Italian health and environment ministers ...
Oregon: Genetically modified crops vandalized
Some 6,500 GM plants have been destroyed by "eco-activists" in Oregon since the beginning of the month ...
When is a tomato not a tomato?
Our modern tomatoes are tasteless -- could GM tech restore the tomato's tastiness? ...
The dangers of condescension in the GM debate
The UK's Environmental Minister needs to reframe his proposed GM discussion if he wants to avoid a slow-motion train wreck ...
World Food Prize goes to those who made GM plants possible
The "Nobel Prize of food" has been given to three biotech pioneers -- including an executive from Monsanto ...
Biotechnology must remain part of EU-US trade negotiations
Biotech crops are a sticking point in free-trade negotiations between the US and European Union ...
The impatient optimism of GM crops and food security
Are GM crops needed to feed the world? That's not the right question to ask ...
Comedian Dusty Smith gores GMO critics and anti-Monsanto junkies
Comedian-critic Dusty Smith rails against common misconceptions surrounding GM crops and Monsanto's business practices ...
“GMOs make pigs sick” paper avoids rigorous analysis
New research claiming GM foods hurt pigs is more fishing expedition than proper science ...
Congress “protects” GM crops
The "Monsanto Protect Act" provision passed earlier this year has elicited overstated responses from critics and proponents alike ...
Genetic modification and the fate of sustainable fish farming
Whole Foods's refusal to stock salmon fed with GM yeast may stifle technology that delivers environmental benefits ...
What if we discussed organic the same way as biotech?
It's easy it is to concoct a reasonable-sounding (but false) argument that organic crops must cause autism and diabetes ...
Europe’s anti-GM stance denies Africa’s ability to feed itself
A leading African academic condemns European environmentalists for blocking the adoption of biotech crops ...
Pulitzer Prize winner makes incredibly inaccurate remark about GM food safety
Michael Moss, Pulitzer Prize food journalist, claims "the research hasn't been done" on GM crops. He's wrong ...
Transgenic salmon hybridize with trout, produce sterile offspring
A recent "worst case scenario" breeding experiment has opponents of the AquAdvantage salmon unduly scared ...
