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
Part 1: Viewpoint — Anti-GMO activists conjure up new scare messages as their influence wanes
It's been ten years of downhill sledding for advocacy groups and activists campaigning to throttle the burgeoning biotechnology revolution transforming ...
Science Media Centre: Independent scientists react to Britain’s sudden embrace of CRISPR and agricultural biotechnology
The Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Bill, removing barriers to research into new gene editing technology, will be introduced in Parliament ...
Protecting wild salmon and other aquatic species: Success of AquaAdvantage salmon shows sustainable aquaculture will lean heavily on advanced breeding and biotechnology
Wild salmon are in trouble worldwide. Many Pacific and Atlantic populations have disappeared or declined to record lows. But as we and a group of ...
A new European-based organic grocery store came to town. Why does it misrepresent the advantages of organic and the disadvantages of GMO foods?
There’s a new grocery store opening up in my hometown, McLean, VA. It’s called Lidl (pronounced Lee-dul), and it’s headquartered ...
From dairy to meat to seafood, the future of sustainable food is here. Thank you synthetic biology!
The very definition of what food is undergoing a revolution. It will be challenged by beefless beef, porkless pork, fishless fish, ...
Green Revolution 2.0 is unfolding, driven by biotechnology innovation. Here is what you can expect
We are in the early stages of a revolution in food and agriculture that will exceed the tremendous accomplishments of ...
New Zealand Farmer on the GMO Moratorium’s Impact on Sustainable Food and Agriculture, and Hopes CRISPR Crops Won’t Face the Same Fate
Craige Mackenzie, Farmer in Methven, New Zealand | June 26, 2018Highlights:New Zealand’s island status has intensified its commitment to sustainable farming‘Wait-and-see’ ...
Will Artificial Intelligence and robotics usher in an era of sustainable precision agriculture?
Across midwestern farms, if Girish Chowdhary has his way, farmers will someday release beagle-sized robots into their fields like a pack ...
How genetic engineering is creating more nutritious, healthier food and protecting crops from ravaging diseases
Despite the objections and protestations of the anti-GMO advocates who equate genetic engineering with “Frankenfoods” and utilize fear and scare ...
The reinvention of agriculture
Many people still have an outdated notion of what farming entails and are unaware how much it involves high technology ...
Viewpoint: Nuance in short supply as NYU’s Jennifer Jacquet and Civil Eats bungle meat industry’s role in global warming
Activists frequently assert that 'Big Meat' has tried to deny agriculture's contribution to climate change. Is there any truth to ...
With the US honeybee population stable, what are the challenges going forward?
There is a common phrase that appears in the popular press, in grant proposals and as a fund raising theme ...
Viewpoint: ‘Higher yields and sustainable intensification’ — Russian aggression resets perceptions and policy of global agriculture
When Russia brutally invaded the Ukraine in February 2022, war in the world’s breadbasket could only forebode greater tragedies to ...
Public trust, safety, and genetic engineering
Although the public is almost completely unaware, today, more than three-quarters of all food crops have been directly and dramatically ...
Was GMO critic Sheldon Krimsky ‘rigorous’ and ‘courageous’ as Ralph Nader and the NY Times claim? Or was the recently-deceased Tufts professor an anti-science crank?
Was Sheldon Krimsky a seer who appropriately warned about a lack of oversight of the biotechnology revolution, including the inherent ...
The bioengineered label replacing GMO claims has been in place for four months. Here’s what we know
You may have recently noticed new labels on some of your food. As of January 1st, 2022, the United States ...
How crop gene editing increases nutrition and sustainability
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were launched in 2015, with the top three goals being poverty eradication, improved food security ...
Sustainable GM farming innovation: How Argentina’s drought-tolerant genetically-engineered wheat reduces greenhouse gas emissions and increases yields
In October 2020, Argentina approved the world’s first genetically engineered wheat for cultivation and consumption. Production expanded dramatically in 2021, and will continue to ...
Viewpoint: GMO grapes could be engineered to cut pesticide use and reduce pest damage. Why are they not yet commercialized?
The standard story most people know about “GMOs” centers around a handful of commodity crops engineered to withstand exposure to ...
Does crop genetic engineering promote monoculture, as anti-GMO activists claim?
Genetic modification of agricultural crops, or green genetic engineering for short, is viewed critically by the majority of the German ...
Viewpoint: Are American farmers overusing neonicotinoid-coated seeds and harming the environment?
Planting season for corn and soybeans across the U.S. will begin as soon as March in Southern states and then move north ...
Podcast: Do facts matter when we we make policy decisions about sustainable agriculture? That’s being tested as the public debate over the benefits of gene editing in food and farming ramps up
Innovation Forum founder Toby Webb talks with Jon Entine, executive director of the Genetic Literacy Project, about the rise of ...
Viewpoint: Anti-biotechnology activists claim Western corporations ‘colonize’ the developing world. Here’s why they are wrong
Today, many scientific discussions are shot through with social justice rhetoric, and the debate over food security in the developing world ...
Ukraine war exposes EU’s organic obsession and biotechnology rejectionism
Beyond needless loss of life, the war in Ukraine has caused a trade war that could slash global food production, ...
Meeting UN sustainability goals: Why gene editing is key
Innovations in agriculture productivity between 2005 and 2015, greatly contributed to reductions in the number of people that were food ...
When will CRISPR gene editing be widely adopted in farming — and what are the blockages?
If you’re involved in animal or plant sciences, you’ve been reading about CRISPR technology for many years. Ranging from the ...
Part 2: Misinformation or disinformation? Deniers or skeptics? How the GMO and vaccine controversies are undermining science communication
“Disinformation” is a clever term to relegate the views we don’t like or care to hear to the realm of ...
