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
Natural GMOs: Plants and animals ‘steal genes’ from other species during process of evolution, mimicking transgenics
Little did biologist Gregor Mendel know that his experiments with sweet peas in a monastery garden in Brno, Czech Republic, would ...
Viewpoint: 6 debunked anti-GMO talking points activists should abandon for good
The public still accepts some blatant untruths about biotechnology, food safety, and sustainability ...
Book review: Jennifer Thompson’s ‘GM Crops and the Global Divide’ addresses Europe’s neo-colonialist attempt to intimidate Africa into rejecting crop biotechnology
Jennifer Thomson’s excellent new book, “GM Crops and the Global Divide” (CSIRO Publishing, 2020), is a highly informed, lucid, and ...
Podcast: Media’s COVID hypocrisy; Mandatory vaccines; Biodegradable plastic from GM plants
The mainstream press has viciously criticized COVID conspiracy theorists and vaccine rejection. Yet when it comes to other critical science ...
Viewpoint — ‘Selective skepticism’ and media hypocrisy: Why are liberal news sites vigilant in challenging COVID misinformation but give anti-biotechnology and chemical scare-mongers a free pass?
In recent months, the mainstream press has been on a crusade against COVID vaccine skepticism, tenaciously promoting science-based medicine and ...
Podcast: Should farmers embrace ‘natural’ organic chemicals to replace ‘synthetic’ inputs? Moving beyond the outdated debate
As the benefits of biotechnology come to fruition, people are letting go of the dated view that we should be ...
Our food has never been safer, so why are we so scared of it?
Why you shouldn't trust your brain ...
How the Biden Administration can accelerate prosperity by fixing agricultural-biotech regulations
The Biden administration has a rare opportunity to accelerate agricultural innovation and spur broad and lasting economic growth by taking ...
Podcast: Nature makes ‘GMO’ fish; Biology and gender; Curing sickle cell with CRISPR
Anti-GMO groups have long warned about the dangers of AquaBounty's genetically engineered salmon. But as it turns out, transgenic fish ...
Pesticides and Food: It’s not a black or white issue — Part 3: How dangerous is glyphosate?
Although pesticide toxicity and biodegradability has decreased overall during the last few decades, many consumers are still worried about pesticides ...
Viewpoint: Here’s what ‘whole grain’ really means—and it’s not the health claim you’ve been told it is
Consumers have been so saturated with vague marketing claims that nearly 50 percent can't correctly identify what is claimed to ...
Afraid of Environmental Working Group’s ‘Dirty Dozen’ list? Here’s 12 reasons you shouldn’t be
Many regular food shoppers anxiously await the results of the Environmental Working Group’s annual “Dirty Dozen” list. Even if you ...
Podcast: This GMO ‘almost’ wiped out all life; Here comes AquaBounty salmon; Pregnancy, chemicals and junk science
Did you hear about the genetically engineered microbe that almost wiped out all life? It got widespread attention in the ...
Anti-GMO groups struggle to preserve Europe’s stringent crop gene-editing rules in post-Brexit UK
Following its political and economic divorce from the European Union, the UK has been forced to tackle an incendiary question: ...
Anti-GMO activists launch final effort to block AquaBounty’s fast-growing, sustainable GM salmon as US sales loom
As biotech firm AquaBounty prepares to harvest its GE AquAdvantage salmon for sale in the US, activist groups have trotted ...
Viewpoint: Skeptical of pesticides? That’s because you don’t know what life is like without them
Our greatest public health challenge isn’t chemicals -- it's ignorance and fear-mongering about them ...
What is regenerative farming, and is it a solution to climate change?
At a high level, Regenerative Agriculture is a system of farming practices based on decades of science and applied research that ...
Podcast: Save the earth—get a vasectomy? Glyphosate science vs emotion; Will Biden ban safe pesticides?
For the sake of women's rights and the environment, increasing numbers of men are getting vasectomies. How could this impact ...
Viewpoint: Consumer-focused GM and gene-edited products throw anti-GMO movement’s future into doubt
The bizarre QAnon conspiracy theory that has swept the nation and embedded itself in our political discourse is a prime ...
Viewpoint: Biden Interior Secretary’s opposition to pesticides and GM crops puts endangered species in jeopardy
Deb Haaland’s nomination to head the Interior Department has advanced to the full Senate, but the New Mexico representative weathered ...
Just how ‘green’ are biofuels? Why turning crops into energy might not be a worthwhile climate change solution
Biofuels are liquid fuels made from biomass (plant or animal organic materials) and used primarily in transportation, which is almost ...
Podcast: Why no flu season? Cloning endangered species; Free speech vs science on college campuses
The world has experienced a shockingly mild 2020-2021 flu season, defying the expectations of many infectious disease researchers. How is ...
Glyphosate on trial: In an ‘unequal contest’ between science and emotion, can evidence overcome pesticide-cancer fears?
Recently, I was asked to speak about the weedkiller glyphosate on Radio Colombia. As is often the case with media ...
Decades-long battle over GMOs can teach scientists how to combat COVID conspiracies in Africa
As the second wave of COVID-19 sweeps across Africa, bringing steep increases in infections and deaths, the battle between facts and conspiracies – ...
Viewpoint: Fact-checking anti-GMO activist Vandana Shiva’s ‘Poison-Free, Fossil-Free’ food lecture
The event was a missed opportunity to have the more nuanced discussion that such an important topic deserves ...
Viewpoint: Evidence or ‘junk science’—Will the Biden Administration ban essential pesticides experts say are safe?
Within days of being sworn in, President Joe Biden elevated the science adviser to the president to Cabinet rank, with ...
Podcast: COVID vaccine—Bible’s ‘mark of the beast’? Gene guns and GMOs; Growing plants in space
Some fundamentalist Christians allege that COVID vaccines are "the mark of the beast" described in the Biblical book of Revelation ...
