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
Podcast: Anti-GMO ‘documentaries’; Cancel culture v Darwin? Biotech chestnut trees
So-called 'cancel culture' has already taken down a handful of prominent scientists and philosophers, living and deceased. One evolutionary biologist ...
Viewpoint: Swayed by anti-GMO groups, biotech pioneer Mexico lurches toward GM crop ban
“There is currently enough food in the world to feed 10 billion people,” writes the anti-GMO environmental group Green America ...
Gene-edited crops and animals: Best-kept secrets in the fight against climate change
Advances in gene editing over the past decade have given scientists new tools to tailor the biochemistry of nearly any ...
Scare talk debunked: GMOs, pesticides and antibiotics don’t make conventional food unsafe
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue recently cautioned Americans not to fear their food. That’s an amazing thing for any public official ...
Viewpoint: Europe’s pro-organic Farm to Fork policy will ‘cripple’ an already inefficient agriculture system
The EU’s “Farm to fork (F2F) strategy” announced in May, is “the heart of the “Green Deal,” a kind of ...
Podcast: Regulate all food chemicals? Gin and tonics going extinct; GMO pineapple is here!
There are thousands upon thousands of chemicals in food. Should we regulate them all, could we even do it? Gin ...
‘Rethinking Monsanto’: Ex-GMO skeptic explains what he got wrong about Big Ag and the pitfalls of plant breeding
Beginning in 2010, I embarked on a slow-motion conversion from GMO skeptic to advocate as I began developing a more ...
What I got wrong: GMO skeptic turned crop biotech advocate explains his ‘slow-motion conversion’
A recent open-heart surgery put my mind, as it might, on themes relating to mortality. Which got me thinking about ...
GM insect-resistant Bt cotton boosted India’s crop yields? Activist study says no, but crop biotech experts say yes
Was the introduction of transgenic (GMO) cotton seeds to India in 2002 the beginning of the renaissance of the country's ...
Podcast: Facebook vs junk science; ‘Brain-boosting’ supplements; Whole grains really healthy?
Alternative health champion Mike Adams has been banned from every social media platform but continues to spread his anti-GMO and ...
Viewpoint: Greenpeace-funded study backfires, undermining case to treat gene-edited crops as GMOs
The anti-GMO movement dominated the public discourse about crop biotechnology for decades. Led by committed activists who knew how to ...
Pesticide evolution: Can natural chemicals help battle insects, weeds and disease without harming the planet?
A new collaboration between the two R&D pioneers aims to accelerate the discovery of breakthrough crop protection technologies. If you ...
Podcast: GM crops don’t change your DNA; Monsanto ‘owns’ global food supply? South American anti-biotech invasion
Are GM crops unnatural? Can they change your DNA? And does 'Big Ag' own the global food supply? The answer ...
Colombian anti-biotech groups losing on two fronts? Push for GMO ban slows, while government green lights first gene-edited crop
Editor's note: The author of this story has informed the GLP that new information has come to light, and asked ...
Viewpoint: Animals vs plants? Stop fighting about where your protein comes from and eat a balanced diet
With a feeling of uncertainty infiltrating our lives lately, many of us are looking for concrete information to help us ...
‘Regenerative’ agriculture: Organic farming buzz word, or the path to sustainable food production?
The goal should be sustainability, not trying to advance an ideology ...
Podcast: Monsanto v Percy Schmeiser; Experts spread misinformation, too; Fasting a fad diet?
Just-released courtroom drama 'Percy' tells the David vs. Goliath story of a Canadian farmer's battle against Monsanto. Did the film ...
Viewpoint: International anti-GMO groups wage PR war to get gene-edited crops out of Latin America
Imagine for a moment that you're a farmer. Genetically modified crops that could help you protect your yields from voracious ...
Viewpoint: There’s no such thing as a ‘GMO,’ and the history of potatoes illustrates why the term is ‘nonsensical’
The expression “genetically modified organisms” (“GMOs”) is not only void of scientific value, but has negative effects on agricultural progress ...
GMO and gene-edited biofortified crops weaken case for organic agriculture
A new lineup of GMO and gene-edited crops with nutrient content organic growers simply can't replicate ...
Viewpoint: ‘Toxic-free EU’? Why Europe’s naive Green Deal is scientifically illiterate and could cripple innovation for years to come
July is usually a good month for environmental activism in Europe. Many people are on holiday and nobody feels like ...
Podcast: Greenpeace CRISPR study debunked; Public accepts gene-edited babies? Cancer vaccine progress
A Greenpeace-funded study alleges that gene-edited crops can be detected and should therefore be regulated as "GMOs." However, experts say ...
Viewpoint: 5 reasons you should be eating GMOs
Impossible Burger is a household name best recognized for its successful introduction of a plant-based burger that “bleeds” and has no ...
Viewpoint: Why grow GMOs? To prevent cancer, pesticide poisoning and farmer suicides
Activists who desperately cling to lies about the risks of GM crops are now the ones who look 'very stupid.' ...
Could genetically engineered, nitrogen-fixing crops replace polluting synthetic fertilizers?
Everyone has heard of the nutrient, nitrogen, but why is it important to plants? It's a key ingredient in proteins, ...
Podcast: CRISPR-edited weed; opioid addiction vaccine; Africa’s neglected diseases
An opioid-blocking vaccine could spare many people a lifetime of drug addiction, if and when it's developed. COVID-19 exposed Africa's ...
Roundup glyphosate weedkiller responsible for the decline in Monarch butterflies? Media and advocacy groups badly misreport study
News reporting at its best should be nuanced. There are rarely 'black hats' and 'white hats' when it comes to ...
