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
Predictability: Why there’s no reason to be looking for ‘unexpected surprises’ in GMO breeding
There's a big difference between "unintended" and "unexpected" effects from genetics and breeding, and regulators are looking for the wrong ...
Viewpoint: EU’s new gene-editing rules show failure of scientific leadership
On 25 July 2018, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that plants bred via recent mutagenesis techniques would fall ...
Roundup in breast milk? Disturbing new details in the plot to discredit nutritionist Shelley McGuire
In July 2015, Michelle (Shelley) McGuire, a nutrition professor and lactation expert then at Washington State University (WSU), was targeted ...
Embracing biotech crops and why Nigeria’s GMO fight is far from over
In July, Nigeria took a significant step down the biotech road by approving its first commercially available GMO crop, offering ...
Here’s what electricity can teach us about pesticide safety
Many people may find it difficult to imagine how a pesticide could ever be safe. To understand how that is ...
Argentina and GMOs: Exploring the nation’s long relationship with biotech crops
In 2019, Argentina will begin the commercialization of the first genetically modified drought-and salt-tolerant soybean. This will be a particularly ...
How food companies’ switch to non-GMO ingredients could hurt the poor
Consumers have paid significantly higher prices for non-GM foods compared with conventional counterparts in four categories, a new analysis shows ...
How genetics could help agroecology—the science, not the political movement
Agroecology isn’t rocket science So wrote Daniel Moss, head of the AgroEcology Fund, and Mark Bittman, former food columnist, in ...
10 tips for better communication about pesticide science, risks
One of the biggest challenges for any risk communications professional today is to deliver positive messages on pesticides. Like any ...
Plants are great at storing CO2. These scientists aim to make them even better.
Researchers around the world are working to improve plants’ ability to combat climate change. Editor's note: This article was originally ...
‘White gold’: GMO cotton renews hope for Nigeria’s troubled textile industry
Nigeria's textile industry was once a thriving part of the nation's economy. The industry was once the country's second-leading employer, ...
Can CRISPR help us stop wasting so much food?
CRISPR. It’s not what’s for dinner. Not yet, at least. But the hot genetic editing technology could be instrumental in ...
GMO critics in Germany seeking special tax in bid for greater control over biotech offerings
With a new initiative, NGOs in Germany are seeking authority over the approval of biotechnology products such as pharmaceuticals and ...
How John Oliver was duped by the fringe anti-science advocacy groups USRTK and the Organic Consumers Association
Sometimes it's difficult to know who is defending science and who is more concerned about identity politics and cheap laughs ...
USDA reveals plans to regulate GM plants based on traits, not breeding method
USDA's Sid Abel and Doug McKalip just briefed me on the new regulatory framework that is shaping up for the ...
Farmers consider a world without glyphosate—and it’s less than ideal
"More glufosinate, maybe more paraquat." "I would have to find a different burn down chemical, likely paraquat. Would use more ...
Europe’s decision to reject gene edited crops signals it is losing its commitment to sustainable agriculture
At the same time as Swedish agriculture is affected by the worst drought in recent memory, the European Court of ...
Organic Times: New satire site takes Onion-like look at crop biotechnology activists
Agriculture is a serious topic. While farmers in the developing world struggle to save their crops from pest invasions and ...
How is India’s organic-only farming experiment in Sikkim going? Peering past the propaganda, not so sustainably.
India's farm sector is in massive flux and strife right now. After a massive ten-day strike in June, Indian farmers ...
5 ways the USDA could resolve challenges surrounding ‘bioengineered’ food labels
Two years ago, President Obama signed the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Law (NBFDL) into law, requiring food manufacturers to disclose the presence ...
With glyphosate-cancer legal battles poised to escalate, what are the ramifications for agriculture if the herbicide is restricted?
Now that a jury in San Francisco has decided that exposure to Monsanto’s herbicide Roundup (glyphosate) was responsible for California groundskeeper ...
Viewpoint: Why saving seeds is an unproductive farming practice that locks in poverty
Farmers mired in farming systems in which saving and cleaning old seed is an economical use of their time is ...
Viewpoint: Greenpeace and ‘the awful reality of anti-science activism’
The Austrian research portal "Addendum" released a bombshell video regarding the facts, figures, and positions regarding GMO foods. In this ...
Viewpoint: Eliminating pesticides from farming isn’t realistic—or desirable
In about 1980, I visited several International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) research sites in Mexico. The trip included ...
Viewpoint: Nigeria must rely on science to find its way through the GMO debate
The global evolution in science has lead to the emergence and adoption of agricultural biotechnology in some parts of the ...
Viewpoint: How organic activists use intimidation and character assassination to attack GMOs
In Part 1, I described the vendetta by the Russian government's propaganda apparatus against technologies like fracking and modern genetic ...
Prominent anti-GMO NGOs and organic businesses partnered with Russia to ‘smear’ American agriculture
It's no secret that although the Internet has vastly improved our lives in many respects, it has downsides — less ...
