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
USDA scraps overhaul of GMO and gene edited crop regulations that biotech advocates viewed as ‘unscientific’
The Trump administration withdrew a proposed USDA rule change made by the Obama administration that would have been the first ...
Viewpoint: Will Europe botch regulation of gene editing as it has GMOs?
Plant biologist: Europe's precautionary stance toward agricultural biotechnology has all but blocked the introduction of GM crops and could provide ...
View from the farm: Why there is no advantage in saving seeds
A common criticism of GMOs is that corporations force farmers to buy new seeds every year. But do farmers actually ...
South African saga: Anti-GMO activist groups’ disinformation campaign against new disease-resistant corn
South Africa's corn is already more than 90 percent GMO. An application to introduce an improved, disease-fighting variety has revved ...
Viewpoint: European anti-tech groups threaten to derail CRISPR gene editing in agriculture
The political decision of how to regulate gene editing and other New Breeding Techniques (NBTs) will determine whether Europe becomes ...
Is organic farming sustainable? 5 carbon footprint challenges
Along with unsubstantiated claims of better nutrition and safety, supporters of organic farming often cite its lower carbon footprint as ...
Viewpoint: Former US journalist Carey Gillam should stay out of Europe’s glyphosate debate
A former agricultural reporter at Reuters, Gillam now presents herself as "the Rachel Carson of the GMO debate." Belgian-based risk ...
Jon Entine podcast: Corruption and secrecy behind IARC’s glyphosate cancer designation?
Glyphosate has been in the headlines for two weeks. Here's a background interview with the GLP's executive director explaining the ...
Glyphosate-gate: Policy and science implications of IARC’s ‘predetermined’ cancer finding
Where high-stakes issues involve powerful beliefs, financial reward and opportunities for advancement, neither individuals nor agencies can be assumed to ...
Glyphosate, IARC and politics: ‘We need a more honest debate’
Glyphosate is one of the most hotly-debated herbicides of the modern era. Many of the arguments against the popular weed-killer ...
There’s ‘Big Ag’ and ‘Big Organic’—How much does ‘big’ matter when it comes to sustainability?
It's the way crops are farmed not the farm's size that matters when it comes to sustainability ...
‘GMO’ petunias: Ridiculousness exposed and explained
Italian researcher offers satirical look at the story of the GMO petunias that were ordered destroyed. How would you explain ...
Genetic engineering and gene silencing could fight deadly crop mycotoxins—if not blocked by activists
Aflatoxins are responsible for hundreds of millions of dollars in crop losses annually. Farmers have struggled to control the troublesome ...
Viewpoint: Christopher Portier—well-paid activist scientist at center of the ban-glyphosate movement
Christopher Portier, special adviser to the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer, is bringing down the reputation ...
Viewpoint: Should US be subsidizing organic farming when label seems increasingly meaningless?
Congress is considering tripling the budget for the USDA's organics program. Should we be asking for more answers from regulators ...
10 truths about GMOs, organics and modern farming
As the debate over GMOs has gone viral, city-dwellers often position themselves as experts on farming. But there's often a ...
Viewpoint: Self-interest, rather than ignorance, key driver in GMO and climate change rejectionism
GMO opponents and climate change deniers often share a common characteristic -- their actions and decisions are driven by the ...
Disease-resistant GMO tomato that could eliminate need for copper pesticides blocked by public fears
Field trials have shown that a disease-resistant GMO tomato variety eliminates the need for copper pesticides that pollute soil and ...
Conventional agriculture holds multiple ecological advantages over organic, analysis shows
Conventional farming outperforms organic in several key measures -- particularly crop yield, according to a meta analysis of 164 research ...
Kevin Folta looks back 5 years after release of controversial Séralini GMO rat study
The heavily criticized and retracted paper linked GMO consumption and glyphosate exposure to cancer in rats. The brouhaha that erupted ...
Do GMOs, pesticides cause cancer? The Amish would say ‘no’
Amish farmers may not get cancer as much, but it's not because they don't use pesticides or GMOs. In fact, ...
Guided evolution of wheat and other grains could feed growing population
Can we breed wheat and other cereal grains with the ability to fertilize themselves? Researchers report promising results that could ...
GMO seeds could be critical for extended space travel, colonization
If we hope to colonize space, scientists must figure out how to feed astronauts on journeys that could last years ...
Creating ‘super wheat’: Genetic modification supercharges photosynthesis
A growing global food demand is challenged by the problem of limited crop-growing space. Could GMO-edited wheat meet this need ...
Viewpoint: No, Big Ag doesn’t ‘control’ the world’s food supply
Is there truth to a common anti-GMO narrative that large multi-national companies seek to “control the food supply” through patents ...
GMO that’s not all GMO: Monsanto’s rootworm-fighting corn seed uses RNA interference
The EPA's relatively quick approval of a new Monsanto seed trait drew criticism from anti-GMO groups that complained about a ...
Tale of two neonicotinoid bumble bee studies—And how science can be massaged
Are neonics dangerous for bees? Two studies published on the same day reached sharply different conclusions. Guess which one got ...
