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
Humans have been genetically modifying crops for thousands of years. Here are some examples of what some popular foods used to look like.
Ever wonder how your food would look and taste if humans had not genetically modified them over the course of ...
Following Europe’s lead, New York State is poised to ban most uses of neonicotinoid pesticides. Here’s why that will hurt consumers, farmers — and the environment
The state of New York is on the brink of a banning a pesticide that is critical for many farmers ...
GLP podcast and video: Pesticide ban crushes French sugar production; Activist group ‘greenwashing’; How farming affects presidential elections
A pesticide ban in France has sent the country's sugar beet production to a 14-year low, a troubling result that ...
Viewpoint: The difference between the science cited by academic researchers and activists? Peer reviewed, consensus evidence
In the 1660s, Robert Boyle advocated that the use of repeated experiments and written summary of the process, method and results, is ...
Viewpoint: How technology-rejectionist fearmongering poisons public opinion against farmers
As other NGOs are stepping away from campaigning against gene editing, CEO is becoming the last loud voice of protest ...
GLP podcast and video: Mind-reading social media platforms; Developing countries reject Greenpeace’s ‘privileged’ green beliefs; New antibiotic coming soon?
Social media companies are experimenting with new technologies that measure human brain activity. Does this drive to fine tune the ...
Good news for health-conscious, tech-embracing consumers: Here’s the science behind the latest gene-edited food, a tastier mustard green
Precision gene editing methods such as CRISPR are revolutionizing everything from cell and gene therapies to diagnostics, bioenergy, and agriculture ...
Viewpoint: How Russia teams up with US environmental activists to promote disinformation about the crop biotechnology science
As the now year-old war in Ukraine continues to unravel, so do the stories revealing the ruthlessness with which the ...
Viewpoint: ‘Organic is good’? — Greenwashing propagated by environmental advocacy group lobbyists and marketing-savvy green industry
Recent draft legislation on its way to the European Parliament and Council commonly known as the Greenwashing Directive (officially the Green Claims Directive) plans ...
Viewpoint: This guide should replace the Environmental Working Group’s Dirty Dozen list of ‘chemical-soaked’ produce
The Toxic Ten are chemicals in your family’s refrigerator and the government does nothing to stop it; it even takes ...
Viewpoint: Use of modern seed genetics greatly contributes to improved agricultural sustainability and climate change mitigation
The use of modern seed genetics (which includes genetically modified (GM) crops, chemical and fertilizer use) greatly contributes to improved ...
GLP podcast & video: How activism threatens technological innovation; Why mosquitoes only bite some people; Combating RFK Jr.’s scientific misinformation
Activist groups effectively use fear-based PR campaigns to drive pesticides and other important products off the market. What can scientists ...
From dirt to the dinner table: Tracking how foods make the journey across a massive globally-connected food system
I’m a naturally curious person, but sometimes life (read: kids) takes me off course. But recently, I seized the opportunity for ...
Here’s how AI is protecting bees and helping farmers pollinate crops
Artificial intelligence (AI) offers a new way to track the insect pollinators essential to farming. In a new study, we installed miniature ...
GLP podcast and video: Glyphosate in Goldfish crackers? COVID vaccines are not in our food; Does marijuana cause schizophrenia?
A viral Facebook post recently alleged that Goldfish crackers contain dangerous amounts of the weedkiller glyphosate. Is there any science ...
Ideology-based decision-making and regulatory processes restrict sustainable agricultural innovation in Mexico
The escalating disagreement between Mexico and its two northern partners, the United States and Canada, over the country’s corn ban ...
Viewpoint: ‘Imposing impoverishment’ — How European leadership has failed by promoting ideological solutions to sustainability challenges in farming
It is hard to find anyone with anything positive to say about 2022: economic, social, ethical, political, geopolitical success stories ...
5 influential activist NGOs spreading crop biotechnology misinformation in Latin America
The United States and Europe are home to some of the most influential anti-biotechnology advocacy groups in the world. They ...
Electricity from thin air? Energy-producing bacteria has ‘potential to power small, sustainable air-powered devices in the future’
It may sound surprising, but when times are tough and there is no other food available, some soil bacteria can ...
GLP podcast & video: Harmful chemicals in fish? How your genes affect the drugs you take; 3 pesticide myths debunked
Are you getting a potentially toxic dose of chemicals every time you eat fish? A new study has raised this ...
Cracks appear in Europe’s opposition to CRISPR gene editing and other New Breeding Technologies
Despite what the anti-genetic engineering forces want you to believe, there is growing political, scientific and agricultural support across Europe for ...
Viewpoint: ‘These forests will never recover’ — Climate change-associated fires stump reforestation efforts
On April 6, 2022, a prescribed fire driven by unusually strong spring winds jumped a control line northwest of Las ...
Does GMO corn increase crop yields? More than 20 years of data confirm it does — and provides substantial health and safety benefits
While many studies show that genetically modified crops contribute to yield gains, GMO critics say that they don’t. Such claims, ...
Viewpoint: Green activists claim we can feed the world with organic-grown crops. Here’s a reality check
It is commonly believed that organic farmers do not use pesticides and that organic food is therefore safer to consume ...
Viewpoint: Here’s the wacky formula used by Environmental Working Group to stoke unwarranted fears about safe chemicals
“Eating one bass is equivalent to drinking PFOS-tainted water for a month.” Those are the words of Scott Faber, senior ...
Viewpoint: Social media amplifies misinformation — No, modern pesticides are not the driver of insect declines and no, they are not poisoning us
The aim of the European Seed series on Myths, Fake News, Misinformation and Disinformation is to dive deeper, taking a closer ...
Viewpoint: Do we need to curtail economic expectations to ensure that we have enough food to feed the planet?
A little over 200 years ago, one of the noted economists and philosophers of the day, Thomas Malthus published an essay ...