Sustainability / GreenGenes
Food production needs are expected to roughly double over the next 35 years as the world population grows and people in under developed countries become more affluent and demand more calories. Healthy ecosystems are vital to the survival of all organisms. How can we grow crops without harming the environment? How can we balance technology and global food security? What is the right balance of organic and conventional farming? What role can genetics and biotechnology play without compromising the needs of tomorrow?
Below is the complete archive of related articles sorted by date.

Food Fight: Anti-GMO Friends of the Earth attacks study on deceptively marketed organic foods
This article was written by Kari Hamerschlag, a former Latin studies major, who now works for the anti-GMO advocacy organization Friends ...
Crops deliver less nutrition with more carbon dioxide in air, biofortification in GE crops can help
Feeding everybody in the world has always been a challenge. Feeding them well just got even tougher. Some of the ...

GMO critic NY Times foodie Mark Bittman says dangers of crop biotechnology “overrated”
In a reversal, New York Times food writer, Mark Bittman--a frequent critic--says the dangers of GMOs is exaggerated. He contends ...

Breeding heat-resistant livestock for a post-warming world: A worthy endeavor?
Evan Halper at the LA Times chronicles efforts to breed livestock that can endure a warming world ... but should ...

Union of Concerned Scientists blames GMOs for ‘superweeds’ but issue more complex
Genetically modified crops have been blamed for the superweeds problem, but in truth, the use of herbicides in monocultural practices ...
Monsanto using biotech methods to speed up traditional breeding
Say the term “genetically modified organism,” or GMO, and you’re bound to get some strong opinions. But what is it? And should ...
Plant geneticist Paul Gepts says polarized GM discussion endangers innovation
Whether you call them transgenic, genetically engineered or GMO crops, the fever-pitched debate about Monsanto misses the bigger picture by ...
Cell biologist Rebecca Rupp: I’m pro-GMO and here’s why
We all know that there are topics that are best to avoid at public dinners. Religion and politics usually top ...

Maine’s fractious relationship with Monsanto
Maine's history with Monsanto has evolved over time from warning bells in the organic community and a welcome embrace from ...
If you believe GMOs are bad, read this
Agriculture might not strike you as humanity’s first scientific endeavor. Familiar images of farmers tilling their fields or cowboys tending ...
20 breaking stories about GMOs
Genetically modified (GM) food and crop stories continue to appear in the popular media across the globe. In the United ...

Scientific American: ‘Environmentalists’ have opposed genetically improving crops as ‘unnatural’ for a century
The May 2014 issue of Scientific American, called Scientific American Classics, looks at "The Birth of the GMO Debate." It ...
GMO growers and organic farmers can coexist in Australia
Coexistence between organic farmers and those that grow genetically modified crops is a big challenge but it is possible in ...
Would making genetic resources “open source” reduce GMO controversy?
The creation of free software 30 years ago has had a profound effect on computing, and helped fuel the rise of the ...
Cotton Board of Zambia calls for investments in biotech to aid sustained production of quality cotton
Cotton Board of Zambia board secretary Dafulin Kaonga said Government should invest in modern biotechnology, including genetic engineering, to develop ...
Scientific literacy and critical thinking missing from anti-GMO groups
The landscape of science communication resounds with a cacophony of credible and incredible voices. Such voices fill the demands of ...
Biotech can strengthen vegetarianism but Veg Expo chooses anti-GMO agenda
Most people never knew I was not a meat eater. I enjoyed an ovo-lacto vegetarian diet for 16 years. I get the ...

Debating GMOs: Anti Michael Pollan and plant scientist Pam Ronald break new ground with dialogue
Journalist Michael Pollan and plant geneticist Pamela Ronald set an important precedent when they convened the two sides of the ...
Did the Washington Post ‘overstate’ ‘marker-assisted’ breeding method?
A recent Washington Post article by Adrian Higgins, titled, “Trait by trait, plant scientists swiftly weed out bad seeds through marker-assisted breeding” ...

Academics Review: Organic food industry engaged in ‘multi-decade public disinformation campaign’
Consumers have spent years paying over the odds for organic foods based on the erroneous belief - promulgated by stakeholders ...

Glyphosate dangers in breast milk challenged as ‘junk science’
On April 7, 2014 a television “documentary” in Australia reported that a study of 10 nursing mother’s milk revealed the presence ...

‘Organic mommy mafia’ pushes foods based on misleading claims of health and nutrition
“Am I going to be an outcast?” A friend, who recently moved to an upscale neighborhood in Madison, Wis., called ...

Marker-assisted plant breeding: agricultural genetics without GMOs
Marker-assisted selection is a fancy way of saying plant breeders are using genetics to "preview" their crops and streamline the ...

Are GMOs causing an increase in allergies?
The potential for allergies from foods with genetically modified ingredients is no higher than that in any food, including organics ...

Henry Rowlands, organic movement’s cyber mastermind behind anti-GMO websites
Wonder how, when an anti-GMO initiative is launched, so many activist sites carry the same coordinated message? Meet Henry Rowlands, ...

Henry Rowlands, organic movement’s cyber mastermind behind anti-GMO websites
Wonder how, when an anti-GMO initiative is launched, so many activist sites carry the same coordinated message? Meet Henry Rowlands, ...

Why embracing the “unnatural” can help us improve on—and preserve—nature
Can we improve on nature? Yes, argues agronomist Andrew McGuire, but he's only talking about farming. I take his argument ...
Confronting fear of genetic modification, a life-saving technology
GMO Skepti-Forum has begun featuring essays by readers on the GMO controversy. We’re going to be featuring some of them on the ...