Daily Food & Ag Digest
Every day, the staff of the Genetic Literacy Project scours the Web for stories on a range of agricultural and food issues, including the GMO debate, conventional and organic farming, regulations, new breeding technologies and sustainability. We publish excerpts of those stories and encourage our readers to visit the original publications for the complete stories.
Agroecology must be based in reality, not romanticism, panelists agree
Agroecology has a role to play in transforming agriculture — so long as the movement doesn’t trump the science or ...
Europe approves imports of new GM herbicide-resistant soy, despite objections from Green Party, organic advocates
The genetically modified (GM) soybean, the XtendFlex, was approved after a comprehensive authorization procedure, including a scientific assessment by the ...
GM insect-resistant Bt corn boosts crop yields over 30%, cuts insecticide use 78% in Vietnam, study finds
This study assessed the farm-level economic and environmental impacts from the use of genetically modified (GM) corn in Vietnam (resistant ...
Trust in scientists high globally, Pew survey finds, but public still skeptical of GM crops
The good news is that there’s widespread trust in scientists and a strong desire to act on their findings on ...
Estimated 140,000 plants facing extinction, report finds, threatening progress in medicine, farming
Plants and fungi hold promise as future medicines, fuels and foods, according to the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. But opportunities ...
‘More harm than good’: How well-meaning urban beekeepers can jeopardize wild colonies
Urban beekeeping has grown so trendy that it may be doing more harm than good — with the practice becoming ...
How do we know GM crops don’t harm people with food allergies?
Genetically modified crops can offer a range of environmental and health benefits, such as reduced usage of chemical pesticides, improved ...
Medicine for plants: Stomach infection drug protects vital food crops from deadly pathogens
Scientists from Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) and the University of the State of Paraná in Brazil have discovered that ...
FDA releases free ‘Feed your mind’ curriculum to teach students about GMOs
[September 29], the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has posted additional “Feed Your Mind” consumer education materials. Developed in ...
Nigeria’s maize import ban could boost adoption of GM varieties
Though a ban on maize imports could accelerate Nigeria’s adoption of genetically modified (GM) TELA maize, it may be two ...
Viewpoint: There’s nothing wrong with organic farming, but it’s not the ‘pinnacle of sustainability’
Organic food sales in the United States reached $50.1 billion in 2019, up 4.6% from the previous year, according to ...
Infographic: Cows cause climate change? Agriculture scientist says ‘belching bovines’ get too much blame
A recent interview by Caroline Stocks, a UK journalist who writes about food, agriculture and the environment, of air quality ...
Bayer faces fast-approaching deadline to settle glyphosate-cancer litigation before new trials begin
Bayer AG is up against a fast-approaching deadline to settle remaining lawsuits over its Roundup weedkiller or face the prospect ...
GMO insect-resistant Bt cotton ‘as safe as’ conventional counterpart, study finds
Genetically engineered crops expressing insecticidal and herbicide-tolerant traits offer a new strategy for crop protection and enhanced production; however, at ...
Bolivian court dismisses legal challenge to GMO rules, a victory over ‘ridiculous’ arguments, farm group says
After almost 10 hours of hearings, arguments, and counterarguments, the First Constitutional Chamber denied the appeal of Popular Action brought ...
Bayer settles 45,000 of 125,000 glyphosate-cancer suits, bringing litigation closer to $11 billion end
Attorneys for Bayer AG and consumers suing the company over allegations its Roundup weedkiller caused cancer told a judge on ...
Viewpoint: GMOs don’t boost crop yields? Yes, they do. Here’s the evidence
[A]doption of GMOs does, in fact, increase ultimate crop yield. The myth that they don’t is mostly due to the ...
Judge dismisses activist lawsuit to block GMO crop, pesticide use in wildlife refuges
Conservation groups failed to show they would be harmed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s reversal of a previous ...
Novel resistant genes for late blight, disease behind 1840s Irish Potato Famine, discovered
Late blight, the most important and most destructive pathogen of potato, was caused by the microorganism Phytophthora infestans. Late blight is ...
Viewpoint: ‘GMOs change your DNA’ and 7 other anti-biotech myths debunked
There are quite a bit of misconceptions and myths surrounding that term and what GMOs actually are. But it’s important ...
GMO barley could help produce key lab-grown meat ingredient
Using abundant geothermal waters for heating and volcanic ash instead of soil, biotech company ORF Genetics is growing barley [in ...
Self-limiting ‘Friendly’ technology offers hope for controlling fall armyworm without pesticides
Oxitec, the Oxford University spinoff company that produces environmentally-friendly insect control solutions, [September 24] announced a collaboration with the life ...
Replacing fossil fuels? Gene-edited algae could help cut biodiesel production costs
Hiroshima University researchers developed a highly efficient genome editing system for microalga Nannochloropsis oceanica, which is a potential source of ...
Frustrated by delayed GMO approvals, Indian farmers press forward with illegal insect-resistant eggplant cultivation
The second decade of the 21st century, 2011 to 2020, has turned out to be the lost decade for India, ...
‘Why use dangerous pesticides when GM maize can help us fight fall armyworm?’ Ugandan farmers ask government
Upon learning that one of the ways they could effectively deal with the challenge of the fall armyworm was using ...
Disease-resistant banana genes could accelerate effort to save Cavendish from extinction
Significant progress has been made in accelerating the development of banana varieties with resistance to the Fusarium fungus. Fusarium causes ...
Glyphosate-tainted honey? New Zealand honey industry rejects ‘sensationalized’ coverage of pesticide safety report
The New Zealand honey industry has refuted recent claims of its products being unsafe for consumption in the wake of ...
