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.
Viewpoint: Bees and pesticides—Europe’s precautionary rules neglect science, hinder sustainable farming
A core element of EU environmental law is the precautionary principle (PP), which theoretically requires regulators to err on the ...
Glyphosate and other pesticides pose little threat to soil health, many studies show
Most no-tillers use some external inputs like herbicides and synthetic fertilizers, though there are certainly those who have or are ...
Coronavirus presents ‘looming food crisis,’ FAO warns
The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has warned that the global coronavirus pandemic may trigger a “looming food ...
New GMO crops are coming, but why do just four companies develop so many of them?
In November, Science magazine .... described how corn breeding researchers were able to activate a gene that regulated corn growth ...
Clones, enzymes, stem cells and more: Learn these scientific terms to better understand biotech news
Quite often, you hear about advances in biotechnology in the news .... [Y]ou might feel as if the science and ...
EPA green lights weedkiller for use on GMO soy, helping farmers control herbicide-resistant weeds
[March 30], the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the registration of the use of isoxaflutole on genetically engineered soybeans, ...
Restricting trade to clamp down on coronavirus may lead to food shortages
As COVID-19 spreads around the globe, fears of a deep global recession are mounting. Some also fear that food supplies ...
How America’s obesity epidemic could exacerbate deadly impact of coronavirus
With businesses facing bankruptcy, schools closed and sports events canceled, President Trump and others have now asked: Is the cure ...
Low-toxicity pesticide tricks fungi into ‘committing suicide’, safeguarding key food crops from disease
Pathogenic fungi pose a huge and growing threat to global food security. Currently, we protect our crops against fungal disease ...
Viewpoint: LA restaurants tried to sell groceries during the COVID-19 pandemic. Why did the city shut them down?
A few Los Angeles restaurants struggling to maintain footing amid the COVID-19 outbreak identified a clever way to generate revenue ...
Viewpoint: Anti-biotech activist Vandana Shiva says GMO soy caused the COVID-19 pandemic. Here’s why she’s wrong
In recent months, quacks and charlatans of all kinds have been rubbing their hands with glee, as a novel coronavirus ...
Podcast: Science writer Michael Specter on what you should know about the coronavirus, food security and GMOs
Science writer, New Yorker contributor and author of the book Denialism Michael Specter joins Felix Salmon on the Slate Money ...
Science to the rescue? How modern genetics could help save the world from coronavirus
Humanity really has only two options to confront the coronavirus pandemic currently sweeping the planet. The first is to mount ...
Plants communicate to fight off pests. Their ‘conversations’ might help us safeguard our food crops
When a beetle larva bites into the leaf of a goldenrod plant .... [t]he bite damages the goldenrod .... causing ...
Nutrient-fortified, drought-tolerant chickpea could provide sustainable protein source for India
Chickpea is a major source of protein for the people in India. It is grown mainly in semi-arid regions during ...
Locust invasion has jeopardized the livelihoods of 20 million Africans—now a second wave is coming
Billions of desert locusts have swept across east Africa, threatening the livelihoods of more than 20 million people. Now a ...
Bayer settles Roundup weedkiller false advertising lawsuit for $39.5 million
Bayer AG agreed to pay $39.5 million to settle allegations that its Monsanto unit ran misleading ads about the controversial ...
COVID crisis captivates conspiracy theorists
In the face of a global catastrophe like COVID-19, it’s only natural that frightened, anxious people try to ascribe blame ...
Kenya could stop locust invasion within two months, despite coronavirus pandemic
The Government says it will take at least two more months to check the spread of the desert locusts in ...
How do you make vegetables taste like meat? The science behind the rise of plant-based burgers
“Beyond Meat,” an American company that produces plant-based meat substitutes, made a huge splash in financial markets when its stock ...
Fact checking COVID-19 Facebook posts: Philippines, Sri Lanka aren’t killing coronavirus with aerial pesticide spraying
Purported advisories urging residents to stay indoors while national air force helicopters spray disinfectant over homes to kill off the ...
Ultraviolet irradiation could kill mold on strawberries, cutting fungicide use and food waste
How many times have you purchased a package of beautiful, red, ripe strawberries from the grocery store only to have ...
Viewpoint: How ‘fraudulent, poorly designed, and biased’ studies sow doubt about GMO, gene-edited crops
Research in crop science in recent years has advanced at an unprecedented rate, and the intermingling of old and new ...
Local officials in Uganda want scientists to help counter nation’s influential anti-GMO activists
Local government officials from over 10 districts in Central Uganda warned scientists of biotech critics whose efforts they claimed were ...
Farmers running ‘unprecedented race’ to secure fertilizer, seeds and pesticides amid coronavirus outbreak
North America’s biggest farm suppliers are accelerating shipments of fertilizer, seeds and agricultural chemicals to crop-growing regions in an unprecedented ...
Viewpoint: ‘Fear profiteering’—organic activists, trial lawyers capitalize on coronavirus to make a buck
While 70 million Americans are under lockdown to contain spread of the 2019 form of coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, in order to ...
Following neonicotinoid insecticide ban, UK canola growers ask government to cover crop losses from pest infestations
Since the ban on neonics, the UK area of oilseed rape has progressively fallen year on year. What’s more, following ...
