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.
France introduces banana resistant to black Sigatoka—deadly disease that can cut fruit yields 50%
A new variety of banana that is resistant to black Sigatoka and can be produced using organic and agro-ecological production ...
New study shows CRISPR can be applied to produce biofortified rice
A team of California plant scientists has taken a CRISPR-Cas9 approach to develop more nutritious varieties of rice. Their research, ...
Agricultural effects of Coronavirus: China’s industry slowdown threatens US access to pesticides and fertilizers
The ripple effect of the Coronavirus in China is being reported in the supply of active ingredients and fertilizers. Exactly ...
South Australian government vows to fight bill reinstating ‘archaic’ GMO crop moratorium
The Marshall Liberal Government will stand firm in its support for South Australian grain growers’ campaign to enjoy the same ...
UK may lift ban on GMO-derived foods to secure post-Brexit trade deal with US
Genetically modified foods from America could end up on British supermarket shelves as part of a US trade deal. Ministers ...
Impossible Foods cuts prices 15% as new competitors enter plant-based meat market
Makers of plant-based meat alternatives are cutting prices, as startups compete with food-industry giants for slices of the rapidly growing ...
China develops African swine fever vaccine to curb disease that’s nearly halved its pork production
China’s Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, the country’s top research body on animal diseases, said it developed an African swine fever ...
Trump urges Colombia to restart aerial glyphosate weedkiller spraying to wipe out coca crops
Colombia will have to restart aerial spraying of the herbicide glyphosate in order to destroy crops of coca, the chief ...
Steak from CO2? How space-inspired technology could change the way we produce meat
Currently, it takes a couple of years to “make” a steak. That’s the length of time it takes to rear ...
Viewpoint: Proposed EU fungicide ban would sabotage efforts to curb global food contamination
One of the biggest dangers to our food supply comes from mold through a process that’s all-too-natural. Mold thrives in ...
Bumble Bee Foods launches plant-based seafood venture as consumers ‘pivot away’ from canned tuna
Bumble Bee Foods is hooked on plant-based seafood. The tuna maker announced [March 2] a joint distribution venture with vegan ...
Can CRISPR gene editing save the Cavendish banana from extinction?
When it comes to tropical fruits, Norwich [UK] probably isn’t the first place that springs to mind. But here ...
Bureaucracy hampers GMO Bt insect-resistant cotton approval in the Philippines, despite widespread demand from farmers
The delay in the approval of the propagation of genetically modified (GM) cotton is hampering the revival and revitalization of ...
New ‘super weed’ crisis emerging? Dicamba herbicide failing to stop growth of Palmer amaranth pigweed in greenhouses experiments
University of Tennessee weed scientist Larry Steckel has spent the past two months coaxing Palmer amaranth weeds to grow from ...
South Dakota grain dealer charged in alleged $71 million ‘fake’ organic sales scheme
A $71 million fraud case in South Dakota is the latest blow to the organic supply chain. Federal prosecutors in ...
Europe considers accelerated GMO import approval process to facilitate mini US trade deal
Brussels is ready to offer to speed up the approval process for genetically modified organisms imported into the EU, as ...
GMO blight-resistant potato expected to help over 300,000 farmers in Uganda cut pesticide use, boost yields
Stakeholders working within the potato sector in Uganda are confident about the wide adoption of a new bioengineered late blight ...
African swine fever decimates global pork production. Can a genetically engineered vaccine stop it?
In the fall of 2017, a year before an unfamiliar virus captured the world’s attention with an explosive outbreak in ...
Beyond Meat goes ‘on the offensive,’ blasting critics who claim plant-based burgers are ultra-processed
While its CEO says engaging in an increasingly heated debate over the merits of plant- vs animal-based meat can be ...
‘RIPE’ computer model that boosts photosynthesis could help increase food production by 20% per acre
There’s an international research project called RIPE, short for Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency. The effort .... most recently has developed ...
Bayer in ‘no rush’ to settle Roundup-cancer litigation following endorsements from EPA, Department of Justice
.... Bayer was at pains on [Feb. 27] to quell expectations it was nearing an out-of-court settlement laying to rest ...
Gene-edited, salt-tolerant rice grown at sea could help feed 3.5 billion people sustainably
Growing rice in the ocean sounds a little whacky, but ocean agriculture is an emerging form of food production that ...
Starbucks will debut plant-based Beyond Meat breakfast sandwich in Canada March 3
Starbucks Corp. announced [Feb. 26] that it will add a plant-based Beyond Meat Inc. sandwich to the menu in Canada ...
Fighting blight with GMO potatoes
Dr. Eric Magembe is committed to using the tools of genetic engineering to fight the devasating potato late blight disease ...
Viewpoint: Energy-intensive production, contamination risks threaten to slow lab-grown meat development
Lab-raised meat is unlikely to make rapid strides in the consumer market due to steep economic and technological hurdles, according ...
Bayer Chairman to step down as potential $12 billion Roundup-cancer litigation settlement looms
Bayer Chairman Werner Wenning, one of the architects of a $63 billion takeover deal that has left the German crop ...
Non-GMO, high-protein ‘smart peas’ slated for 2021 debut, with other ‘super trait’ crop varieties to follow
Equinom, an Israeli startup, raised $10 million in a Series B round of funding from BASF Venture Capital, Roquette, Trendlines ...
