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.
Anti-pesticide group As You Sow, food industry spar over glyphosate sustainability
San Francisco-based shareholder advocacy group As You Sow rated 14 major food companies on what—if anything—they’re doing to address the ...
Access to plant genetic data sparks conflict between rich, poor countries trying to breed climate-resilient crops
Ahead of renewed negotiations to revise a global treaty in Rome on [November 11], rich and poor countries are at ...
French Parliament: 2022 glyphosate ban falls off track as widespread weed killer use continues
IS FRANCE’S GLYPHOSATE EXIT PLAN ON TRACK? A French parliament report, published on [Nov. 13], suggests not. President Emmanuel Macron ...
Redesigning photosynthesis in key crops could help sustain global food production, study shows
Scientists have solved the structure of one of the key components of photosynthesis, a discovery that could lead to photosynthesis ...
AquaBounty seeks overseas expansion, anticipating global demand for GMO AquAdvantage salmon
For more than two decades, AquaBounty has been developing its genetically modified AquAdvantage salmon, which the company plans to grow ...
EPA wants scientists to share their data: Will it promote government transparency or threaten public health?
"The Trump administration is preparing to significantly limit the scientific and medical research that the government can use to determine ...
Paraguay approves GMO drought-tolerant soy, fourth major producer to green light biotech crop variety
The Ministry of Agriculture of Paraguay authorized the commercial release of seeds that better tolerate drought conditions, developed by Indear ...
Viewpoint: Don’t overpay for greens labeled ‘non-GMO’—because there’s no genetically modified lettuce
Have you ever eaten genetically modified arugula? We’re positive you haven’t — because it doesn’t exist! But that hasn’t stopped ...
Marketing stunt? Some restaurants sell Impossible, Beyond Burgers without telling customers they’re meat free
How do you get die-hard meat eaters to try a plant-based burger? You trick them. The rise of meatless meat ...
Ancient Egyptians loved beer. Here’s the recipe they used to brew it
The ancient Egyptians loved beer. According to Mohamed A. Farag, a Professor of Chemistry at The American University in Cairo: ...
Purple GMO tomato with boosted antioxidant levels could lead to more nutritious produce
Chinese researchers have developed a genetically modified purple tomato rich in anthocyanins, according to the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Read ...
Food safety officials reject Golden Rice-cancer link as Philippines inches toward commercializing the GMO crop
GOLDEN RICE, developed by biotechnologists to address Vitamin A deficiency, is still in the process of completing field trials before ...
Tyson Foods’ plant-based ‘chicken’ nuggets now sold in 7,000 stores
Tyson Foods Inc. says plant-based nuggets from its Beyond Meat Inc. competitor Raised & Rooted are now in 7,000 stores, ...
UK could tackle sustainability challenges post Brexit with GMO crops, farmer’s union chief says
Boosting the use of genetically modified crops in the U.K. after Brexit could be “enormously beneficial,” according to the National ...
Monsanto’s GMO soybean as safe as conventional counterpart, EU Food Safety Authority confirms
Following the submission of application .... from Monsanto (hereafter referred to as ‘the applicant’), the Panel on Genetically Modified Organisms ...
New bacteria-based bioherbicide controls glyphosate-resistant weeds in field trials
Marrone Bio Innovations [November 12] .... announced positive results for the 2019 field trials for its novel bioherbicide, known as ...
Bangladesh could approve GMO Golden Rice in November 2019—after 10-year delay caused by regulation, activism
By [November 15], Bangladesh’s agriculture minister is expected to announce the approval of “golden rice" for sale and use, making ...
Manipulating sugar production in plant leaves could boost photosynthesis, crop yields
Plants make sugars to form leaves to grow and produce grains and fruits through the process of photosynthesis, but sugar ...
Mandatory calorie counts on fast-food menus have little impact on customer purchases, latest study finds
As of May last year, all American restaurant chains with 20 or more outlets have been legally obliged to provide calorie ...
Efforts to block CRISPR crop cultivation in Australia unlikely to gain political support, parliament member says
A Senate bid to overturn the lack of regulation of Genetically Modified Organisms is unlikely to achieve anything. The Greens ...
Can TELA maize solve the acute food shortages in sub-Saharan Africa?
Sub-Saharan Africa remains the most food-insecure region in the world, with an estimated 237 million throughout the region suffering from ...
Foodborne illnesses strike almost 48 million Americans annually. Do we need better food safety testing?
In the U.S. alone, there are an estimated 47.8 million illnesses, more than 127,000 hospitalizations and 3,000-plus deaths attributed to ...
Winter honeybee losses cut in half since 2012 as beekeepers battle deadly varroa mite
It looks as though the period of alarmingly high winter mortality in honeybees is over. And a long-term study by ...
‘Tuning’ plant flowering signals with CRISPR could yield heartier crops suited to harsh environments
Increasing human populations demand more productive agriculture, which in turn relies on crop plants adjusted for high-yield systems. [G]enetic tuning ...
Commonly used pesticide 1,3-D has smaller impact on soil microbes than tillage, cover crops or irrigation, study shows
It started with curiosity. How does a fumigant, commonly used for nematode management in potato cropping systems, influence soil microbial ...
Video: ‘What will I eat today’ vs. ‘will I eat today?’ – It’s time to trust African scientists (on access to GMO and gene edited crops)
It is time African governments take action ...
Viewpoint: Eating red meat won’t harm you or destroy the environment, and it has some nutritional advantages
We’ve all been steak-shamed before .... According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, red meat consumption has fallen more than ...
