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.
South Korea develops 13 GMO crops in 7 years to battle drought, pests
In South Korea, the National Center for GM Crops (NCGC) aims to enhance national food security and to turn agriculture ...
Citrus Greening bacteria finally grown in the lab—key ‘first step’ to saving Florida’s orange industry
Washington State University researchers have for the first time grown the bacteria in a laboratory that causes Citrus Greening Disease, ...
Plant-based meat competition heats up as GMO Impossible Burger makes grocery store debut
The Impossible Burger, a meat-free burger that’s previously only been available in restaurants, will be available to buy in grocery ...
Weed-pulling robots are here. Can they eliminate chemical herbicides?
Early this year, 85-year-old Bonipak Produce unleashed an orange, 8,000-pound autonomous robot upon its California vegetable fields. It was one ...
Higher yields, reduced pesticide use fueled by GMO crops boost farmer welfare in developing world
Up to 17 million smallholder farmers planted GM crops in 2018, according to the International Service for the Acquisition of ...
Germany’s ‘save the bees’ anti-pesticide campaign ‘existential threat’ to local vineyards, wine industry says
In the vineyards of Oberrotweil and Oberbergen numerous green crosses were set up [over] the weekend. “They are meant as ...
‘Jumping genes’ from tomatoes could help breed next generation of GMO crops
Researchers from the University of Cambridge's Sainsbury Laboratory (SLCU) and Department of Plant Sciences have discovered that drought stress can ...
USDA: Dry weather, neonicotinoid insecticide ban caused ‘substantial decrease’ in EU rapeseed production
Rapeseed is the dominant oilseed produced in the EU making the EU one of the world’s leadingproducers of rapeseed and ...
Genes from wild wheat could boost domesticated crop yields as global food demand explodes
Wild relatives of food crops, such as wheat, host an abundant array of genetic material to help the plants cope ...
Viewpoint: Sen. Lisa Murkowski farm bill rider could keep GMO salmon off the market
Republicans claim to believe in free markets, at least until competition meets hometown interests. For a case study, witness Senator ...
Viewpoint: Paper straws, vegan diets won’t stop climate change—but sustainable ‘bioproducts’ might
Are you slurping through a paper straw, searching for the next green product that will save the planet? Sorry to ...
How early farmers helped barnyard grass become one of the ‘world’s worst’ weeds
Vavilovian mimicry allowed barnyard grass to become the scourge of rice cultivation ...
EPA proposal to roll back animal testing and ‘cut unnecessary research’ gains backing from PETA
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says it plans to reduce the use of pesticide testing on birds as part of ...
Pesticide residues on ‘vast majority of foods’ well below legal safety limits, new FDA data show
The vast majority of foods tested for pesticide residues were found to be well within federally prescribed limits, the Food ...
Will meat, milk and eggs from ‘microbial protein factories’ replace animal agriculture?
“By 2030, the US dairy and cattle industry will have collapsed,” as ‘precision fermentation’ – producing animal proteins more efficiently ...
Developing countries likely to boost CO2 emissions to combat hunger, study finds
Achieving an adequate, healthy diet in most low-income countries will require a substantial increase in greenhouse gas emissions and water ...
Viewpoint: Do neonicotinoid insecticides really boost crop yields? New study raises doubts
Ever year, farmers in the United States devote at least 80 million acres, a combined landmass three-quarters the size of ...
SeaWorld adds GMO Impossible Burger to its theme park menus as plant-based meat popularity soars
A handful of Central Florida theme parks are now adding a fierce veggie option. Today, SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment announced ...
GMO eggplant developed by Bangladesh government cuts toxicity of pesticides used 41%, farmers increase revenues 27%, study finds
"Bt brinjal can improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers in a developing country while protecting the environment.” ...
Pesticide-carrying bees help cut synthetic chemical use on farms
Bees are great at retrieving tiny cargo: their main job is to visit flowering plants in order to gather pollen ...
‘Using Nature’s Shuttle’: Judith M. Heimann’s fascinating new book about how scientists learned to create genetically modified crops
Judith M. Heimann’s recent book [Using Nature's Shuttle] provides a thoroughly engaging account of how [the mystery of plant crown ...
Video: Can meat substitutes like the GMO Impossible Burger make inroads as a meat substitute in China and other countries?
Meat substitutes are surging in popularity as an environmentalist backlash against meat intensifies and as the taste of meat substitutes ...
Viewpoint: IARC glyphosate-cancer controversy highlights need for tighter conflict of interest rules in science
In recent decades, there has been a growing interest in the scientific community (and beyond) about the possible conflicts of ...
Chipotle reaches $6.5 million settlement in lawsuit alleging ‘deceptive’ non-GMO marketing
Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. has agreed to pay $6.5 million to resolve consumer litigation over allegedly misleading non-GMO marketing, according ...
EU rapeseed could recover from poor summer harvest, but neonic insecticide ban poses ‘painful’ challenge
Rapeseed sowings in major EU producers could increase after this summer’s poor harvest although restrictions on insecticides are causing problems ...
USDA reinstates honeybee population survey controversially suspended amid budget cuts
The US Department of Agriculture will resume data collection for its annual Honey Bee Colonies report on October 1 -- ...
EU Court of Justice dismisses activist lawsuit challenging Monsanto GMO soy approval
The European Court of Justice in Luxembourg ruled on [September 12] that the authorization of genetically modified soy produced by ...
