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: Scientist defends the safety of glyphosate—and explains why that matters
Glyphosate is not risk-free — no chemical is. But compared to alternatives (even “natural” ones), it remains one of the ...
Viewpoint: Here’s the ‘progressive’ take on regenerative agriculture
Regenerative agriculture, the practice of restoring rather than depleting the land, has been suffocated by companies that thrive on making farmers ...
Viewpoint: How our food choices impact the global environment
Messaging about healthy and sustainable food choices — buying local, the best diets, the cost of nutritious food — can ...
DNA barcoding: How it revolutionized tracking food fraud
[T]he 2013 horsemeat scandal is considered one of the most egregious cases of food fraud on the continent [Europe], and ...
Viewpoint: ‘Get the government out of agriculture’? Civil Eats assesses Trump’s disruptive first 100 days on ‘food, farming and fairness’
Over the past 100 days [of President Trump's second term], President Trump and his collaborators have taken a sledgehammer to ...
Viewpoint: ‘Pesticide soaked’—Activists target sustainable ‘no till’ farming, but science disagrees
A Washington D.C.-based environmental group published a lengthy report [April 29, 2025] criticizing no-till systems across the U.S. for their ...
What are the barriers limiting organic food consumption globally
Current dietary practices significantly contribute to environmental degradation, with organic food consumption emerging as a viable alternative for promoting sustainability ...
India becomes first country to approve yield-boosting gene edited rice
Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Sunday [April 4, 2025] unveiled India’s first genome-edited rice varieties, DRR Dhan 100 ...
Intermittent fasting – timing when you eat – has legions of supporters but not strong science to back it up
Intermittent fasting has been shown to lead to some weight loss in several studies. But it might not work better than other ...
The coming rice crisis: Can biotechnology prevent global shortages?
More frequent droughts, extreme heat and erratic weather in Asia, where 90 per cent of the world’s rice is grown, ...
What would be the consequences if the weedkiller glyphosate is restricted or banned? Here’s a case study for Missouri
Glyphosate is an essential herbicide for Missouri’s agriculture, playing a vital role in helping farmers effectively control weeds and boost ...
Trump administration cuts $1 billion in funding for sustainable, ‘climate smart’ farm programs
USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins announced in a press release Monday her agency was immediately canceling the $3.1 billion program. The agency said ...
Tea bags have more than just tea leaves in them. Nanoplastics are common and persistent
Plastic waste contamination represents a critical environmental challenge with growing implications for future generations, However, the health risks associated with ...
Viewpoint: Nigeria is on the cusp of an agricultural genetic modification revolution. Here’s why patent protections are so crucial
The intersection of intellectual property (IP) and genomics is reshaping the landscape of healthcare, biotechnology, and business in Nigeria. Genomics—the ...
How biotech supercharged by AI, robotics and blockchain can help tackle climate change and food shortages
The integration of artificial intelligence (AI), biotechnology, robotics, and blockchain is transforming agriculture worldwide. These technologies tackle pressing issues such ...
Seafood of the future is now: 3D-printed calamari has more protein than real squid
Your next fried calamari appetizer might come from a printer, not the ocean. Scientists from the National University of Singapore ...
Kenyan doctors and health establishment pushing hard for legal clearance to grow genetically modified crops to address food insecurity
Healthcare professionals in the country are calling for resolution on the Genetically Modified food crops in order to enhance the ...
FDA poised to approve more genetically engineered food animals
In the United States, animals developed with HGMs [heritable genetic modifications] must be approved by the Food and Drug Administration ...
How AI is reshaping the food and beverage industry
Everything revolves around data: It connects the links, provides insights, and enables targeted action. The Food & Beverage company of ...
Viewpoint: Dark money funded Organic Consumers Association close to dissolution. Good riddance to a science embarrassment
The Organic Consumers Association, the embarrassing stepchild of the organic industry founded by the late Ronnie Cummins in 1998, has a positive-sounding ...
How synthetic biology is producing greener chemicals, climate-resilient agriculture and repurposing food waste
Since the development of recombinant DNA technology 50 years ago – pioneered here at Stanford – we’ve seen the rise ...
Taking a fresh look at the positives and negatives of genetically modified crops
[T]he vast majority of GMOs grown in the U.S. are "engineered to produce their own pesticides, or survive direct application ...
Viewpoint: Despite global risk agencies declaring glyphosate safe, tort lawyer attacks raise concerns about the future of the herbicide and its manufacturer, Bayer
In a quiet but seismic signal to the global agri-food industry, Bayer is warning it may halt the production of ...
Food labeling lies: Bigelow loses $2.36 million judgment for falsely claiming its teas are “Manufactured in the USA”
A California jury recently found that R.C. Bigelow, Inc., the well-known manufacturer of Bigelow teas, intentionally or recklessly misled consumers ...
![Viewpoint: Why does ‘Big Organic’ oppose hydroponics and other sustainable farming innovations? [Hint: $$$]](https://geneticliteracyproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Screenshot-2025-04-27-at-10.52.43 PM-263x129.png)
Viewpoint: Why does ‘Big Organic’ oppose hydroponics and other sustainable farming innovations? [Hint: $$$]
I get pitches for stories every day and sometimes I want to see if the world that opposes science has ...
Air is a major conveyor of microplastics—and some of it is ending up in our bodies through the food we eat
Plastic production is increasing sharply. This has raised concerns about the effects of microplastics (typically defined as plastic particles smaller ...
Nugget size ‘clean meat’ chunks of chicken with natural texture could revolutonize food, medicine and drug development
Scientists have grown a nugget-sized piece of chicken using a new method that can deliver nutrients and oxygen to artificial ...
