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.
Silent majority? Most Americans may embrace biotech, but vocal anti-GMO minority dominates the conversation
[Citrus greening disease] is threatening to topple the multibillion-dollar citrus industry in the U.S. by infecting millions of acres of ...
New Hampshire considers ban on pesticides some claim are toxic to bees
New Hampshire lawmakers on [February 12] will take up a proposal to ban most uses of pesticides that are toxic ...
Another 2-year GMO corn and Roundup study finds no evidence of increased cancer, again repudiating Séralini’s retracted 2012 study
In 2012, a controversial study on the long-term toxicity of a Roundup herbicide and the glyphosate-tolerant genetically modified (GM) maize ...
Slow-moving bureaucracy in the Philippines could block launch of new GMO soybeans in US, Canada
A Philippines regulator poses an unexpected obstacle to DowDuPont’s launch of a new line of genetically engineered soybeans in the ...
Kenya’s support for GMO crops likely to influence East Africa
For nearly 20 years, Kenya has attempted to adopt the better-yielding and disease- and drought-tolerant crop varieties bred through genetic ...
Neonicotinoid insecticide clothianidin unlikely to harm healthy honeybee colonies
Interactions between multiple stressors have been implicated in elevated honeybee colony losses. Here, we extend our landscape-scale study on the ...
20 plus years of data show Bt insect-resistant crops to be ‘powerful,’ sustainable pest management tools
Genetically engineered (GE) crops producing insecticidal proteins from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) (mainly Cry proteins) have become a major control tactic for a ...
Gene editing, novel baking ingredients could make bread safe for millions of consumers who can’t eat carbs
Ah, bread....There are whole diets built around avoiding carbs and gluten in bread — sometimes by choice, sometimes by medical ...
Pro-organic groups petition USDA to exclude hydroponic farming from organic certification
The Center for Food Safety filed a petition with the Department of Agriculture Jan. 16 urging the agency to exclude hydroponically grown ...
Modern farming isn’t driving insect declines, agricultural industry says
A new piece of research, carried out by Francisco Sánchez-Bayo and Kris Wyckhuys, reviewed 73 historical reports of insect declines from ...
New DNA sequencing technique offers ‘unprecedented’ look at molecular changes in GMO plants
Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are one of the most contentious topics in science today. But a study from the Salk Institute, ...
Monsanto wins arbitration ruling against Indian seed company in dispute over GMO cotton patent
German drugmaker Bayer AG’s Monsanto unit has won proceedings against Indian seed maker Nuziveedu Seeds Ltd (NSL) in a royalty ...
New Brazilian government backs indigenous tribe fined in 2018 for embracing modern agriculture and growing GMO crops
Brazil’s new government is backing an indigenous tribe that was fined under the previous administration for commercial farming practices banned ...
Cattle industry fights to preserve ‘meat’ label as plant-based meat-like products proliferate
The cattle ranchers and farm bureaus of America are not going to give up their hold on the word meat ...
Scientists battle for consumer approval as crop gene-editing revolution advances
Genome, or gene, editing is regarded by scientists as the biggest technical advance in bioscience since “recombinant DNA” technology — ...
Viewpoint: A closer look at Friends of the Earth’s study that found ‘toxic’ pesticides in food
Friends of the Earth....teased us in a media kit with the promise of a science study about finding various weedkillers ...
Egypt poised to again lead Africa in agricultural biotechnology innovation
When will Egypt again lead Africa in agricultural biotech innovation? That question kept running through my mind when I visited ...
Plant scientists: Anti-GMO activism has warped the public’s understanding of biotechnology
Public perception of genetically engineered (GE) crops is being manipulated by organizations that purport to represent the interests of consumers ...
Potato breeding ‘revolution’ aims to safeguard spuds against proliferating pests and climate change
In Peru and around the world, enhancing the potato has become a high priority. It is the most important food ...
Argentina delays commercial release of drought-tolerant GMO wheat, assessing trade disruptions
Although the new drought-tolerant transgenic wheat developed by an Argentine company has the support of President Macri, the Minister of ...
Federal judge dismisses ‘key’ claims against Monsanto in dicamba drift lawsuit
A federal judge in Missouri dismissed several claims in a class action brought by farmers claiming agrochemical giant Monsanto sold ...
Intensive agriculture driving insects towards extinction, threatening “catastrophic collapse of nature’s ecosystems,” study claims
The world’s insects are hurtling down the path to extinction, threatening a “catastrophic collapse of nature’s ecosystems,” according to the ...
With gene editing tightly regulated, little-known 1980s NASA experiments inspire new crop development in Europe
Last year’s European Court of Justice ruling makes gene editing....a form of genetic engineering....This will, of course, mean it’ll be ...
Lab-grown meat poised for commercial success, but technical challenges may delay its debut
Private investment in lab-grown meat is soaring as companies chase the promise of boundless — and delicious — nuggets, steaks ...
Is the anti-GMO movement following PETA’s animal rights activist playbook?
From drenching fields in chemicals to factory farming, there is so much misinformation out there about what happens on today’s ...
CRISPR gene editing: Using ‘nature’s own tools’ to combat food waste and climate change
A new technique is sneaking in our lives, potentially changing the foods we eat every day. From growing resilient crops, ...
New GMO cotton variety could boost yields while thriving under drought conditions
Plants have evolved complex molecular, cellular, and physiological mechanisms to respond to environmental stressors. Genetic manipulation has represented an important ...
