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.
Glyphosate ban could fuel spread of invasive plant species, conservationists fear
The threat to public lands posed by invasive plant species is increasing by about ten million acres each year, and ...
Nonprofit farmer coalition launches chocolate brand Ethos hyping GMO ingredients to ‘demystify’ biotechnology
What claims to be the first pro-GMO chocolate....was launched in February by A Fresh Look, a nonprofit coalition of some ...
Brazilian case study highlights dramatic sustainability and economic benefits of GMO Bt insect-resistant cotton, corn and soybeans
Without access to insect resistance technology, inserted into Bt cotton, corn and soybean seeds, Brazilian farmers could lose [approximately $23 ...
New gene analysis technique identifies natural disease resistance in wheat to protect against fast-spreading stem rust
Stem rust has devastated wheat for centuries....Now a virulent strain is spreading from Africa. Even as wheat crops wither and ...
European farmers dig up thousands of hectares of crops following detection of banned GMO canola seeds
Bayer said on [February 6] that farmers in France and Germany were digging up thousands of hectares of rapeseed [canola] ...
Viewpoint: Bernie Sanders’ views on alternative medicine and GMOs highlight troubling embrace of pseudoscience
At 76 years old many assumed that 2016 would be the last time Bernie Sanders would run for office. The ...
Monarch butterfly, milkweed declines not driven by GMO crops, study shows
To get a better understanding of the monarch butterfly’s future, Jack Boyle built a time machine. Boyle, a Mellon Postdoctoral ...
Marijuana is an ancient plant, but we’re only beginning to unravel its DNA
For a plant humans have grown and transported around the world for thousands of years—utilizing its precious seeds, flowers, resin, ...
Viewpoint: Michelob’s ‘Pure Gold’ organic beer won’t preserve your health or the environment
Beer companies often use sex to sell their beers, but Michelob Ultra is reinventing the beer commercial by advertising something ...
‘Good enough to eat?’ Australian plant scientist battles ‘fake news’ about GMOs with new book
Scientists must speak out about the benefits of new genetic technologies such as genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and gene editing, ...
Podcast: There’s more to plant breeding than GMOs. Overlooked biotech tools help develop new crops
When most people hear the term biotechnology they think GMOs. It’s important to know that biotechnology is much more than ...
AAAS fiasco just got messier—After member revolt, data-less news release linking glyphosate to kidney disease pulled, Freedom and Responsibility award will not be presented, for now
Editor's note: After this blog was posted, on February 6, the American Association for the Advancement of Science tweeted that ...
Russia threatens to restrict soy imports from Brazil over use of controversial weed killer glyphosate
The Russian government has informed Brazil that it may adopt temporary import restrictions on soybeans if Brazilian producers do not ...
Microbes from Yellowstone National Park could spur lab-grown food innovation
Scientists have long been captivated by a group of microscopic organisms in Yellowstone National Park. The microbes thrive at extreme temperatures ...
Global average income has tripled in 50 years, driving rapid increase in meat consumption
You may have heard an increasing number of people vow to reduce their meat eating lately - or cut it ...
How bacteria preserve the flavor of your morning coffee
When it comes to processing coffee beans, longer fermentation times can result in better taste, contrary to conventional wisdom. Lactic ...
AAAS fumble? Prestigious scientists’ organization endorses ‘data-less’ study suggesting links between glyphosate and kidney disease in Sri Lanka
I humbly ask this question. What am I missing? I just read the press release from the AAAS about the 2019 Scientific ...
Non-GMO vegetable seeds? Capitalizing on consumer fears to sell overpriced seeds
Niki Jabbour....recently shook a hornet’s nest. The talented gardener, book author, and radio host said on Facebook that she’d been ...
US farmer groups urge UK to ‘break’ with EU’s biotech crop rules
America’s farmers and ranchers are eager for a U.S. free trade agreement with the U.K., but only if the British ...
Consumer-focused biotech crops are here—but will the public embrace them?
It may sound like yet another gluten-free food start-up....but Crispr is a new molecular system that scientists can use to manipulate DNA ...
Viewpoint: New York Times’ mixed record on science literacy—botched reporting on GMOs and chemicals while challenging anti-vaxxers
The New York Times has done something that it very rarely does: It wrote an editorial in support of biotechnology. The piece, ...
Vitamin-fortified golden rice could debut in Bangladesh within 3 months
Golden rice, a new variety of rice enriched with Vitamin A will be available soon, said Agriculture Minister Dr Abdur Razzak ...
CRISPR used to fight virus hiding inside banana genome
Genome editing has been used to destroy a virus that lurks inside many of the bananas grown in Africa. Other ...
Researchers to begin rolling out disease-resistant, heat-tolerant grains to African farmers
There are four million people with limited access to food in Chad, which ranks as second hungriest of the 119 ...
Biofortified cassava could help fight anemia, which impacts 75% of preschool children in Nigeria
The “hidden hunger” caused by micronutrient deficiency is a global threat to human health, with particularly severe impacts in Africa ...
Viewpoint: No, Whole Foods Magazine, there’s no plot to sneak GMOs into our food
....Last week, Whole Foods Magazine (yes, that's a thing) published an article written by a lawyer, Scott C. Tips, about an evil plan to ...
New vectoring technology turns bees into soldiers in the war against plant pests
Bees are being armed as soldiers in the war on plant pests, leading the charge toward sustainable farming. Farming is ...
