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: ‘We need to protect ag’ — ‘Meritless’ threats to ban safe pesticides and chemicals could surge US food costs by $10 billion
Along with volatile market conditions and erratic weather, Florida’s farmers now face growing legal assaults brought on by activist lawyers ...
Here’s the case for vertical farming and gene editing in Pakistan
When genome editing and vertical farming are combined, the results are transformative. Scientists can tailor crops-like dwarf wheat or fast-growing ...
AI, freeze drying and 3-D printing are poised to make food more nutritious and carbon friendly
One of the most promising applications is the use of AI to tackle food loss — one of the biggest ...
Bayer petitions Supreme Court to block lawsuits targeting Roundup and set aside verdicts because EPA has determined it is safe as used
Bayer (BAYGn.DE) said on [April 4, 2025] it was again petitioning the U.S. Supreme Court to sharply limit legal claims that ...
Trump’s first tariff trade war cost U.S. farmers $27 billion. This round is shaping up as far worse, with food prices poised to rise as a result
If history is any indicator, farmers are sure to pay for Trump's trade war. During the first Trump administration, retaliatory ...
AI generated food images make people queasy. Here’s why
If you’ve seen a recent advertisement for food that you found unsettling rather than appealing, artificial intelligence may be to ...
Switzerland poised to break from its anti-GMO past, edges closer to deregulating gene edited crops to increase crop yields
Switzerland is considering a change of its rules to allow gene editing, reflecting a broader shift across Europe aimed at ...
Tariff chaos threatens to ignite agricultural trade war with China that could roil US farmers and send food prices soaring
China ... is the third-largest importer of American farm goods, behind Mexico and Canada. ... [It's] retaliatory tariffs, which are supposed ...
117 Organizations join 153 Nobel laureates in a global call for agricultural innovation to end hunger
More than 115 organizations worldwide have joined a coalition urging urgent action against global hunger. This initiative follows the call ...
Nanomedicine techniques are being redeployed to accelerate transition to more sustainable farming
Cancer drugs and agrichemicals can be powerful, but toxic, tools. Now, UNSW scientists are applying nanomedicine insights in a project ...
Indonesia reconsidering its opposition to genetically modified crops
The [Indonesian] government is looking to develop genetically modified organisms (GMO) to boost domestic soybean production and reduce imports in ...
Bananas that don’t brown within minutes? Gene editing makes that possible
“Food waste is a big contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. It’s very bad, clearly,” said Gilad Gershon, the chief executive ...
Urine could be a key source for developing sustainable fertilizers
The reuse of human urine would allow for the production of sustainable fertilizers for urban agriculture, with significant environmental benefits ...
Robot lasers may open the door to near chemical-free agriculture
The LaserWeeder G2 doesn't just remove weeds; it obliterates them. Using optimal thermal energy, the laser explodes cell walls at ...
Farmers advocate for protective legislation guaranteeing their ability to use crop chemicals deemed safe by federal oversight agencies
In many state legislatures, such as Missouri and North Dakota, there are bills being discussed to make the state pesticide ...
Organic industry lobbies to replace organic seal on foods with GMO-free, antibiotic-free, hormone-free, and pesticide related claims
To better engage younger consumers, further maximize the impact of the organic seal and drive sales, [Matthew] Dillon urges industry ...
16.4 million ads: Tort law firm suits targeting cutting edge technologies like genetically modified crops and chemicals surged more than 260% in the last 8 years with glyphosate at the top of the list
In 2024, a staggering $164 million was spent on more than 725,000 legal services advertisements in Los Angeles alone. This ...
Viewpoint: Regenerative agriculture’s ‘exorbitant price tag’—Will it ever make economic sense?
[O]ut of 900 million arable acres in the US, only a tiny fraction is currently being farmed regeneratively. And out ...
Viewpoint: Here’s why RFK, Jr.’s recommendation to substitute animal fats for vegetable alternatives is bad for your health
'Americans should have every right to eat out at a restaurant without being unknowingly poisoned by heavily subsidised seed oils,' ...
Sticky pesticides: Farmers don’t like using pesticides anymore than we like traces of them on our food. Here’s a smart way forward
It's easy for Greenpeace employees in cities to talk about farming but in the real world, without pesticides we'd lose ...
Viewpoint: How could DOGE and RFK, Jr.-ordered FDA cuts impact food safety?
At the Food and Drug Administration, freezes on government credit card spending ordered by the Trump administration have impeded staff ...
Consumer resistance to technology tweaking food: Brits remain skeptical about cell-based meats
[A] minority (16-41%) of people in the UK are willing to consume cell-cultivated meat [according to the UK Food Standards ...
AI poised to revolutionize farming. Here’s how
In agriculture, AI is already helping farmers to monitor crop health, tailor the delivery of inputs, and make harvesting more ...
Treasure map of genetic secrets—Bigger and more flavorful eggplants and tomatoes on the horizon
Bigger and more flavorful tomatoes and eggplants may soon become a reality, thanks to a team of scientists at Johns Hopkins ...
Lazarus plants: ‘Zombie’ plants that spring back to life hold keys to developing technologies to adapt agriculture to climate change.
To protect crops from rising droughts, scientists are looking to the genes of a small group of plants that can ...
Ageing and diet: In a study one food plan actually appears to provide some unique benefits
A new 30-year study of eight popular diets has identified the one most likely to keep you healthiest into your ...
Korean Muslim group becomes latest religious organization to issue a Fatwa approving cultivated meat as Halal
Cultivated meat can be considered Halal and consumed by Muslims, provided they’re sourced and produced in accordance with Halal standards, ...
