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.
Farmers in Quebec, Canada will now have to get permission to use neonicotinoid insecticides on crops
Quebec is introducing new restrictions on pesticides considered harmful to honeybees. Under the changes, farmers will have to get permission from a certified ...
Anti-GMO group Moms Across America attacks food brands over trace parts per billion of glyphosate
[G]lyphosate [is] in the spotlight again as anti-GMO activist group Moms Across America released test results suggesting trace levels of ...
Video: Are genetically modified foods ‘unnatural’?
It's such a simple question. Naturally, the answer is far more complex than it ought to be. We've always messed ...
Viewpoint: Are plants conscious? New York Times bungles story about how anesthetics can ‘sedate’ a plant
[T]he New York Times [recently] ran a story on a scientific paper about how anesthetics stopped motion in plants with a provocative headline for readers and ...
African scientist: Europe’s ‘fear-based politics’ on GMOs hurts developing world’s ability to combat hunger
The need to feed growing populations in developing countries, especially countries in Africa, must be met by increasing the yields ...
Viewpoint: From coffee to BPA to glyphosate, California activists misrepresent cancer risks
Coffee is only the latest example of a trend that has become all too common. Activists who profess concern for ...
Australia, New Zealand weigh whether foods created with New Breeding Techniques (NBTs) to be regulated as GMOs
New Zealand's food standards watchdog is reviewing how rules might apply to a new generation of products that can be ...
Sustainable ‘superfish’: AquaBounty’s genetically engineered salmon poised to counter overfishing
At current rates, according to a 2006 article in the journal Science, the world will run out of all wild-caught fish ...
Uganda’s president assessing GMO crops’ potential versus activists’ concerns
Scientists in Uganda had hoped it was the dawn of a new era in food security for a drought-prone region ...
What non-farmers should know about the risks and benefits of herbicide-resistant GMO crops
Editor's note: Graham Scoles is a plant scientist at the University of Saskatchewan While engaging in an online debate around genetically ...
Former organic farmer and USDA inspector: Time for National Organic Program to allow GMO crops
Editor's note: Mischa Popoff is a former USDA organic inspector and farmer Organic activists would like you to believe their ...
Will the noxious public debate over GMOs turn consumers against gene-edited crops?
Americans are easily riled about genetically modifying crops, animals and foods, even though research indicates they know little about how ...
Proposed California ballot initiative ignores scientific consensus on GMOs, vaccine safety
A proposed ballot initiative takes Golden State wackiness to the next level. ... This fall, Californians may have the opportunity ...
Molecular biologist Nina Fedoroff: Despite opposition, GMOs adopted faster than any crops in human history
Despite the controversy surrounding it, genetically modified organisms (GMOs) used for food can play a big role in meeting the ...
Sri Lanka’s tea industry calls on government to lift ‘arbitrary’ ban on glyphosate herbicide
In a strongly-worded statement, Sri Lanka’s tea industry stakeholders, including state-run Sri Lanka Tea Board (SLTB) Chairman Rohan Pethiyagoda, called ...
Lost rice variety cultivated by US slaves rediscovered in Trinidad—and coming to your plates
Among the biologists, geneticists and historians who use food as a lens to study the African diaspora, rice is a ...
Who owns the most CRISPR patents worldwide? Surprisingly, it’s agrochemical giant DowDuPont
A new study of the global CRISPR patent landscape ... provides the most detailed insight yet into how entities are ...
Herbicide resistance management strategies may not be enough to slow weeds’ evolution, UK study suggests
Editor's note: In the study, the authors note that this research contrasts current industry advice and scientific literature on herbicide resistance management ...
Australian farmers protest state GMO ban, demand right to grow ‘revolutionary’ omega-3 canola
South Australian grain growers are loudly lamenting the cost of their state’s ban on genetically modified (GM) crops which threatens ...
Gene editing could help brassica crops adapt to climate change
A harmful effect of climate change that poses a major threat to food crops around the world could be overcome ...
Disease-resistant GMO cassava developed by Kenyan scientists moves closer to approval
Cassava farmers are about five years away from accessing disease-resistant genetically modified varieties, currently being tested in specific locations around ...
Viewpoint: GMO supporters should stop touting dubious health benefits of pink pineapples, Innate potatoes
Editor's note: Layla Katiraee is currently a senior scientist at a California biotech company and holds a PhD in molecular genetics from ...
GMO yeast could replace hops in beer to save water
If you are a beer drinker, it might surprise you to learn how much water goes into one pint of ...
Gates Foundation, other development donors turn to GMO crops for humanitarian projects
Despite ongoing opposition from some activists to genetically modified organisms, a number of development donors are investigating and funding research ...
Rice gene could dramatically boost several crops’ yields and drought tolerance
Scientists have moved a step closer to identifying how an obscure gene from rice can dramatically improve yields in some ...
USDA report: Pesticide data shows US food supply ‘one of the safest in the world’
More than 20% of food sampled by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 2016 show no detectable pesticides and less ...
Ginkgo Bioworks’ mission to make GMOs fun, cool and socially conscious
Out on an old Navy dry dock, a biotech company called Ginkgo Bioworks is growing genetically modified organisms by the ...
