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.
European consumers think non-GMO, other ‘free-from’ labeled foods are healthier
Free-from labelled foods seem healthier, with GM-free and palm oil-free labels having the strongest effect, according to a study of ...
Australia approves GMO canola high in omega-3 fatty acids for human consumption and animal feed
Nufarm is turning its attention to Asian markets after Australian regulators approved its genetically modified omega-3 canola for human consumption and use in animal ...
4 common myths about the supposed advantages of organic foods over GMOs
Myth 1: Organic Food Is Safer Because It Doesn’t Touch Pesticides “The levels we are exposed to are far, far ...
Deceptive article on how to identify ‘poisonous GMO tomatoes’ circulating the internet again
Alison Campbell, writing on BioBlog, has been alerted to–and challenged–an article purporting to tell consumers how to distinguish between GM and “regular” ...
‘Jean editing’: Genetically engineered bacteria could reduce denim’s environmental impact
Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley are trying to make the process of making blue jeans greener, by engineering ...
India’s moves to limit Monsanto’s patent royalty payments on GMO seeds could put country’s cotton industry at risk
If India is to reverse the rapid decline in its cotton exports ... it is clear it needs another big ...
Recombinetics joins battle over whether USDA or FDA should oversee gene-edited animal regulations
Editor's note: Tammy Lee Stanoch is the president & CEO of Recombinetics, an animal gene-editing company based in St. Paul, Minnesota ...
Chemical could boost crop yields by triggering gene to add branches and fruits
When it comes to agriculture from branched plants, such as apple trees, the more branches that bear fruit, the better ...
Spain expands GMO corn production by 20%, UK eyes gene editing
Four countries in the EU grew commercial genetically modified (GM) maize in 2016, with Spain adopting the largest area. According ...
Proposed California ballot initiative aligns GMO opponents with anti-vaxxers
Backers of an initiative that would ban genetically engineered food, plants and animals and over 300 listed substances from being ...
Will India’s government scrap Monsanto’s patent royalties on insect-resistant GMO Bt cotton seeds?
Will the pressure to be seen as farmer-friendly, especially with national elections looming, lead the Narendra Modi government to scrap the “trait ...
Mother of all citrus: Oranges, grapefruit, lemons and limes all descended from single ancestor
Oranges, grapefruit, lemons and limes are all hybrids, mixed and matched from 10 "wild" citrus species descended from a single ...
How should the FDA regulate CRISPR gene-edited animals?
Gene editing is touted as a promising new way of altering the DNA of plants or animals to speed their ...
Is there a difference in the toxic effects of glyphosate versus herbicides like Roundup that include surfactants?
Glyphosate is rarely used on its own in the field. Herbicide formulations as a whole include a variety of other ...
China’s tightening GMO regulations cause corn buyers to cancel purchases from US
Some Chinese buyers have canceled corn purchases from the United States and switched to rival supplier Ukraine, as Beijing tightens ...
Chocolate producers look to CRISPR gene editing to help cacao trees adapt to climate change
With the help of a suite of genetic engineering tools including CRISPR — and money from Mars Inc., one of the world’s ...
Media Bias/Fact Check: Stonyfield GMO video—and response to critics—encourages censorship, misleads consumers
Stonyfield Farms, a large organic dairy company sells and markets its products using many of the strategies outlined in the ...
Do trace levels of neonicotinoid insecticides found in waterways threaten aquatic life?
A recent study by the U.S. Geological Survey detected neonicotinoid pesticides in 10 Great Lakes tributaries throughout the year, although the levels ...
Indian official: Insect-resistant GMO cotton has increased production, decreased pesticide use
The production of cotton in the country has nearly doubled since the introduction of Bt cotton in 2002, the government ...
Viewpoint: How WHO’s IARC set off a global panic that threatens science and agriculture around the world
It’s not just in Europe that glyphosate divides governments: the very same molecule is responsible for a string lawsuits and ...
Nigeria on track to commercialize GMO cowpeas, rice, sorghum, corn and cotton
The Biosafety Bill was signed into law in 2015, putting Nigeria on the map of countries with requisite regulations for ...
In India, Nobel laureate biochemist Richard Roberts calls for politicians to listen to scientists—not activists—on GMOs
UK-based scientist Richard J Roberts, who won the Nobel Prize in physiology in 1993, criticised the "anti-GMO people" ... and ...
Successful field trials of GMO Golden Rice in Bangladesh move biofortified crop closer to approval
Bangladeshi rice scientists have advanced a beta carotene-rich rice to a varietal release stage, heralding a new era in fight ...
IARC defends methodology, ‘probably carcinogenic’ glyphosate designation against criticisms
The World Health Organization's cancer agency is firmly defending its finding that a widely used herbicide is "probably carcinogenic" despite ...
CRISPR gene editing could boost crop yields and nutrition, but public acceptance remains wild card
The process of producing better food, protecting the environment and improving animal health is advancing at a seemingly breakneck pace ...
German coalition pledges GMO ban, phase out of glyphosate, expansion of organic farming
Germany’s draft coalition deal includes a goal of ending use of the weed-killer glyphosate within the country but gives no ...
Parasitic dodder plant steals crops’ water and nutrients. Could gene editing stop it?
A parasitic plant called dodder can silence the expression of genes in the host plants from which it obtains water ...
