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.
French farmers: 3 years too short to develop viable replacement for glyphosate herbicide
President Emmanuel Macron’s promise to rid France of controversial weedkiller glyphosate within three years has left some farmers in the ...
What can other African countries learn from South Africa’s experience with GMO crops?
Despite promotion of GM crops, adoption has been slow across the continent. South Africa began using the technology in the ...
Leaked draft of EU report reveals mixed findings on neonicotinoids and bees
Draft findings from the European Food Safety Authority feed into a long-running, heated and so far inconclusive debate into why Europe’s ...
USDA again probes National Organic Program’s ‘weak’ import controls, putting label’s integrity at risk
The USDA’s National Organic Program completed more complaint reviews and investigations that it received in 2017. It finished work on ...
Judge dismisses lawsuit against Dannon alleging consumers misled by ‘all-natural’ dairy products from cows fed GMOs
A judge has granted Dannon’s motion to dismiss a high-profile false advertising lawsuit alleging shoppers were misled by its ‘all-natural’ ...
Vitamin-enhanced GMO potatoes could combat malnutrition—if they ever hit the market
Sufferers of malnutrition in the global south could soon find help from an unlikely source: a humble potato, genetically tweaked ...
Genetic engineering, synthetic biology poised to boost photosynthesis and carbon capture
In a feature article published in the open access journal eLife, an international team of experts led by Dr Bonnie Wintle ...
Viewpoint: Why it’s time to start talking about a glyphosate herbicide replacement
Don’t get me wrong. I fully recognise the current need for Irish tillage and grassland farmers to use the herbicide ...
Drought-resistant plant genes could lead to crops that need less water
Scientists at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have identified a common set of genes that enable different ...
Plant genetics pioneer Joanne Chory wins $3 million Breakthrough Prize
Salk Institute scientist Joanne Chory, one of the world’s preeminent plant biologists who is now leading the charge to combat global ...
Activist groups plan to sue Germany, EU over glyphosate herbicide re-approval
Environmentalist groups said on Monday [Dec. 4] that Germany and the European Union had broken the rules when assessing the ...
Glyphosate, Monsanto and Europe: How science and reason almost lost out to hysteria and emotion
The glyphosate saga is a fascinating case study in how easily politics can derail science. In watching the glyphosate issue ...
CRISPR and agriculture: Technology improving crop yields, nutrition and stress tolerance
The present study reviews agricultural applications related to the use of CRISPR systems in plants from 52 peer-reviewed articles published ...
Salmon may soon be fed GMO canola high in omega-3 fatty acids
The omega-3 canola oil, which is extracted from rape plants that have been genetically modified to produce the key fatty ...
Number of genetically engineered crops could balloon thanks to new technique using pollen DNA
[T]he war over GM crops, though intense, has so far been restricted to a small number of battlefields – corn, ...
Viewpoint: Biggest ‘bee apocalypse’ myth? There isn’t one
[D]espite panicked claims of an apocalypse, managed honeybee colonies in the United States have actually been rising since 2008. In fact, as of ...
‘New Girl’ is no farm girl: Zooey Deschanel misinforms on organic food, farming
In Zooey Deschanel’s third “Your Food’s Roots” video, part of a five episode educational series presented by media company Attn:, the ...
Higher prices and uncertain benefits: Are organic foods worth it?
Consumers have been paying a lot to eat organic; foods with the certification sometimes costs twice as much as conventional products. The premium prices may not be ...
GMO sugar beets help farmers reduce herbicide, water and fuel use, improve soil
You could say sugar-beet sugar runs through the blood of Luke Adams. “I grew up a sugar beet farmer,” Adams ...
‘Unmitigated disaster’: South Australian farmers enraged by government’s GMO crop ban
South Australia’s farmers are unlikely to have access to genetically modified (GM) crops until at least 2025 after a bill to extend ...
UN FAO, African Union urge governments to adopt biotech to address food insecurity, malnutrition
The African Union Commission and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), urged African governments to proactively employ science, technologies and innovations – ...
Kenya field trail shows promise of GMO insect-resistant Bt corn to combat fall armyworm African invasion
Scientists in [Kenya] have successfully tested genetically modified maize samples that are resistant to stem borer and are drought tolerant ...
How France, Italy and Belgium would profit if glyphosate is banned or restricted
If Paris and Rome carry through with their plans to ban glyphosate, a small group of French, Italian and Belgian ...
Viewpoint: France shows its irrationality in embracing nuclear power but rejecting glyphosate safety
[Editor's note: Cécile Philippe is an economist and Director-General of the Molinari Economic Institute.] In France, a glyphosate ban for ...
Long neglected by breeders, Africa’s staple ‘orphan crops’ undergoing a genetic revolution
Cassava and sweet potatoes. Lablab beans and water berries. Bitter gourds and sickle sennas. Elephant ears and African locusts. ... All ...
Gene could unlock high yield soybeans with increased protein for animal feed
Leftovers can be quite valuable. For instance, when soybean seed is crushed and the oil extracted, what’s left is called ...
Science Moms hit back at anti-GMO group’s Monsanto ‘shill’ accusations
[Editor's note: Alison Bernstein, Anastasia Bodnar, Jenny Splitter, Kavin Senapathy, Layla Katiraee, and Natalie Newell are part of a group called Science ...
