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.
General Mills angers environmentalists over inclusion of invasive species in ‘save the bees’ seed mix
Environmentalists are buzzing about a new campaign started by General Mills to promote awareness surrounding the world's declining bee population ...
Video: Watch how plants grow in 3D with high-tech microscope, lasers
It’s hard to take a picture of something that’s always moving—just ask anyone who’s had to photograph a child. Now, ...
Royal disagreement: UK’s Princess Anne contradicts brother Charles, says ‘we have to accept’ GM crops
Princess Anne has said genetically-modified crops have important benefits for providing food and she would be open to growing them ...
Will toxin-blocking biotech corn help win over skeptics of genetic engineering?
Aflatoxin is a well-known global health threat. This poison, produced by the Aspergillus fungus, is common in corn, wheat, rice ...
Environmental Working Group must turn to sound science to address public fear created by ‘dirty dozen’ list
There are now two peer-reviewed studies from respected academic institutions (Johns Hopkins and Illinois Institute of Technology) with similar conclusions ...
Rusty patched bumblebee officially added to endangered species list
[Editor’s note: Read the GLP’s coverage of pollinators here.] The rusty patched bumblebee on Tuesday [March 21, 2017] became the ...
How will China’s decision to import fewer GM crops affect US farmers?
China is approving fewer new biotech crops for import than before, hampering the launch of new products globally and hurting ...
Kenya rejects GMO corn field trials, citing environmental concerns
It will take longer before Kenya conducts open trials on genetically modified (GM) crops after the government said the country ...
‘Resurrection plants’: Future drought-resistant crops could spring back to life thanks to gene switch
Could harnessing the power of "resurrection plants" - with the ability to survive severe water shortages for years - hold ...
Canadian farmers poised to plant GM potatoes for first time
In 2016, no acres in Canada were seeded to J.R. Simplot Company’s genetically engineered first-generation Innate potato lines. But industry ...
Infographic: Explore the future of genetic engineering and food
The first genetically engineered apple, Arctic Apple, a modified variety of Golden Delicious, hit stores in test markets in the ...
5 biotech products US regulators might struggle to regulate
A new report issued by the National Academy of Sciences says U.S. regulatory agencies need to prepare for new plants, ...
Bananas and many staple crops may be doomed to disease if we cannot biodiversify
[Editor's note: The following is an excerpt from the book "Never Out of Season: How Having the Food We Want ...
CRISPR crops face regulatory and public acceptance obstacles
[Editor's note: Armin Scheben is a PhD student and David Edwards is a professor at the School of Biological Sciences ...
Which GM crops might be embraced by the organic movement — if sustainability matters
[Editor's note: Gerhart Ryffel is a professor at the Institute of Cell Biology, Essen University Hospital in Germany.] Several years ago, I ...
Future of milk? Genetically engineered yeast could replace cows
The latest new buzzword in food tech? Fermentation. And we’re not talking about the kimchi or kombucha kind. Rather, it’s ...
‘Save the Bees?’ General Mills campaign perpetuates myths about GMOs, pesticides
Watch out – Buzz, the iconic mascot for General Mills’ Honey Nut Cheerios, is going to be missing in action ...
Should US spend more on agricultural R&D to make food cheaper, more sustainable?
[Editor's note: Margaret Zeigler is executive director of the Global Harvest Initiative, a private-sector voice for productivity growth throughout the agricultural ...
Palm reading: How genetic, epigenetic scans could boost palm oil yields, reduce environmental footprint
Palm oil is a commodity that generally evokes images of mass deforestation, human-rights violations and dying orangutans. In Indonesia and ...
Plants challenged to ‘breath’ because of climate change — This gene tweak could change that
New work from a joint team of plant biologists and ecologists from Carnegie and Stanford University has uncovered the factor ...
DIY DNA: Free online course teaches you how to make your own GMOs
Have you found yourself sitting in your kitchen lately wondering how to make bread, cheese or yogurt? How about genetically ...
Should US spend more on agricultural R&D to make food cheaper, more sustainable?
[Editor's note: Margaret Zeigler is executive director of the Global Harvest Initiative, a private-sector voice for productivity growth throughout the agricultural ...
Green fears: Why are pro-science liberals less embracing of GMO safety than conservatives?
[Editor’s note: Dan Kahan is a professor of psychology at Yale Law School. This is a follow-up to an earlier blog ...
European Union’s process-based GMO regulations ‘defy scientific, economic, and common sense’
[Editor's note: John Davison, now retired, was the research director at the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA) in France. Klaus ...
Understanding innovation’s ‘enemies’: Calestous Juma explores how new technologies can overcome social opposition
[Editor's Note: The following is a review of the book, "Innovation and Its Enemies: Why People Resist New Technologies" by Harvard ...
‘Industrial’ corn: GM variety makes ethanol more energy efficient
Farmers in [North Dakota] will grow an industrial-quality corn specifically designed for the ethanol industry this summer. Corn with the ...
Minnesota lawmakers block legislation to regulate neonicotinoid insecticides
Minnesota lawmakers have derailed legislation to give the state Department of Agriculture authority over seeds treated with insecticide. Seeds treated ...
