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.
GMOs can provide vegans improved alternatives to animal products, more nutritious plants
[Editor's note: Jayson Merkley is a contributor to Vegan GMO, an organization that advocates "for a rational approach toward biotechnology ...
Disease incidence trends in Europe v US shows GMOs have no negative health impacts
Genetically modified foods should be considered as safe as conventional choices, according to Dr. Timothy Griffin, associate professor at Tufts” ...
EPA approves Monsanto’s new dicamba formulation for use with herbicide-tolerant cotton, soy plants
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on [Nov. 9] approved Monsanto Co.'s XtendiMax, a powerful new formulation of the powerful weed killer ...
Sustainable agriculture has major role in addressing climate change
Agriculture, including forestry and fisheries, is the sector most threatened by climate change. At the same time, the agricultural sectors ...
Are GMO crops improving children’s IQ?
[Danny Hakim's October 29th article in the New York Times appears to suggest] that planting GMO crops has 1) lead to ...
GMO crops not ‘contaminating’ nearby organic farms, USDA data suggest
In 2015, Oregon lawmakers passed House Bill 2509, which created mediation protocols for growers who believe nearby farming practices are ...
African Centre for Biodiversity claims South Africa’s GMO maize provides poor nutrition, will not help nation cope with drought
[Haidee Swanby is Research and Outreach Officer and Linzi Lewis is a Researcher at the African Centre for Biodiversity.] A new report by ...
UK research facility spent over $2.5 million to protect GMO wheat trial from threatened vandalism by anti-GMO activists
[Editor's note: Rothamsted Research is the longest running agricultural research center in the world. It has three campuses in Britain. The research ...
Sonoma County votes to ban GMO crops
Opponents of genetically modified crops won big in Sonoma County [Nov. 8] when voters approved a ban on GMOs, or genetically ...
US scientist Matt Ross briefly resigned from WHO cancer agency IARC over fears his emails would be made public
A scientist involved in an international organization researching cancer offered his resignation in April because of uncertainty over whether its ...
Environmental groups raise alarm about GMO salmon being licensed to multiple facilities
A bio-tech firm established in the maritime province of Prince Edward Island has created a [genetically modified] salmon that grows ...
Why the international seed bank includes no GMOs
The [Svalbard Global Seed Vault] is a frozen cavern in a mountain on the arctic island of Svalbard, halfway between ...
USDA’s decision to not regulate CRISPR mushroom, other ‘knockout’ crops sets up potential conflict with Europe
The ruling of the USDA to not examine the CRISPR-modified mushrooms was initially a huge shock to me when I ...
US state attorneys join federal antitrust probe of Dow-Dupont merger, increasing scrutiny of deal
U.S. state attorneys general have joined a federal antitrust probe of the planned merger between DuPont and Dow Chemical Co, according ...
African researchers develop drought-tolerant GMO maize variety
Maize is a staple food crop for millions of Africans. Despite this fact, African farmers have been harvesting average grain ...
South Africans gradually embrace GMO foods as crop biotechnology boosts economy
The Department of Science and Technology Director General, Dr Phil Mjwara, says biotechnology or genetically modified (GM) crops have had ...
Beer maker SABMiller working with scientists to produce flood-tolerant hops
[Editor's note: This excerpt was translated by Google Translate and lightly edited for clarity] Hops, one of the main ingredients ...
Using genomics and light to manipulate flavor, nutrition of crops
Crop scientist Kevin Folta of the University of Florida is renowned for his tireless efforts in science communication.... He’s less ...
GMO grasses could provide healthier forage for livestock, reduce environmental impact
Grasses of the future will make animals healthier, more productive and reduce their impact on the environment. AgResearch scientist Tony Conner said advances in modern ...
Could genetic modification via insects protect crops against agricultural bioterrorism?
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Biological Technologies Office (BTO) has announced a Proposers Day for the new Insect ...
Boulder farmers concerned about finding replacements for GMO crops on county-owned farmland
Boulder County farmers are voicing concerns about a proposed plan to phase out the use of genetically engineered corn and ...
Pakistani scientist claims biotechnology key to feed undernourished nation
To overcome food insecurity in the country, it is direly needed to draw plans to start using biotechnology in the ...
Model predicts banning GMOs would spike greenhouse gas emissions and food prices
A global ban on genetically modified crops would raise food prices and add the equivalent of nearly a billion tons ...
Three scientist-mothers explain why they avoid non-GMO products
[The Non-GMO Project] NGP leads consumers to believe that choosing non-GMO is consistent with values that consumers (including ourselves) seek ...
British consumer skepticism of GMO foods and crops appears to be softening
Public opinion has swung behind genetically modified crops for the first time after decades of opposition, according to a survey ...
German Plant Breeders Association says EU should not regulate gene-edited plants as GMOs
[Editor’s Note: The author, Petra Jorasch, is vice-secretary general of the German Plant Breeders’ Association.] A key issue, not only ...
GMO sugar beets offer 30% yield boost, but mandatory labels could devastate farmers
[F]armers began using genetically modified beet seeds eight years ago. Sugar extracted from ... beets shows no trace of genetic modification. It’s the ...
