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.
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
Indian Supreme Court seeks public input on safety, benefit of GM mustard
A locally developed variety of genetically modified (GM) mustard seed is not swadeshi enough for the Swadeshi Jagran Manch... saying ...
Regulators to discuss whether gene edited crops should be allowed under organic label
[Editors note: Melody Meyer is the Vice President of Policy and Industry Relations for United Natural Foods(UNFI), a is a distributor of ...
SciBabe tackles ten GMO myths
According to the internet, GMOs are responsible for a lot of problems. You’ve heard that they cause almost everything, including ...
US Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack: Future of food, farming lies in science
What if I told you a scientist had recently discovered a way to remove up to 98% of the allergens ...
Do GMOs boost yields? ‘Superwheat’ set for field trials boosts harvests by 20%
Genetically modified crops could help us grow more food on less land in a world struggling to cope with climate ...
Developing countries, universities beginning to develop genetically engineered crops
A very common criticism against genetically modified (GM) crops, whenever they are mentioned, is to automatically associate them with a ...
CDC investigating increasing foodborne illnesses and deaths linked to organic food
A newly published study of outbreaks linked to organic food concludes that while more data are needed to assess whether the ...
Farmers’ view: NYT’s GMO analysis ignores environmental benefits of GMO crops
[Editor’s note: A recent article in the New York Times claims that GMO crops have not lived up to their promises ...
New GMO could protect wheat and barley against deadly blight
Fusarium head blight (FHB), caused by Fusarium graminearum, is a devastating disease of wheat and barley that leads to reduced ...
EPA: Dow’s Enlist Duo combining glyphosate and 2,4-D herbicides poses no serious safety concerns
Enlist Duo containing the choline salt of 2,4-D and glyphosate was first registered in 2014 for use in Genetically Engineered ...
