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.
Vegetable oils are often maligned as “industrial seed oils” that cause inflammation and oxidate damage. What does science say?
In the nutrition world, few topics are currently as polarizing as vegetable oils! While mainstream health guidelines typically advocate for ...
Here is a primer as the European Union edges closer to loosening regulations on gene editing
For more than 20 years, the use of genetic engineering in agriculture has been regulated uniformly across the EU. Current ...
The world’s wine production has dropped 10% mostly because of droughts, fire and ‘extreme environmental conditions’. China turns to AI for a solution
At a laboratory in Beijing, purple and green hybrid-species grapes are laid out on a board for testing, part of ...
Plastic for dinner? Newly discovered microbes may soon be a lunch treat
There are microbes that look at a plastic bottle and go, “Yum”. Do you think you’d ever look at a ...
Three technological advances that will power a food and farming revolutions
“Genetic editing for climate and disease resistance will protect growers in the developing world.” "[G]ene editing is not the same ...
How blockchain, AI and drones are reshaping farming
The future of farming technology is inextricably linked to the development and adoption of cutting-edge technologies. These innovations have the ...
Scottish farmers urge its government to follow the path of England in relaxing regulations on gene-edited crops and animals
A letter from industry stakeholders NFU Scotland, Agricultural Industries Confederation, and GB Potatoes to the Scottish Government. It reads: Precision ...
More than a dozen federal agencies oversee America’s food system. What can be done to clean up this regulatory mess
Complex and disparately funded regulatory oversight for food and beverage products, spread out among many federal agencies, has created a ...
Perhaps carbohydrates, not meat, provided early humans the energy needed to evolve bigger brains
From crispy French fries to crusty sourdough loaves, carbs are an integral (and delicious) part of the human diet. But why ...
Rwanda launches Gates-funded project to develop drought, virus and blight resistant crops
Farmers and agriculture sector leaders have said they expect a new five-year scheme called Rwanda Agricultural Biotechnology Program, to support improvement ...
This AI-powered ‘electronic tongue’ in development can detect if your food is spoiled or rotten
Ever wondered if that old carton of fruit juice in the back of your fridge is still safe to drink? ...
America has fallen behind in biomanufacturing. Is there a way to solve this issue?
As the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated, the United States has fallen behind when it comes to biomanufacturing. Our nation's supply chains ...
A new startup has joined the effort to genetically upgrade forests. The chestnut tree is first on their list
Under a slice-of-heaven sky, 150 acres of rolling green hills stretch off into the distance. About a dozen people—tree enthusiasts, ...
Food is medicine? 4 reasons why we need to be cautious about jumping aboard the FIM movement
Food is Medicine (FIM) programs are gaining national attention and funding as a method to treat chronic food-related diseases by ...
Glyphosate free farming is not in any country’s near future
Glyphosate, the world’s most widely used herbicide, is the subject of widespread controversy in scientific literature, media, policy, and society ...
Everyone refrigerates some of their food. Here’s why that may not be a great idea
Nearly everything on the American plate is processed, shipped, stored, and sold under refrigeration. In her new book, Nicola Twilley ...
Video—Viewpoint: Nutritionist Dr. Sarah Ballantyne: Environmental Working Group’s Dirty Dozen vegetables and fruits is ‘fear-mongering’ and “not scientifically credible’
The Environmental Working Group’s Dirty Dozen list is based on the number of pesticide residue detections found on foods, but ...
Poland dodges crop genetic modification ban, renews use of GM as animal feed
Polish farmers will be able to continue using animal fodder containing imported genetically modified soya or other GMO crops for ...
6 ways Russia deploys its disinformation bots to smear the agriculture and food practices of the U.S. and West
In order to push its geopolitical goals, the Russian Federation uses multiple propaganda tools, with topics ranging from global and ...
How do we feed future astronauts on Mars?
Unrelenting radiation, along with electrostatic discharge from planet-wide dust storms, drove chemical reactions in the arid Martian dirt, ultimately leaving ...
Gene-edited crops and animals face a challenging and evolving global regulatory landscape
Our current food system is facing a myriad of critical challenges. The United Nations predicts that the world population will ...
6 problems CRISPR gene-edited agriculture helps solve
Genome editing with CRISPR and other tools is an exciting new technology with myriad applications from human health to industrial ...
How EU politics hold back one researcher’s quest to disease-proof rice
For over a decade, Vittoria Brambilla has been trying to improve crops’ quality, yields, and nutritional value. But the botany ...
Nobel Prize winner Emmanuelle Charpentier on why biotechnology-wary Europe should embrace plant gene editing
Nobel Prize winner for Chemistry Emmanuelle Charpentier speaks. The authoritative opinion of the French biochemist and geneticist who received an ...
Mexico’s president proposes extending the ban of genetically modified crops “for both health and the protection of biodiversity in the country.”
President Claudia Sheinbaum reaffirmed the importance of the decree banning the planting of transgenic white corn in Mexico, highlighting that ...
Viewpoint: Organic farming and food will always be a niche product for the urban elite without significant health or environmental benefits
There are many claims that people make about organic farming. It is supposed to be healthier, more environmentally friendly, and ...
Insect-resistant, genetically modified Bt cotton revolutionized farming in India. Now it faces challenges. Here’s why
[Insect resistant] Bt cotton has played a transformative role in India’s agricultural landscape, especially in the cotton farming sector. Introduced ...
