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.
Project aims to develop biotech disease-resistant potato to pass both US and EU regulations
Spuds are a staple diet for many people on Earth. While potatoes seem like robust vegetables, they’re actually pretty susceptible ...
Why Neil Young’s viral anti-Monsanto and Starbucks song is wrong on GMO safety
Neil Young blew up the Internet this past weekend with the video release of “A Rock Star Bucks a Coffee ...
Agriculture’s climate change costs could be minimized by trading crops
If countries and farmers make adjustments in what crops they grow and where, then the effects of climate change on ...
Jane Brody: Anti-GMO movement needs to rethink fear-based opposition
A review of the pros and cons of G.M.O.s strongly suggests that the issue reflects a poor public understanding of ...
Iran’s new GMO cotton could increase yields by five times or more
Iran has unveiled the first sample of genetically modified cotton, which has been produced through indigenous technology by Iranian specialists ...
California drought highlights need for genetic engineering of crops
In this time of unprecedented drought, much attention has been focused on the use of water for farms to grow ...
Former UK Greenpeace chief says anti-GMO campaigners “morally unacceptable”
Campaigning against the use of Genetically Modified crops in Britain is “morally unacceptable”, according to the former head of the ...
BBC debate: Is GMO opposition grounded in science?
Should we embrace technology that could help feed the world, or are concerns about the impact of global agribusiness and ...
Genetic engineering could help wine industry face challenges
We are decades away from seeing commercially planted genetically engineered (GE) grapevines, but the research has already begun. All major ...
Why ‘GMO-free’ and ‘antibiotic-free’ are worlds apart
Poultry giant Foster Farms announced it would cut back on the antibiotics it feeds to its chickens. This follows similar promises from Tyson ...
Study: Scientific proof of safety unlikely to sway hardened GMO skeptics
Even when provided with scientific information about genetically modified organisms or global warming, some consumers may hold fast to the ...
Augusta, Ga. Chronicle editorial: Mandatory GMO labels are demonization tactic
The only thing that could be worse than having unnecessary GMO labels on food is having 50 different kinds of ...
Monsanto expected to raise bid for Syngenta as competing offer appears imminent
Monsanto Co., and its advisers are working flat out to accommodate Syngenta's qualms about regulatory hurdles to a deal whose ...
Making case for organics: Costs more but ‘you should buy it anyway’ because of fewer chemicals
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis. Loud voices dismiss organic ...
Genetic engineering could fix deadly banana virus
You might be glad you stored those 18 black bananas in your freezer ("in case you want to make muffins"), ...
Greenpeace, leader of anti-GMO movement in India, faces precarious future
The first year of Modi Sarkar has been disastrous for non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the country. Including Greenpeace, about 9,000 have ...
Why seed saving and traditional farming may not be the most sustainable way to farm
Trying to protect farmers’ rights to save seeds only has an economic importance in low productivity systems where the benefits ...
New genetic editing techniques on canola trying to bypass opposition to GMOs
Cibus is a San Diego-based biotech company that alters canola DNA to produce beneficial traits, but not through transgenics. They send a molecular ...
Is anti-biotech mandatory labeling lobby now acknowledging GMOs are safe?
Two competing federal bills are working their way through Congress that would override the mishmash of state-by-state GMO labeling laws. One of ...
Will naturally GMO sweet potatoes change public perceptions of genetic engineering?
One of the world's most important staple crops, the sweet potato, is a naturally transgenic plant that was genetically modified ...
Government approval next step in GM revival of American chestnut
Until recently, the best strategy for saving the American chestnut has involved creating hybrids with the smaller and less impressive—but ...
Study claims organic farmers earn more than non-organic counterparts
Growing organic food can be significantly more profitable than traditional farming, netting organic farmers 22 percent to 35 percent more than their conventional counterparts, ...
Would Monsanto-Syngenta merger trigger reorganization of seed business?
The new mega-corporation formed in the proposed deal between Monsanto and Syngenta would be “the world’s largest seed and crop ...
‘Quack science’ NaturalNews website blames glyphosate for Beau Biden’s cancer death
Yes, glioblastomas (and other forms of brain cancer) are nasty tumors. They’re one of the kinds of tumors that, admittedly, ...
Glyphosate has led to phasing out of toxic herbicides
One of the common criticisms of commercially available Genetically Engineered (GE) seeds is the idea that they have led to an ...
Embracing GMOs presents psychological challenges to average consumers
Think of a science denier, and you might picture someone arguing that climate change isn't real or vaccines cause autism ...
Is agroecology the key to feeding the world?
Developing alternatives to predominant systems takes time. The encouraging news is that progress is underway. Around the world, communities are ...
