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.
IARC’s cancer classification could axe use of glyphosate in Colombian war on drugs
The new labeling of the world’s most-popular weed killer as a likely cause of cancer is raising more questions for ...
Academics Review gives UN agency ‘F’ for evaluation of glyphosate
The International Agency for Research on Cancer Monograph evaluation of certain insecticides and herbicides earns an F grade for failure ...
German agency says IARC glyphosate decision based on poor evidence
The German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) commented as rapporteur for the active ingredient glyphosate as part of the ...
Nonbrowning Arctic Apples approved in Canada
Nonbrowning Arctic® apples have been approved for commercial sale in Canada, as the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and Health ...
Glyphosate carcinogenic? Independent global scientists weigh in
The Science Media Centre—an independent British-based non-profit that solicits reactions from top independent scientists when major new studies are released--has ...
Environmental Working Group: WHO glyphosate cancer finding could spur legal action
The explosion of glyphosate use in recent years has been driven primarily by the widespread adoption of GMO corn and soybeans. These ...
Monsanto defends glyphosate: Rigorous independent studies underscore safe use
Monsanto created and held the patent on glyphosate until recent years. Read full, original article: Monsanto Disagrees with IARC Classification for Glyphosate ...
Anti-GMO activist groups twist science, claiming glyphosate infects drinking water, threatens babies
This blog is a critical demonstration between what good science says, and how the anti-GM activists twist meanings beyond what ...
Henry Miller: UN glyphosate finding glosses over data to support ideological conclusion
For the first time since 1991, the focus of this International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) review was on ...
Monsanto settles GMO wheat lawsuit in seven states
Monsanto Co. announced the settlement of another string of lawsuits related to the 2013 discovery of genetically modified wheat found ...
Activist claims ‘Big Ag’ promotes GMOs, subverting food system
Companies like Monsanto hope that casting doubt on the GMO labeling debate will cause us to get caught up in ...
German politicians agree on GMO ban, but argue over regional or national framework
Agriculture Minister Christian Schmidt hopes to create a legislative framework that would cover cultivation bans on genetically modified plants, but ...
Could genetically modified yeast replace flowers in fragrances?
For centuries, humans have used yeast to make beer and bread. Now, a startup is using it to engineer designer ...
FDA rules Arctic Apples and Innate Potatoes are safe to eat
Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration completed its evaluation for two varieties of apples genetically engineered by Okanagan Specialty ...
Pamela Ronald at TED: Prejudices of rich denying poor, vulnerable benefits of biotechnology
Pamela Ronald is at the global TED conference to talk about her work as a plant geneticist, about her quest to ...
Organic corn variety rejects foreign pollen from other corn, such as GMOs
Organic farmers often live on islands in a sea of genetically modified crops. More than 90 percent of the corn ...
Chinese lead world in genetic rice research but government limits success
Angel or demon, transgenic crops have become one of the "frontier technologies" that China is determined to embrace. In contrast ...
Can plants ‘learn’?
When we consider the propensity to learn, plants are probably the last living beings that come to mind. They seem ...
GMO wine? Scientists developing hangover free nutritionally-enhanced vino
Imagine wine, only better for you and without the hangover the next day. Researchers from the University of Illinois are ...
Gene-based tools dramatically improving food safety
Today, the risk is stark: Forty-eight million Americans—one out of every six people—suffer from a foodborne illness every year, according ...
Lucky fourth leaf: Mutation in clover DNA still a mystery
So you lost your job and your life’s a mess. You’re fat, you’re broke, you’re bad at sex. You’re looking at ...
Dairy milk’s origins reveal mutation that could cause discomfort in some milk drinkers
“The milk that might change everything.” That’s the bold claim of a brand that will soon be sold as “a2 ...
Anti-organics researcher foodies love: Brian Wansink explains how to ‘trick’ ourselves into eating healthier
Brian Wansink, a Cornell food psychologist runs Cornell's Food and Brand Lab, devoted to studying how our physical surroundings—everything from supermarket ...
Editorial: Connecticut Nature Center navigates storm over Monsanto contribution, says don’t blacklist corp donors
The Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center in Mystic deserves a chance to utilize its new policy for the acceptance of corporate ...
Food Babe complains NYT article doesn’t include scientists who agree with her
Note: This is a response to the New York Times' piece, "Taking On the Food Industry, One Blog Post at ...
‘Mom scientist’ won most credibility points from skeptical GMO consumers
Trying to win an argument based on science may be a losing game plan for gaining consumer trust in bioengineered ...
Best of both worlds: Farmer sees benefits in planting mix of GMO and non-GMO
For a Tolstoy farmer, the issue of whether to grow GMO crops isn’t as clear cut as it is for ...
