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.
Blue soybeans? Orange wheat? How a gene-edited splash of color could make robotic weeding much easier
Genetically engineering crops to be colourful could help farmers produce food without using herbicides, as it would make it easier ...
Viewpoint: Why recent setbacks won’t derail cultured meat revolution
Since Mark Post first introduced his cultured meat burger in 2013, the industry has attracted nearly US$3 billion in private ...
Viewpoint: Will India embrace a second green revolution — one focused on sustainable agriculture instead of yield?
Methane is a dangerous heat-trapping gas responsible for 47 per cent of India’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The agricultural sector ...
Want to improve cholesterol and blood pressure? Swapping out meat for plant-based alternatives may not provide heart health benefits, study suggests
In new research, published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, scientists looked at how diets containing real meat compare to ...
Nutritional breakthrough: Genetically modified vitamin B1-fortified rice could help us overcome some health deficiencies
Vitamin B1 is an essential micronutrient for human beings. Its deficiency is the cause of numerous diseases of the nervous ...
Viewpoint: ‘If we follow science, organic food loses its apparent advantages’ — Harvard professor debunks organic produce myths
Organic foods, valued at over $75 billion, have long been touted as superior to conventionally grown foods, with some studies ...
Climate change agriculture: GM crops, no-till farming and judicious use of glyphosate and other herbicides help address disruptions, Canadian study finds
Ever since the first commercialization of genetically modified (GM) crops in the mid-1990s, researchers have considered the impact of these ...
Viewpoint: Why Greek organic-certified produce isn’t necessarily better or healthier than conventional food
Organic farming certainly has a lot to offer to humans and the environment, but that doesn’t mean it’s always better ...
Gene-edited chickens could reduce the threat of bird flu spread and promote sustainability
A solution may be around the corner to an avian flu outbreak that has led to the deaths of millions of ...
Viewpoint: Iowa farmer explains support for state bill to restrict suits against manufacturers of glyphosate and other pesticides that follow federal guidelines
I was proud to join my Iowa Senate colleagues in passing Senate File 2412 this legislative session. As a farmer, I know ...
Viewpoint: Regenerative agriculture has many different definitions. Here are 5 main principles — and whether they stand up to scrutiny
What is regenerative agriculture? Why is it different from sustainable agriculture? And how do I reconcile what practitioners of this system ...
Viewpoint: At a time where drought and global instability threaten global food security, gene editing offers solutions to combat pests, pathogens and poor weather
Later this year gene-edited crops will be planted at about two dozen commercial farms across England for the first time ...
Forty European health insurers press EU to regulate phase out of agricultural chemicals by midcentury
Forty health insurance mutuals from France, Belgium and Poland have jointly called on the EU not to abandon the goal of ...
Viewpoint: The keys to sustainable fishing lay in gene-editing and plant-based fish food
As worldwide consumption of fish increases and ocean fish are getting scarce, raising fish under the controlled conditions of aquaculture ...
CRISPR gene-editing technology heralds first generation of climate change resistant crops
CRISPR gene editing technology is beginning to deliver on a promise to quickly create crops with traits that withstand a ...
‘Affront to nature and creation’: Republicans launch war on lab-grown meat as a ‘liberal conspiracy’ even though it is not for sale yet
Cultured meat is the culture wars' newest bone of contention. Republican efforts to ban and even outlaw production of the ...
‘Pesticides of tomorrow’: Bayer uses AI to develop next-generation pesticides, targeting 2030 for roll-out
They are now doing "computational biochemistry", manipulating virtual molecules instead of plants. In the laboratory of chemist Bayer in Lyon, ...
Ghana approves 14 new genetically engineered seeds, including pest resistant and nutrition-enhanced varieties
As a farmer, I was recently excited to read a report that disclosed Ghana’s National Biosafety Authority (NBA) has approved ...
Delicious new food in the making: Catfish with alligator genes resists fish disease problems
A group of scientists at Auburn University published a paper in January detailing their efforts to genetically modify catfish with the cathelicidin ...
Unpacking effects of GM crops on global health, labor, and sustainability
Many people wonder what impacts GMO crops have on our world. “GMO” (genetically modified organism) is the common term consumers ...
Disease resistance, crop diversity and enhanced fertilizer efficiency: Three desperately needed improvements that CRISPR brings to agriculture
Moderated by Howard-Yana Shapiro, a distinguished senior fellow at the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), the March 19 and 20 World ...
Viewpoint: Center for Skeptical Inquiry rakes American Academy of Pediatrics for evidence-free claims that GMOs and glyphosate pose health hazards
The respected journal Pediatrics, published by the American Academy of Pediatrics, published a Clinical Report (12/3/23) strongly implying that parents should ...
Robots with poison guns target weeds and offer an alternative to some herbicides
The plants we eat have bitter enemies on all sides. Can robots with poison guns help them? “Aggressive weeds, insects, ...
Viewpoint: CRISPR gene editing is no silver bullet in in the battle to contain bird flu
Recently, a group of scientists announced a breakthrough approach to combat Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (bird flu or avian flu), a severe illness ...
Pest resistant beans: Gates Foundation in Nigeria helps develop insect-resistant, higher yield cowpeas
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is supporting the Kano State Government [in Nigeria] with anti-pest beans, a species developed ...
Eat what you want while staying healthy? Here’s how scientists are working to transform the sugar that you eat into fiber
We all know that too much sugar is bad for us. It can lead to weight gain, obesity, type 2 ...
Small rise in global temperature ‘will make a big impact on honey bees’. Is there a solution?
The famous work ethic of honey bees might spell disaster for these busy crop pollinators as the climate warms, new ...
