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.
US federal official suggests farmers pursue international standards for GM crops
Richard Fisher, Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President, recently suggested to a gathering of farmers that they should begin to consider ...
Is mandatory GMO food labeling a subsidy for the organic food industry?
A national, mandatory GM-food label that is being pushed by anti-GMO activists is said to be about “the right to ...
Podcast: Kevin Folta discusses Don Huber’s dubious claim of new superbug created by GM corn
The Food and Farm host Ray Bowman interviews Dr. Kevin Folta, associate professor and interim chair at the University of ...
Research on poplar clones reveals insights into plant epigenetics
A team of researchers led by Sherosha Raj of the University of Toronto found that some clones of poplar trees ...
Economist editorial: ‘Green” anti-GMO activists are like ‘climate deniers’
The Economist has come out with a stinging editorial [article access requires free registration], "Fields of Beaten Gold," attacking the ...
Serbia blocks cultivation, import of GMOs
Serbia’s Ministry of Agriculture has announced that it will not allow the cultivation or import of genetically modified crops for ...
Honey and GMOs: Greens celebrate EU decision to keep GM pollen label
The European Parliament’s environment committee recently voted on a proposal to revise the EU rules on honey. A majority of ...
India GMO fight: ‘Crop does not become harmful after it is genetically modified’
Many states within India are opposing the Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India (BRAI) Bill, which would set up an independent ...
Does glyphosate (Roundup) lead to superweeds?
In 2004, farmers in Georgia discovered a weed that was resistant to glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto’s Round Up ...
How to prevent GM corn from ‘contaminating’ (cross pollinating) non GMO fields
Cross-pollination from genetically modified crops is a major concern to farmers who use conventional methods to grow crops--especially corn, which ...
In GMO French fry debate, conservationists sit on sidelines as ‘mob mentality’ poisons discussion
Activists who oppose genetic modification have the “advantage” because of the way they frame their arguments, writes Keith Kloor in ...
Spain cuts pesticide use, saves millions of euros by adopting GM corn
The adoption of genetically modified Bt corn in Spain--one of the few European Union countries to embrace GM technology--has allowed ...
Hawai’i island mayor signs anti-GMO Bill 113
Mayor Billy Kenoi of Hawaii’s Big Island has signed Bill 113, a law designed to severely restrict the future planting ...
Details emerge about Maui Councilwoman’s proposed anti-GMO/anti-pesticide bill
Maui Councilwoman Ellie Cochran plans to submit a bill to the Maui County Council that would require agricultural companies to ...
Podcast: Agricultural researcher Cami Ryan discusses Séralini controversy
Dr. Cami Ryan, researcher with the College of Agriculture and Bioresources at the University of Saskatchewan and prominent supporter of ...
Zimbabwe government will not allow production of GM crops
Government officials announced that Zimbabwe will not allow the cultivation of genetically modified crops. The government has been under pressure ...
Maui in crosshairs as anti-GMO activists propose pesticide, GM crop disclosure bill
Maui Councilwoman Ellie Cochran has proposed a bill similar to Kauai’s Bill 2491 that calls for mandatory disclosure of pesticide ...
Small scale African farmers reap benefits of genetically modified cotton
Cotton yields in Burkina Faso, one of the few African countries that allow the cultivation of genetically modified crops, have ...
Agricultural companies on Kaua’i begin voluntary pesticide-use disclosure program
For the last two weeks, agricultural companies on Kauai have been rolling out the new Good Neighbor Program, a voluntary ...
Farmed salmon company links with environmental activists to push for GM salmon label
In response to the possible approval of a genetically modified salmon, an environmental group and a seafood company are asking ...
China rejects another GM corn shipment from US; possible move to boost domestic prices
China has rejected five more shipments of not-yet approved GM corn from the US, a move that could “discourage imports ...
Survey shows Floridians support genetic modification to save citrus industry
Floridians support the use of genetic modification to save the state’s citrus industry, according to recent research by the Center ...
New rice strain could ‘dramatically’ increase yields
Scientists at the International Rice Research Institute have bred a strain of rice that could dramatically increase yields. The long-grain ...
For the first time, developing countries producing more GM crops than developed world
This year, for the first time in the 20 years that genetically modified crops have been available, farmers in developing ...
Kenyan scientists call on government to lift ban on GMOs after retraction of Séralini study
In response to the retraction of a study allegedly showing that consuming genetically modified corn causes tumor growth in rats, ...
Marion Nestle: Food and Chemical Toxicology bungled Séralini paper retraction
The editors of the journal Food and Chemical Toxicology are at fault in the controversy involving the retraction of Gilles-Éric Séralini's ...
Agricultural industry willing to compromise in GMO labeling battle
To avoid future costly state battles, agricultural corporations have said that they are open to a national labeling standard for ...
