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.
How serendipity in an Israeli lab led to drought-resistant plants
Plant biologist Shimon Gepstein did not set out to find a revolutionary technology that has been successfully producing drought-resistant rice, ...
The Grocery Manufacturers Association has launched a GMO facts website
(Summary) In response to the growing polarization of the GMO debate, the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) launched a new GMO ...
Europeans are less negative about GMOs than portrayed
Europeans may be slightly less anti-science than they are portrayed - at least when it comes to food. Though American ...
British Columbia: Union of B.C. Municipalities passes resolution to ask the province to ban GMOs
Municipal politicians rejected genetically engineered food by a narrow margin at the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention in Vancouver Thursday ...
Imagine a world without orange juice
Imagine a world without orange juice. Heck, I can’t even imagine a morning without this delicious drink. It’s been a ...
Pakistan: Scientific truth about agri biotechnology
Introduction of new technologies has always been resisted in any field by the people who are the beneficiaries of the ...
Golden Rice: A product of precise plant breeding for a noble purpose
"Throughout world history, humans have succeeded in improving plants and animals as food sources," explains Ben O. de Lumen, Ph.D., ...
International rice institute responds to Tufts’ Golden Rice screw up
Human nutrition studies help us understand how well the beta carotene in Golden Rice is converted to vitamin A or ...
Poll: Are GM crops good for biodiversity?
Our special report, "All creatures great and small," argues that the best way to preserve biodiversity is to encourage growth. Perhaps even ...
Scientists use gene editing to dehorn dairy cattle
In groundbreaking research, University of Minnesota scientists have used a modified gene editing system to produce horn-free dairy cattle genetics ...
“The anti-GMO movement is anti-science/progress”
"One of the issues rolling around regarding the anti-gmo movement is whether they are anti-science," says Bernie Mooney in his ...
Africa: Drought-tolerant maize ‘could be available by 2017’
[NAIROBI] A drought-tolerant maize variety could be available to farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa by 2017, according to scientists working on ...
Non-GMO foods will account for 30% of US food and beverage sales by 2017
US retail sales of non-GMO foods and beverages are projected to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of ...
Africa shouldn’t take GM crops lightly, but neither can it ignore their potential
In the unlikely event that I had forgotten just how controversial and polarizing genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are, the past few days ...
The bad science checklist of GMO opponents
One of my favorite science websites is at Science or Not, the author of which, Graham Coghill, claims that “this website will ...
USDA will not take action in case of GMO alfalfa contamination
The detection of a small amount of genetically modified material in a Washington state farmer's non-GMO alfalfa crop constitutes a ...
Growing controversy over GMO bananas in Uganda
Uganda is poised to introduce genetically modified organisms as parliament considers a bill to regulate them. The modified crops could ...
USDA weighing options in Washington GMO alfalfa contamination case
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is evaluating whether or not to take action in the case of a Washington state ...
What does it mean to be genetically modified?
Driving through corn and soybean fields in Wisconsin, Amanda Maxham, Ph.D, a writer and Research Associate with the Ayn Rand ...
Critics: “GMO OMG” is manipulative polemic
The debate surrounding genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, is as complicated as it is controversial. But the reviews coming in for Jeremy ...
Kenya: Ignore propaganda and lift GMO import ban
It is unfortunate that despite well-documented benefits of modern agricultural biotechnology towards improving food security, alleviating poverty, and enhancing socio-economic ...
Careful practices keep GMO and conventional alfalfa separate, farmer says
Washington State agriculture officials announced today that genetically modified alfalfa was found in a field where it shouldn’t have been ...
GLP’s Entine reveals Hawaii anti-GMO campaign breaks spending laws
When Walter Ritte ran for the at-large seat for the Board of Trustees at the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, his ...
Tanzania: Government to endorse GM maize trials soon?
LOCAL seeds experts are optimistic about government move to allow field trials of genetically engineered maize which has already proved ...
Anti-GM NGO supports Union of Concerned Scientists in spat over science credos
The magazine "Boston Review" has published in its September issue "a forum" on GM crops. The "forum" kicked off with ...
Is the Philippines the most ‘GMO-friendly’ country in Southeast Asia?
While Golden Rice is still being tested, a total of 44 GMOs have been approved by the government: 40 for ...
Kauai’s economy heavily influenced by seed companies
Seed companies on Kauai are a political “hot potato” but according to the numbers they are majors employers that bring ...
