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.
Why smiley-face potatoes and other food with ‘human-like’ features repulse us
When food is given human-like features, people do not like to eat it, research from the University of Innsbruck, Austria ...
‘Without major changes to agriculture, government targets for mitigating climate change are at risk’, scientists warn
For decades, scientists have pursued a tantalizing possibility for bolstering food supplies and easing hunger for the world’s poorest: improving ...
GMO photosynthesis breakthrough: Genetically-tweaked food crops harness sunlight 20% more efficiently
Researchers developed a way to make photosynthesis - the natural process that all plants use to convert sunlight energy into ...
A plastic straw could take a thousand years to break down. This biodegradable plastic disappears within 60 days
A time-lapse video shows a baby blue straw sitting in a tank of water and rocks. Not much happens at ...
With chemical fertilizer supply still disrupted, Sri Lankan farmers struggle to feed their families
For more than half a century, Pahatha Mellange Jayaappu has tilled the field on his modest farm in Sri Lanka’s ...
Ghana plans for education, stewardship in GMO cowpea rollout
As Ghana readies genetically modified cowpea for commercialization, proper stewardship is paramount to safeguard the responsible management of the technology, ...
‘Science-denial playbook’: How the tobacco industry denied proof of smoking dangers for decades
In The Playbook: How to deny science, sell lies and make a killing in the corporate world, Jennifer Jacquet, an associate ...
Disease-resistant GM cassava promises to be game-changer for Kenya
At the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) center in Mtwapa, Kenya, scientist Paul Kuria uproots two sets of ...
‘Smart plants’: The next generation of crops will have genetic on-off switches
Climate change is going to put a severe strain on the ability of the world’s plants to survive. Entire ecosystems ...
Do British grocery shoppers want to try lab-grown meat? A deep dive into UK eating habits
If lab-grown meat was authorised for commercialisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, would consumers be willing to eat it? ...
Better seeds and biotechnology can boost Africa’s crop productivity, study finds
Though Africa has a quarter of the world’s arable land, its crop productivity falls well below the world average, particularly in ...
Viewpoint: Will late blight-proof GMO potatoes ever make it to Africa? Not if anti-biotech activists succeed in their scare campaigns
Despite increased potato production and high-yield potential, yields in developing countries have not reached their full potential. Smallholder farmers often ...
New biotech weapon fighting global hunger: Nanoparticles that can carry CRISPR gene-editing into plant cells
The CRISPR-mediated editing of plants is already paying off. In 2021, the first CRISPR-edited food was introduced to the market, ...
Viewpoint: Will crop biotechnology breakthroughs usher in a new ‘Green Revolution’?
A recent spate of crop biotech breakthroughs presage a New Green Revolution that will boost crop production, shrink agriculture's environmental ...
Nutrition, productivity, climate adaptability: Surge in African crop biotechnology research poised to address malnutrition and food security
Scientists are using genomics to tackle malnutrition in Africa and more. The African Orphan Crops Consortium (AOCC), founded in 2011, ...
Viewpoint: GMO and gene edited agricultural solutions will never gain traction if journalists continue to carry water for anti-biotechnology disinformation
Citizens' "vague sense of unease" about genetically modified (GM) crops and genome-edited foods will never be alleviated. Why? ...
In defense of meat: A sustainability and climate argument
The number of carbon atoms returned to the atmosphere from beef farming is less than that removed by grass growth ...
Is any agriculture method ‘ecologically sustainable’? A biologist’s perspective
If we define “ecological” as that act or activity that is carried out without causing a negative impact on the ...
Viewpoint: Global policy analyst on why Europe’s goal to reduce pesticide use by 50% is dangerously misguided
Alexander Bernhuber, environmental spokesman for the ÖVP in the European Parliament, is to represent the interests of EU agriculture in ...
The politics of wheat: As agriculture becomes a weapon of war, biotechnology emerges as a strategic tool for the West
Is the world facing “a potential mass starvation event” due to the war in Ukraine? It is starting to look ...
CRISPR gene-edited rice could help soil bacteria produce nitrogen fertilizer. Here’s how it works
Researchers have used CRISPR to engineer rice that encourages soil bacteria to fix nitrogen, which is required for their growth ...
Video: Lessons from Sri Lanka — Embracing organic farming methods from the 19th century collapsed an entire economy
Whether it's agriculture or industry, production systems will never go back to the past. Sri Lanka, the small island country, ...
GM crops likely to get a lift in Kenya with Ruto as President
Kenya’s efforts to expand agricultural biotechnology received a major political boost today with the election of Dr. William Ruto as ...
Viewpoint: GM vs organic crops — How to feed the world without destroying it
There are more and more people in the world who are getting richer and are therefore eating more and more ...
Viewpoint: Ordinary African farmers should not be blocked from technologically-advanced agricultural solutions helping the rest of the world
Besides the long drought making food production difficult there are crop pests and diseases that are steadily wiping out staple ...
Kenyan farming experts urge permanent lift of GM ban to address animal feed shortage
Punitive local tax regimes, technical restrictions, challenges in access to foreign currency and logistics disruptions — most of these exacerbated ...
Viewpoint: ‘We need to reduce imports’ — Colombian food security proponents urge expanding GMO crops to reach food sovereignity goal
During his inaugural speech, President Gustavo Petro stated that “Colombia is a country that must and can enjoy food sovereignty ...
