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.
Agriculture originated in the Middle East’s Fertile Crecent. Who were the world’s first farmers?
The first signs of agriculture and a sedentary lifestyle are found in the so-called ‘Fertile Crescent’, a region in the ...
Viewpoint: ‘Green enlightenment’ ahead? Why Scotland needs to embrace crop genetic engineering
Scotland is a wee country that has always punched above its weight in agricultural innovation. Some of the best crop ...
Kernza: The perennial wheat that could inject sustainability into commodity farming
Most of the cereal crops we grow now, like corn, soy, and wheat, are annual crops. They’re planted and harvested ...
Do climate change threats mean we might have to abandon meat production? These regenerative farmers in Canada say ‘no’
Canadians eat two times more meat than the global average, exacerbating the problem of carbon emissions produced by our food ...
‘These seeds were stored so that future generations could restore them’: Russian invaders destroyed Ukraine’s plant biodiversity gene bank housed in Kharkiv
One of the world’s largest, the National Gene Bank named after V.Ya. Yuriev National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine, ...
Gene editing key to sustainable agriculture in Africa, scientists say
Africa must update its regulations to accommodate the gene-edited crops needed to sustainably intensify agriculture to feed the continent’s growing ...
Space farming: Plants grow in soil collected 50 years ago during Apollo lunar missions
In the early days of the space age, the Apollo astronauts took part in a visionary plan: Bring samples of ...
‘Expecting farmers to do cultivation as it was done 100 years back is not something we want’: Why organic farming in India is falling far short of hyped promises
Ever wondered why organic farming hasn't taken off given the stated benefits that are reeled out by the powers that ...
Nigeria begins national trials for GM maize
Nigeria is set to begin national performance trials (NPT) for genetically modified (GM) TELA maize as the West African nation ...
Viewpoint: Seed wars — How Russell Brand gets ‘Green Neo-Colonialism’ wrong
"Why Is Bill Gates Buying Up Stolen Native American Land?" British comedian and actor Russell Brand asked in a recent ...
Sustainability benefits of crop biotechnology innovations begin to shine as investors look to Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) guidance
The financial industry is undergoing an awakening. It's the revelation that businesses that prioritize people and the planet can be ...
As organic foods go mainstream and prices remain high, survey shows ‘growing skepticism about organic claims’
As organic continues to go mainstream with broader reach outside of the natural channel where it began, it faces increased ...
Cracking wheat’s yield genetic code: Breakthrough grain discovery could provide gains for farmers and consumers
Researcher Jorge Dubcovsky and his team have identified one of the genes in wheat that increases yield — the holy ...
Climate change is making water saltier and killing crops. Genetic engineering offers possible solution
There is a surge in saltiness across all inhabited continents today. Climate change is far from the only cause. Deltas ...
Viewpoint: EU’s Farm-to-Fork policy inevitably means plowing rainforests to meet Europe’s expanding food needs
Meet the European Union’s Farm to Fork Strategy. Considered the EU’s Green New Deal, the strategy’s goal is to make the continent ...
‘Organic revolution’ in farming? Switzerland and Sri Lanka offer lessons on downside of pushing too aggressively
Amid deepening concern over the damage agrochemicals cause to the environment and public health, organic farming is widely touted as ...
Independent Swedish study finds switch from conventional farming to organic would require 130% additional land to maintain yields
Highlights The distribution of crop and fodder production in organic and conventional farms is established for eight regions of Sweden ...
Viewpoint: Challenging scaremongering about alleged dangers of eating too much yogurt, cheese and other dairy products
In 2016, a study looked into whether dietary dairy would increase the circulating levels of oestrogen in mice – the researchers ...
Confused about difference between genetic engineering and gene editing? Your questions answered
The modern techniques for crop improvement are generally referred to as genetic modification or genetic engineering. Through this technology, a ...
Fate of glyphosate approval in Europe? Contentious stakeholder feedback delays recommendations till mid 2023
Due to an unprecedented flood of stakeholder input, relevant EU agencies announced their risk assessment on glyphosate will only come ...
Biofuels reconsidered: Do we grow too much corn in the United States?
The supposed benefit of biofuel is that, although it still releases carbon dioxide when it burns, that carbon was drawn ...
Viewpoint: ‘Organic farming folly’ — Bjorn Lomborg says Ukraine war has exposed Europe’s ‘self-indulgent obsession’ with low-yield, unsustainable farming
As food prices skyrocket and the [Ukraine] conflict threatens a global food crisis, we need to face another unpopular reality: ...
Four ways that GMOs can save lives
The Green Revolution, which ushered in a wave of high-yielding crop varieties, is credited with saving at least 1 billion lives. It ...
‘Third way’ regenerative farming: Syngenta CEO calls for cooperation between organics and crop biotechnology to address food crises, sparking ‘grotesque’ rebuke from organic activist
Erik Fyrwald, the CEO of the Swiss agrochemicals group Syngenta, has called for an end to organic farming to avoid ...
GM insect-resistant corn up for approval in Kenya could help fight devastating aflatoxin poisonings
Currently, [Kenya] is considering the approval and commercialisation of Bt maize. Although the intended purpose for Bt maize is insect ...
What’s next for glyphosate cases? Bayer’s hopes US Supreme Court would overturn Roundup liability verdicts dims as US Department of Justice asks SCOTUS to reject company’s cancer claims appeal
Bayer’s latest legal setback in its Roundup saga looks equally toxic to American justice. Shares in the German drugs-to-agrochemicals group ...
Salt-proof, drought-tolerant wheat developed in Egypt — but GMO ban remains in place
The Egyptian Atomic Energy Authority, headed by Dr. Amr El-Hajj, announced that the agricultural research scientists in the authority have ...
