Seed World
Misinformation and climate change are endangering summer watermelons
Watermelon may be a global success story, but its breeding reality is increasingly defined by pressure: climate volatility, rising disease ...
Gene-edited foods are advancing fast—but commercialization and consumer acceptance lag
[A]s gene editing matures, another reality has come into focus. The science accelerates. Commercialization does not. That tension surfaced during ...
Can we expect a wave of corporate breakups as seed industries liberate themselves from litigation-laden pesticide businesses
Companies involved in both the seed and pesticide sectors see a pipeline of pesticide-related class action lawsuits, MDLs and unlimited ...
What do we need Seed Banks? 75% of plant genetic diversity has been lost since the early 20th century, and its losses are accelerating
Gene and seed banks are not static museums. They are living collections of genetic material, designed to support food security, ...
Gene editing breakthrough: Chile becomes first country in the Americas to approve high fiber wheat
The Chilean startup Neocrop Technologies, in collaboration with the national seed company Campex Baer and Argentina’s Buck Semillas, has developed ...
Should the EU grant patent protection to the coming generation of gene edited crops
Some stakeholders are worried that there will be a huge wave of [plant] patents rolling over the European market with ...
Climate-ready canola: USDA clears two Cibus pest resistant gene-edited seed oil crop for growing
For Cibus, regulatory clarity isn’t just a box to check—it’s a turning point. The San Diego–based agricultural technology company with ...
CRISPR patent fight continues. How it impacts science and medical innovation
Legal wrangling is complicating life for those who want to use [CRISPR technology] to develop commercial products. ... At issue ...
Viewpoint: Patent reform in agriculture? Allow ‘seed biosimilars’, copying the success in the pharmaceutical industry
When a pharmaceutical product goes off-patent, within days the market is flooded with biosimilars (generics) that bring prices down and ...
Creative destruction in agriculture: Five revolutionary developments that have transformed food and farming
Creative destruction in the plant breeding sector involves innovations that significantly disrupt traditional practices, leading to the decline or transformation ...
Farmers are staying one step ahead of the enemy by using genetics to create better methods of pest control
Scientists have discovered that some wheat varieties naturally deter [wheat midge] from laying eggs. It’s not about taste, but smell ...
Viewpoint: Cybersecurity and food security — Partnerships between universities, governments and companies can help protect US genetic engineering trade secrets
In 2017, a major cyber-espionage incident underscored vulnerabilities within the U.S. seed industry. A Chinese company was accused of hacking ...
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: ‘We’ve passed inflated expectations and troughs of disillusionment’ — Food and ag industry insiders say best is yet to come for CRISPR gene-edited crops
Over the past 10 years, there has been incredible progress in CRISPR thanks to enormous private and public investment. Yet, ...
Viewpoint: Environmental Working Group up to its old trick of misrepresenting science to scare us about chemical traces in its attack on oat products containing micro-levels of chlormequat
So, here we go. Something else to worry about. At least according to the Environmental Working Group (EWG), a non-profit ...
Viewpoint: Is the EU ready to pivot from outdated CRISPR rules and embrace sustainable gene-edited crops?
The European Commission published on 5 July, 2023 its long-awaited legislative proposal for the regulation of plants produced by certain ...
Viewpoint: ‘Add the EPA to the list of Luddites’ — Here’s why the new rule treating gene-edited crops as GMOs is a setback
Energy, transportation and construction are using advanced materials and technology to decrease their climate impact while enabling the modern comforts ...
Countries around the world diverge on how to regulate gene editing crop revolution
Existing biotech regulations for GMOs have established a very complicated and burdensome regulatory environment in addition to trade barriers without ...
Viewpoint: ‘10 billion by 2050’ — How gene editing can increase quantity and quality of calories for a world where 800 million go hungry
“When we talk about food insecurity, we know that over 828 million people worldwide are hungry,” says Sarah Evanega, lead ...
Video: ‘Media bashing of pesticides is hysteria wrapped around a kernel of truth’: Rethinking essential crop protection tools
Headlines about agriculture chemical use aren’t always the most kind to the industry. And while these headlines may be flashy ...
Viewpoint: What are the most serious hurdles blocking mass adoption of gene editing in agriculture?
Since the academic discovery of gene editing, farmers, researchers and all of agriculture have heard many promises about its potential ...
‘Biggest limitation is legislative uncertainty’: Slow, steady adoption of agricultural gene editing expected in next few years
We all know that vegetables are good for you. And with advances in plant breeding innovation, this can accelerate the ...
GMO labeling begins this week. Here’s what you need to know
After four years, Jan. 1, 2022, brings not just a new year, but a new set of regulations to U.S. food ...
Seed Speaks Video: ‘Farmers are inherently sustainably minded’ — Agriculture is often unfairly criticized as a carbon polluter yet technological advances have dramatically reduced climate change impacts
For decades farmers and others working in agriculture have worked hard to implement practices to make their farms more sustainable ...
Seed Speaks Video: Getting beyond the myth that synthetic pesticides do more harm than good
With questions about sustainability and safety from consumers, and efficacy and longevity from farmers, pesticides have many questions that need ...
Seed Speaks Video: GMO labels are mandatory beginning 2022. What will they tell us?
It’s the eve of mandatory GMO labeling in the U.S. As of the start of 2022, manufacturers will be required ...
Seed Speaks Video: Despite enormous sustainability benefits, some people still view genetically engineered crops with suspicion. Here’s why
Why do GMOs have an image problem? It’s a question we attempted to answer on the Oct. 13 episode of ...
Seed Speaks Video: Are GMOs sustainable? Can organic feed the world? One size doesn’t fit all
The debate about GMO safety and sustainability is ongoing, but one fact remains: food security is paramount. Does the absence ...
