Margaret Mellon

GMO sustainability advantage? Glyphosate spurs no-till farming, preserving soil carbon
Skeptics of GMOs decry the growing practice of no-till farming and its connection to herbicide-tolerant crops. Yet, agronomists say good ...

Union of Concerned Scientists, Ricardo Salvador mulled endorsing anti-GMO campaign in exchange for contributions, violating UCS’ ethics policy
In a response to anti-GMO campaigners requesting endorsement, the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) promised to look into it in ...

California bill would curb open records requests used to harass biotech, public health researchers
Corporations and activists from the left and the right are abusing open records laws to harass public university researchers. A ...

Was there Russian collusion? When it comes to prominent anti-GMO groups, the disturbing answer is ‘yes’
Modern genetic engineering techniques applied to agriculture are making stunning advances. This year, after decades in (gratuitous) regulatory limbo, the ...

Is monoculture a bad thing? It’s time to revise simplistic ideological narrative
Biotech critics frequently claim that conventional agriculture and GMOs promote monoculture farming, which is harmful to biodiversity. A closer look ...

Does GMO corn increase crop yields? 21 years of data confirm it does—and provides substantial health benefits
While many studies show that genetically modified crops contribute to yield gains, GMO critics say that they don’t. Such claims, ...

Viewpoint: Christopher Portier—well-paid activist scientist at center of the ban-glyphosate movement
Christopher Portier, special adviser to the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer, is bringing down the reputation ...

GMO that’s not all GMO: Monsanto’s rootworm-fighting corn seed uses RNA interference
The EPA's relatively quick approval of a new Monsanto seed trait drew criticism from anti-GMO groups that complained about a ...

Impossible Burger blowback: Will irrational fears of biotechnology block introduction of sustainable foods?
Two entities that seem like they should be on the same page — a coalition of environmental groups and a ...

Viewpoint: Canadian monarch butterfly and bee populations thrive as glyphosate use increases
What happened to the monarchs? The popular story is that genetically modified crops and an evil herbicide called glyphosate (also ...

Viewpoint: California activists ‘gamed system’ to get glyphosate herbicide labeled as carcinogen
Environmental activists found the perfect targets to help them defame the popular herbicide glyphosate — widely-accepted as safe — in ...

Anti-vax Organic Consumers Association, linked to measles outbreak, has deep ties to anti-GMO conspiracist USRTK
The Organic Consumers Association uses its sizable budget to fund front groups, like Gary Ruskin's US Right to Know, that ...

Kelly v Graham: Should scientists ‘stay out’ of politics?
The question of whether scientists should take special restraint in not lacing their pubic engagement on science issues with politics ...

Addressing all farmers’ challenges: Taking ideology out of the glyphosate and ‘superweed’ debate
Hardy weeds that develop from continued use of a limited control system are problems for all farmers. This is not ...

Viewpoint: Mark Bittman, ever the clown, still isn’t funny
This article originally appeared at Forbes and has been republished here with permission of the author. Mark Bittman, the former ...

Do GMOs risk “unintended” health or environmental consequences, as critics maintain?
Concerns about unintended consequences, the backbone of criticism from anti-GMO activists, are actually more likely to occur in traditionally bred ...

Documents uncover secret coordination among ‘independent’ anti-biotech scientists, activists
Emails reveal how activists, researchers and journalists coordinate to promote anti-biotech ideals ...

Presidential candidates largely ignoring food, farm policy. What should we ask them?
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis. The 2016 presidential election ...

GMO face-off: USRTK’s Stacy Malkan vs Florida’s Kevin Folta
Contentious debate escalates over anti-GMO group’s strategy of using FOIA laws to ‘expose’ emails by scientists who support crop biotechnology ...
U.S. Right to Know rated #1 in junk science for 2015
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis. In January, an anti-GMO ...

Legal, PR battles commence to block FDA approved GMO salmon from dinner plate
The world's first genetically engineered fish approved for human consumption arriving in supermarkets within two years. Now the legal fireworks ...

Union of Concerned Scientists: ‘USDA does not invest sufficiently in agroecology’
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis. Our entrenched industrial agriculture system has ...

Will food policy become part of national political dialogue?
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis. Food is becoming political, ...

Nature Biotech: US Right to Know, Organic Consumers are “demagogues”, “anti-science zealots”
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis. Smear campaigns against those ...
Kashi cereal has Non-GMO label–and glyphosate residue
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis. Not only does organic ...

Union of Concerned Scientists joins criticism of USRTK, PLoS on biotech science literacy “transparency”
UCS joins a growing list of independent groups criticizing Paul Thacker and Charles Seife for misrepresentations in their article savaging ...

Kevin Folta responds to anti-GMO FOIA fiasco: PLoS bungled post misrepresents smoking gun email
Paul Thacker and Charles Seife--aligned with anti-GMO organic financed USRTK--claimed that a leaked document 'proved' Florida prof 'advised' Monsanto on ...

Activist groups, USRTK have right to demand transparency from biotech scientists
The backlash against transparency is underway and is likely to inform how we interpret the scientific literature for years to come. In the ...