Daily Food & Agriculture 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.
CRISPR crop gene editing benefits for agriculture highlighted in US Senate testimony
On April 23rd, Georg Jander, a professor from the Boyce Thompson Institute, addressed an audience in the offices of the U.S ...
Viewpoint: Philippines court bungled its interpretation of the precautionary principle in suspending the growing of Vitamin A enhanced Golden Rice
Principle 15 of the 1992 Rio Declaration laid out the premise of the precautionary rule in international environmental law. It states: ...
Novel plant-based meat alternatives are at times a better health choice than whole foods. Here’s a case for labeling
Plant-based alternatives to meat, cheese, eggs and yoghurt should be labelled and categorised more clearly to ensure people are aware of products that are ...
Viewpoint: A science-based assessment of glyphosate — risks and benefits
Contrasting perspectives on glyphosate’s use require a risk-benefit analysis. While some focus solely on risks, a closer examination reveals its ...
Taste test: How do lab-grown sausages compare to the real thing?
Consisting of 28% pork fat, bulked out with textured pea, chickpea, soy and wheat protein, these mini-bratwursts would happily sit ...
As Republican-led states across the US mull lab-grown meat labeling and bans, Britain moves forward with cell-based protein regulations
In the wake of several Republican-led states in the US pushing for a ban or limit on the sales of ...
Missouri follows Iowa and Idaho in exploring legislation to limit lawsuits against makers of glyphosate and other pesticides deemed safe by federal government
The Missouri House gave initial approval to a bill that could protect pesticide manufacturers from some cancer lawsuits ...
Alternative animal milk on the rise: ‘By 2050, it’s possible we’ll have a choice between cow’s milk and camel’s milk in the UK’
If you’re living in Europe or the US, the idea of dousing your cereal in camel milk or cooking up ...
Case study: Norwegians are not about to cut meat consumption to reduce the impact of climate change
Norwegians are not going to cut their meat consumption enough even if they believe the climate impact is important, says ...
Viewpoint: Two independent Vermont agencies determined there is no scientific basis in banning neonicotinoid pesticides to ‘save honeybees’ while some advocacy ‘environmental’ groups contend otherwise. It’s now in the governor’s hands to decide if naked ideology will prevail
Despite Vermont's Agricultural Innovation Board (AIB), created to inform regulatory recommendations using science, flatly stating there was no basis for a ...
As Switzerland mulls ending ban on crop biotechnology, organic farmers and environmental NGOs intensify campaign against reform
At the end of next year, genetically modified plants could be allowed in Switzerland. An alliance of organic farmers and ...
Impossible Foods company takes over cattle ranch, transforms it into soy, sunflower and other crops for plant-based meat production
Next battleground in US culture wars: Republican states advance bans on cell-cultured foods (Business Insider) ...
Next battleground in US culture wars: Republican states advance bans on cell-cultured foods
Move over, electric vehicles and gas stoves: A new product is taking center stage in the culture wars ...
Viewpoint: America now has a record number of honeybees. How did we get from ‘beepocalypse’ to bee abundance?
You can relax, everyone: The honeybees are back. As Andrew Van Dorn of the Washington Post reported recently, America suddenly now has ...
Only 11 of 54 African countries grow genetically engineered crops. This study explains why and offers guidance on how to increase acceptance
Adoption of GM crops has been extremely slow in African countries; only eleven of the fifty-four have current approved their ...
Counterintuitive agricultural science: Organic farming can lead to increased use of pesticides in neighboring conventional fields
New research adds to the increasingly nuanced picture of organic farming and how well it can meet both our food and ecological ...
Flushing fertilizer down the toilet: Human urine contains nitrogen and phosphorus — superfood for plants
Our urine contains what the body wants to dispose of. “But it can also put food on our table,” says ...
Viewpoint: Banning fledgling lab-grown meat industry nothing more than ‘conservative nanny states prohibiting the voluntary consumption of products that mostly don’t exist yet’
Last year, the Agriculture Department approved some companies to sell lab-grown chicken; other lab-cultured meats (such as beef, pork and ...
Mascara and eyeliner are mostly made from crude oil or mined minerals. This algae-based alternative could reduce the carbon impact of many cosmetics
Black pigment solutions are often derived from petroleum-based sources like crude oil, natural gas or coal. Each year, 8.1 million ...
Cows of the future: Bill Gates predicts that genetically modifying beef cows, with the help of AI, could help fight climate change
In a recent episode of his podcast “Unconfuse Me With Bill Gates,” the Microsoft founder offered the prediction that AI ...
Viewpoint: The case against banning neonicotinoid pesticides
As Consumer Choice Center, we believe that Bill H.706 – which plans to ban the use of neonicotinoid treated seeds ...
Viewpoint: Here’s why the European Parliament’s plan for loosening crop biotech editing regulations is two steps forward, three steps backward
Many welcomed the European Parliament's adoption, with a narrow majority of 307 votes for, 263 against and 41 abstentions, of ...
Talking trees? Do they quietly communicate through an underground fungi network? Here are the facts
A popular theory about how trees cooperate has enchanted the public and raised the profile of forest conservation. But some ...
Population growth, sustainability and the future of food
You are what you eat. Today, this famous saying comes bearing a question: What will we be eating tomorrow? ...
Viewpoint: By engineering block on Vitamin A enhanced Golden Rice, Greenpeace ‘puts the whole environmental movement into disrepute’
First, a word of warning. If you donate money to Greenpeace, you might think you’re helping save the whales or ...
Viewpoint: Disinformation on alleged dangers of chemical residues on fruits and vegetables is not only bad science, it causes consumers to avoid produce
Peer reviewed research and Alliance for Food and Farming (AFF) surveys among consumers and registered dietitians all show the negative impact of misinformation about pesticide ...
Viewpoint: Sri Lanka’s ‘tragic’ legacy — To encourage sustainable farming, countries cannot ignore food production and socioeconomic trade-offs
Sri Lanka is a particularly dramatic case showing how rash and poorly designed policies can lead to tragic consequences. In ...
