Food & Agriculture Features
The GLP explores the role of genetic engineering in food production and the polarized debate surrounding it. We highlight the work of our own writers, as well as that of contributors from around the Web. The GLP does not take a position on genetics-related issues; any opinions expressed belong to the authors.
Categories include:
- Chemicals and pesticides
- Organics
- Conventional crops
- New breeding technologies
- Animal biotechnology
- Food systems
- Sustainability
- Regulations
- Politics
- Ideology
Viewpoint: Fish farming has a sustainability problem and genetic engineering might be the solution
As the world endures the impacts of a rapidly changing climate—sea level rise, extreme weather events, warming and acidifying oceans ...
Viewpoint: Activist opposition to GMOs fueled by an ‘extremist’ vision of nature
We would like to take the opportunity on #Worldenvironmentday to come back to a problem we have been thinking about ...
Viewpoint: Organic food represents a ‘reactionary’ ideology that doesn’t support health or sustainable farming—and should not be subsidized
The health and environmental benefits claimed by organic agriculture are based on shaky scientific foundations ...
Viewpoint: Plant-based meats promote veganism in ways animal rights activists never could
Author and animal-rights activist Jonathan Safran Foer [author of the book Eating Animals] recently argued in a New York Times ...
Podcast: Beepocalypse debunked; Ban CRISPR babies? Anti-science views slow COVID-19 herd immunity
Some experts are calling for a ban on embryo gene editing after a "disaster" experiment resulted in potentially dangerous and ...
Viewpoint: Anti-GMO groups push ‘natural’ COVID cures, deny pandemic-fighting biotech solutions
One of the primary arguments hurled at proponents of genetic engineering is that the crops, medicines and vaccines produced using ...
Viewpoint: Without modern, industrial farming, pandemic would have claimed many more lives
In November of 2019 The Atlantic asked "experts" what they would change if they could go back in time. The ...
Viewpoint: Conservation isn’t enough. We need technology to blunt the impacts of climate change
We need direct, technology-driven intervention for conservation ...
Podcast: Bayer’s $10.9 billion glyphosate settlement a mistake? Vaccines from mosquito spit; CRISPR cures sickle cell disease?
Chemical giant Bayer just settled roughly 95,000 lawsuits alleging its Roundup weedkiller causes cancer. Has the company given its anti-GMO ...
Facing disease crisis, Ugandan farmers say they’ll illegally grow GMO cassava to feed their families, increase yields
Cassava is one of the most important food crops in the Africa, a primary component of the rural economy. It ...
Viewpoint: Irrational pesticide fears discourage produce consumption and increase cancer risk
Fostering fear doesn't help us eat healthier ...
Podcast: Lab-grown livers coming soon? Regenerative farming won’t stop climate change; COVID halts gene-therapy studies
Scientists have grown tiny human livers from skin cells and transplanted them into rats, moving us closer to saving thousands ...
Bad food choices make us fat and sick. Understanding our brains can help us make healthier decisions
Tired brains make bad food choices ...
Biotechnology forestry revival projects now include elms along with American chestnuts
There was a time when the stately elm was a symbol of American and European small-town prosperity and pride. It ...
Viewpoint: GMO skeptics abuse UN Biodiversity Conference to promote anti-biotech agenda
Countless people continue to suffer and die needlessly as a result of the arbitrary and unscientific restrictions forged at the ...
Viewpoint: How organic farming exploits consumer demand for ‘authenticity’
Seeking 'authenticity' is fine -- unless it deprives you of something beneficial ...
Podcast: WHO was wrong about COVID; Pandemics make women cheat? Rampant fraud threatens organic farming
Infectious disease experts have blasted the World Health Organization for telling the public that asymptomatic patients rarely spread COVID-19. Pandemics ...
Disaster interrupted: Which farming system better preserves insect populations: Organic or conventional?
A three-year run of fragmentary Armageddon-like studies had primed the journalism pumps and settled the media framing about the future ...
Are we facing an ‘Insect Apocalypse’ caused by ‘intensive, industrial’ farming and agricultural chemicals? The media say yes; Science says ‘no’
The media call it the “Insect Apocalypse”. In the past three years, the phrase has become an accepted truth of ...
How GMO, gene-edited crops can keep cancer-causing heavy metals out of staple foods
One of the most pressing issues in public health is the presence of toxic elements in food, which potentially risk ...
Viewpoint: Why the world needs GMOs—4 farmers make the case for biotech crops
The lopsided conversation between experienced farmers and clueless activists has severe consequences ...
USDA relaxed its GMO, gene-edited crop rules—but not enough to foster biotech innovation
USDA's SECURE rule fails to move beyond process-based regulation ...
Podcast: Retracted hydroxychloroquine-COVID studies backlash; Obesity cancer drugs? ‘Unbiased’ Guardian takes animal rights money
Two major studies which found that the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine doesn't treat COVID-19 have been retracted. What does that mean ...
Insect-resistant Bt cotton failed in India, claims study. Geneticist says anti-GMO authors designed research to seed doubt about crop biotech
Farmers around the world have cultivated genetically engineered (GE) crops for nearly thirty years. In that time, researchers have gathered ...
Next food revolution: Will synthetic proteins eliminate animals as food?
The impact of this disruption on industrial animal farming will be profound ...
Viewpoint: CRISPR crop revolution provides counterpunch to ‘misinformation’ promoted by anti-GMO campaigners
Gene-edited crops usually can't be distinguished from conventionally-bred varieties. Opponents of NBTs may never comprehend this basic lesson of plant ...
Viewpoint: 70% of consumers say ‘natural’ food is healthier, but there’s no science behind the marketing hype
When looking at labels, be wary ...
Podcast: Pesticides prevent cancer. Growing drugs in GMO plants; battling diabetes with CRISPR
Rapid advances in biotechnology could help prevent hundreds of thousands of diabetes deaths every year. Growing drugs in GMO plants ...
