Few people engaged today in the important debates over regulation of agricultural biotechnology know, or remember much about the critical debates that unfolded when the gen-one wave of ag biotechnologies first hit the beach. Today, as CRISPR-driven, largely untested technology rolls on shore, attention to lessons learned in the past, but thus far unheeded, might […]
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It is widely accepted that consumer tastes, preferences, and concerns will drive the Future of Food. The companies that find a way to connect with consumers on these issues will gain market share and traction, or so the theory goes. But how will consumers know which foods are tastier and more nutritious? Safer and less […]
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Genetically engineered (GE) corn and cotton expressing Bt toxins for insect control came on the market in 1996. The most contentious public policy and regulatory issue prior to approval was whether and how the biotech-seed companies should prevent the emergence and spread of insects newly resistant to Bt toxins. For more on the debate over […]
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In an in-depth piece that ran in The Oregonian and online at Oregon Live, writer Julia Rosen with High Country News tells the sorry tale of how glyphosate resistant creeping bentgrass meant for high-dollar golf courses has become a thorn in the side of high-desert farmers and ranchers along the Oregon-Washington-Idaho border. Starting in the 1990s, two […]
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As reported by the Agri-Pulse news feed, a new report is out about consumer acceptance of GMOs, and the results are conflicted and it is easy to figure out why. On one hand, a survey led by an economist at the University of Vermont’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences found that opposition to GMO […]
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Fall application of glyphosate is getting a closer look in Canada. The “Keep it Clean” campaign, a joint operation of a trio of industry groups (Canola Council of Canada, Cereals Canada, and Pulse Canada), educates growers about pesticide residue limits and other guidelines, with a particular focus on export markets. One of their main focus […]
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Reuters and CBC News report that Japan and South Korea have banned Canadian wheat and flour imports following the discovery in the summer of 2017 of a stand of GMO wheat on roadside in Alberta. The wheat, which was identified after it survived herbicide spraying, was a genetic match to a small trial crop of resistant […]
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In an announcement that appeared to take the USDA by surprise, FDA Comissioner Scott Gottlieb issued a statement on Friday claiming that the agency has jurisdiction over the development and marketing of lab-grown meat, and announcing plans to hold a public meeting on the subject in July 2018. Lab-grown meat is a hot topic in […]
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Hawaiis’ governor David Ige has signed into law a ban on the controversial insecticide chlorpyrifos, which has been linked to “serious health risks,” including developmental impacts in children, lung cancer, and immune disorders in farm workers. (For more on the health impacts of chlorpyrifos, see the Managing Weeds for Healthy Kids project bibliography.) Pruitt’s EPA rejected […]
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FERN, the Food and Environment Reporting Network, is ready for the upcoming farm bill vote, releasing the 7+ minute long video “What is the farm bill and why does it matter?” Congress takes up the farm bill every 5 years or so, and this huge piece of legislation is critically important to American agriculture, providing […]
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