Genetically modified (GM – or GMO) crops are unpopular. Despite their vast potential to help improve global food security while reducing pesticide use, many countries are extremely resistant to planting GM crops, with 85% of global GM agricultural land coming from just four countries: the US, Brazil, Argentina and Canada. Where they have been grown, […]
Imagine if passing through airport security could be as pleasant as a stroll through a park. Scientist June Medford is working to harness the innate sensing abilities of plants, genetically engineering them into lean, green bomb-and-drug detecting machines. Medford is a “synthetic biologist” (not to imply she’s artificial, but to clarify that she dabbles in the re-design […]
Are grandma’s heirloom tomatoes Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO)? What about Lebanese cucumbers or the maize that Native Americans transformed from a meager ankle-high grass into long-eared mazes of golden corn? What is so scary about GMO?
Eerie and beautiful, The Scarecrow is a powerful anti-factory-farming message served up in a new commercial that barely refers to what’s actually being pitched. But the intent is as subtle as a brick to the head: Chipotle Mexican Grill is taking on Big Food.
Greenpeace raises the alarm about the presence of GM crops in Egypt despite an announcement by the Egyptian government that GM seeds had been discarded Back in 2012, the Ministry of Agriculture in Egypt made the bold statement that no Genetically Modified (GM) crops were to be planted in Egypt. Although this may have been […]
Social media flexes its muscles in a recent grassroots backlash against General Mills, one of the world’s leading food conglomerates whose brand portfolio includes more than 100 leading U.S. brands and product leaders around the world.
A new seed treatment could stop the use and need for GMOs. Even though organic agriculture and sustainable farming practices are on the rise, feeding a hungry world demands that commercial farmers rely on genetically engineered (GMO) seeds to boost production and fend off diseases. But environmentalists fear that GMO crops are a sort of […]
When an insect feeds on Monsanto’s genetically-modified MON810 maize plant, it is in for a nasty surprise. Encoded within the seed’s DNA is an especially insidious insecticide called cry1Ab that causes the insect’s stomach to explode after ingestion. Given its brutal assault on pests, the modified crop is pitted by the agri-giant as the cure-all solution to international […]
Lebanon goes green with seed bank, but can this memory keeper for nature fight GMOs? Lebanon harbors over 2600 plant species of which 119 are counted to be endemic. The unique climatic and landscape diversity in Lebanon has shaped 22 bio-climatic zones which fosters one of the most precious ecological services: genetic diversity. Unfortunately, the […]
Most Israelis complacently think that there are no GMO foods in Israeli food. But there are, especially in soy products. “It’s a huge mistake to think that there’s no genetically-modified food in Israel,” said Naama Rosenberg, spokeswoman at the Volcani Institute of Agricultural Research. In a telephone interview, Ms. Rosenberg went on to explain that […]
Investigating the profit-motivated push to make genetically modified food ‘halal’ Back in December 2010, a conference held in Penang, Malaysia with biotechnology experts and halal proponents ended with the conclusion that genetically modified food was halal ( ‘permissible’ for Muslims) as long as the sources from which they originate from are halal. This decision – […]
Egypt is planning ahead for climate change with a new generation of wheat. This declaration raises some questions about its intent for Sudan. Following the drought in Russia, Egypt’s resultant shortage of wheat, and high summer temperatures throughout the Middle East, the Egyptian Agriculture Ministry is taking steps to avert another potential wheat shortfall. Faced […]