The Organic & Non-GMO Report Newsletter

Breaking the cycle of chemicals and debt: organic farming in Cambodia

Keo Nov is a farmer in the Kandal Province of Cambodia. Together with his wife, he farms approximately 1,200 square meters of land, nearly a third of an acre. They have been managing their farm organically for about 5 years, growing over 20 kinds of vegetables which they eat and sell. Their four children now […]

Nanoparticles in food found to affect gut microbiota

Titanium dioxide nanoparticles E171 may impact human health

USDA has approved more than 20 gene-edited crops

New research from Testbiotech found that over 20 plants engineered with genome editing techniques are registered with non-regulated status, not requiring any additional assessment. The gene-edited plants include pennycress, potatoes, alfalfa, corn, rice, soybeans, tobacco, tomatoes and wheat. Some of the plants will be on the market very soon. The EU requires GMOs to undergo […]

Synthetic biology is changing what we eat. Here’s what you need to know.

Another innovation in food technology is giving scientists, consumers, and health advocates pause. Synthetic biology (synbio) is a form of genetic modification offering plant-based proteins to create foods and fibers that taste, look, and feel like meat products or natural fibers. Examples are “bleeding” veggie burgers and “spider silk” textiles. Concerns about the technology include: […]

Gene-editing technology to create virus-resistant cassava plant has opposite effect, researchers find

Scientists have found that using CRISPR-Cas9 technology to engineer cassava plants to fight off the mosaic virus, actually led to propagation of mutated viruses resistant to gene editing. Plant biologists at the University of Alberta, the University of Liège in Belgium, and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology urged caution, saying it “creates a selection pressure on the […]