The Organic & Non-GMO Report Newsletter

Who trusts and distrusts gene-edited foods? New study gauges public acceptance

Through CRISPR and other gene-editing technologies, researchers and developers are poised to bring dozens—if not hundreds—of new products to grocery stores with claims of benefits: mushrooms with longer shelf lives, drought-resistant corn and bananas impervious to a fungus threatening the global supply. A few, including a soybean variety that produces a supposedly healthier cooking oil, […]

Gene editing hamsters induced the opposite effect from predictions—creating enraged “bullies”

Gene editing can turn your beloved hamster from a Dr. Jekyll to a Mr./Mrs. Hyde. That alone shows the potency of the genetic manipulation tool—but even scarier is that the researchers who used it on hamsters had strongly expected the opposite result. University of Georgia scientists used the CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing tool to remove a […]

Gene editing proposal: Modify hens to kill male chicks before they hatch

Israeli scientists have presented a concept patent to use CRISP/Cas gene editing technology to produce modified chickens disallowing male offspring to hatch. The proposal is being touted as “more humane” because young male chicks from laying hens are currently slaughtered in the egg and chicken meat industries—being unsuitable for either industry. Dr. Michael Antoniou and […]

CDC finds toxic weedkiller glyphosate in 87% of children tested

About 87% of 650 children tested had detectable levels of the ubiquitous and toxic herbicide glyphosate in their urine, according to a new analysis by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Food is the main route of exposure to glyphosate for the children, aged 18 and under, according to CDC researchers. Glyphosate is the active […]

Did Sri Lanka’s transition to organic farming cause political crisis?

With the Sri Lankan president forced to resign and the country in economic shambles, did a sudden ban on chemical fertilizers play a role? Although right-wing herbicide proponents claim it did, David LaBorde of the International Food Policy Research Institute sees it otherwise. He noted that while Rajapaksa’s abrupt ban on chemical fertilizers did jolt […]