Posts by biotech_admin
5x increase in rice yields? New CRISPR-created variety could help fight fungal pandemic decimating world’s rice crop
Thanks to CRISPR, farmers may finally have a good defense against rice blast, a fungal disease so devastating, it’s known as the “cancer of rice.” The challenge Rice provides more than 20% of the world’s calories, but every year, rice blast wipes out 10-30% of the world’s rice crops, making it a major threat to both global food security…
Read MoreFarmers Tipped To Adopt BT Maize For Higher Yields
State actors at the County and National levels have been challenged to engage Extension Services personnel to sensitise Farmers to adopt the tested and tried BT maize to improve production. Bacillus Thuringiensis (BT) is a species of bacteria that produces proteins that are toxic to certain insects. Because of this, it has been used as…
Read MoreWe need another source of omega-3 supplements for food and animal feed. Enriched genetically modified rapeseed could fill the gap
In March this year, Norway’s Food Safety Authority became the latest country to conclude that using Omega-3 enriched GM rapeseed oil in aquaculture feed poses no additional health or environmental risks.In March this year, Norway’s Food Safety Authority became the latest country to conclude that using Omega-3 enriched GM rapeseed oil in aquaculture feed poses…
Read More‘CRISPR’ crops more resilient in climate crisis
The ongoing scorching summer is pushing up global food prices, once again putting the food security in spotlight. And CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) crops could be part of the needed response, assuming governments allow them to be grown. In the 1990s, when a novel transgenic method for improving crops was commercially…
Read MoreNearly all soy and corn exporters plant genetically modified seeds. Why, so far, is there a dearth of GM wheat?
Nearly all corn and soybean acres in the world’s largest exporting countries are seeded with genetically modified varieties, but that is not the case for wheat, a crop grown primarily for human food. Biotech varieties of corn and soy, used for animal feed, biofuels and ingredients like cooking oil, were introduced in 1996 and soon…
Read MoreGive farmers a chance: Pro-GMO activists march through Nairobi and Kampala calling for the adoption of improved seeds
GMO activists marched through Nairobi in Kenya and Kampala in Uganda on February 10 and 15, 2023, calling for the adoption of improved seeds. They carried placards with pro-GMO slogans such as Genetically Modified Crops are Safe and Nutritious and Yes to Food Security. This was in response to a petition filed at the East African Court of Justice in…
Read MoreViewpoint: Global crop biotechnology revolution — 2022 saw dramatic advances in agricultural innovation
Conquest, war, famine, and death: Looking back on 2022 as the COVID-19 plague roars into its fourth year, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse have all been well exercised. But though there was much to be dismayed about, all was not gloomy, and there were indicators of an important sea change. In the past year, after decades of unwarranted delay, Golden…
Read MoreUsing cost-benefit analysis: Crop biotechnology offers sizable yield and sustainability benefits when compared to non-GM farming
What are the costs of not adopting the best food producing technologies? The ability to quantify a choice that is not made is not an easy thing to do, especially when the choices are government decisions that are not made. For many policy decisions, a cost-benefit analysis is performed to compare and sum the benefits to the…
Read MoreGenetically Modified Houseplant Pothos to Reduce Indoor Air Pollution
Neoplants, a Paris-based startup, has genetically engineered both a pothos (Epipremnum aureum) plant and its associated root microbiome. The houseplant called Neo P1 is capable of purifying the air as effectively as 30 houseplants, according to Neoplants. The air that circulates in most homes is up to 5 times more polluted than outdoor air due…
Read MorePumplin: Public and industry response to purple tomatoes are questions waiting for answer
The Packer’s Tom Karst visited in August with Nathan Pumplin, president of Norfolk Healthy Produce, about his company’s work on a genetically modified purple tomato. The USDA recently released its response to the agency review of the purple tomato and determined that it may be safely grown and used in breeding in the United States.…
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