Biotech News

Eggplant farmers suffer significant yield losses at 51-73% annually due to the eggplant fruit and shoot borer (FSB). To address this problem, many eggplant farmers in major eggplant producing areas in the Philippines and Bangladesh spray chemical insecticides every other day, or up to 80 times per growing season. The practice is unacceptable and unhealthy…

This article or excerpt is included in the GLP’s daily curated selection of ideologically diverse news, opinion and analysis of biotechnology innovation. Scientists from Alagappa University in India conducted a study to analyze the performance of insect resistant Bt cotton in rainfed areas. The results are published in Agricultural Economics Research Review 2020. Bt cotton is the only genetically engineered crop approved for…

This article or excerpt is included in the GLP’s daily curated selection of ideologically diverse news, opinion and analysis of biotechnology innovation. Gene-editing experts claim that the technology has the potential to make some foods more nutritious without increasing costs and can also reduce food waste. Unlike GMOs, which involve crossing species that would not…

For the last 22 years, biotech crops have been planted and adopted by 70 countries. In 2018, 470,500 Filipino farmers planted 630,000 hectares of biotech corn, attesting to the benefits that biotech crops continue to offer: yield increases, higher income, peace of mind, and improved quality of life. As more Filipino farmers embrace the technology,…

As Europe is getting through this deep discussion, one could say the UK is enjoying one of the post-Brexit “advantages”: speed up decision making adjusted to science. This article is part of our special report Innovation in agriculture: Europe at crossroads. While the EU considers the potential role of new innovative techniques to protect harvests…

This article or excerpt is included in the GLP’s daily curated selection of ideologically diverse news, opinion and analysis of biotechnology innovation. Previous field studies have reached no collective consensus on whether Bt corn, the most commonly planted transgenic crop worldwide, has significantly lower aflatoxin levels than non-Bt isolines. Aflatoxin, a mycotoxin contaminating corn and…

Towards the end of last year, Kenya approved commercial farming of Bt Cotton, a genetically modified (GM) cotton variety, making it the first biotech crop to be planted in the country after years of research and emotive debates. Adoption of genetically engineered crops initially drew contentious debates in the country, with biotech critics strongly questioning…

This was written by Daren Coppock, CEO and President of the Agricultural Retailers Association Almost two weeks ago, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals handed down a decision that vacated the registrations for three dicamba-based herbicides labeled for over-the-top (OTT) application to soybeans and cotton. The precedent set by the Court’s decision is troubling on…

Bob Hemesath has used GMO products on his farm near Decorah in Northeast Iowa for close to 20 years. “GMO products have been an integral part of our farm operation,” he says. “We use them on just about all our acres … They have enabled us to use practices like no-till and minimum-till and cover…

This article or excerpt is included in the GLP’s daily curated selection of ideologically diverse news, opinion and analysis of biotechnology innovation. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue [May 14] announced a final rule updating and modernizing the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) biotechnology regulations under the Plant Protection Act. The Sustainable, Ecological, Consistent, Uniform,…