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NEWS ABOUT: genetically modified crops

Woman Sues Frito-Lay Over 'All Natural' Claims

Tostitos, Sun Chips made with genetically modified oil: suit

(Newser) - Almost exactly one year ago, your helpful Newser editors informed you that Frito-Lay had big plans for 2011: to make 50% of its line from "all-natural" ingredients. And according to one California woman, that effort has been a big fail. Julie Gengo has filed a class-action lawsuit against Frito-Lay,... More »

Protein Made From Rice Can Cure Disease

HSA can also treat burns and traumatic shock

(Newser) - Scientists in China say they've extracted a protein from rice that can treat liver disease, burns, and traumatic shock. The breakthrough could lead to increased production of the protein, called HSA, which is "physically and chemically equivalent" to the HSA found in human blood and has been in... More »

Uh-Oh: Bugs Develop Resistance to Franken-Corn

Genetically modified crop no longer fends off all pests

(Newser) - Farmers in Iowa who planted corn seeds genetically modified to fend off the dreaded corn rootworm are seeing a troubling sign: The rootworm is apparently developing a resistance to the Monsanto seeds and gobbling up cornfields again, say Iowa University researchers. It's still just a small percentage of rootworms... More »

Eco-Terrorism? Hawaii Vandals Hit Modified Papayas

Farmers suspect opponents of genetically altered crops

(Newser) - Hawaii papaya growers think they're the victim of eco-terrorism. Vandals cut down thousands of papaya trees, and farmers suspect that opponents of genetically modified crops are to blame, reports the AP via the Sydney Morning Herald . Most of the papayas grown on the Big Island are modified to protect... More »

Genetically Engineered Crops Cover 10% of Farmland

Up from, well, zero about 15 years ago

(Newser) - The amount of land being used to grow genetically modified crops ballooned 10% last year, as countries like Brazil and Argentina got in on the game. A full 10% of the world’s farmland now grows these so-called “biotech crops,” which were essentially non-existent 15 years ago, USA ... More »

FDA Makes Us 'Guinea Pigs' With Frankenfood

Mark Bittman: Feds don't think we need labels for genetically engineered food

(Newser) - Had anything to eat today? Congratulations, you're a "guinea pig" in the brave new world of genetically modified food, writes Mark Bittman. What's more, you've got no say in the matter. Lots of our food products already contain GMOs (genetically modified organisms) and more are on the way, but... More »

Farmers Sour on Genetically Modified Seeds

But 86% of America's farm acres are planted with biotech crops

(Newser) - Genetically-modified crops are pervasive—last year 86% of America's farm acres were planted with biotech crops—but some farmers are beginning to sour on the technology. They say that the advantages are not worth the soaring prices charged by seed giants like Monsanto: The cost of corn seed jumped 32%... More »

Monsanto Contracts Strangle Competition: Report

Licenses forbid mixing Monsanto genes with competitors'

(Newser) - Monsanto, the country’s dominant seed business, is squeezing competitors with stringent licensing agreements that protect its incredibly dominant position in the industry. Monsanto’s licenses prevent companies from breeding plants that contain both Monsanto’s genes and those of competitors, an AP investigation reveals, effectively locking competitors out of... More »

Genetically Altered Yeast Ends Wine Hangovers

But remedy doesn't sit well with purists

(Newser) - A Canadian scientist has found a genetically modified hangover cure. He distributes an altered yeast, MLo1—which eliminates compounds that cause headaches in red and many white wines—to 40 winemakers in the US and Canada. But some vintners and winos are resisting the genetic alteration of their craft, which... More »

Want to Save the Planet? Stop Dumping on Frankenfood

Genetically modified products fight pollution

(Newser) - It's time for greenies to take another look at the frankenfoods they've been campaigning against. Consider the enviropig. It’s a pig with an extra gene that means less phosphorous in manure runoff, and it’s just one example of how genetic modification in agriculture can be good for the... More »

Science Supersizes Thanksgiving

Our fare is not the same as the pilgrims'

(Newser) - Thanksgiving food has undergone massive genetic changes in the centuries since the Pilgrims first prepared the feast, resulting in turkeys more than twice as big and corn six times as sweet. But human taste buds have evolved, too, meaning we don’t necessarily appreciate our new and improved fare any... More »

Gene Tweak Could Grow Crops in Toxic Soil

(Newser) - Scientists have made a breakthrough that could dramatically boost the world's food production by making more land farmable, Wired reports. A slight change to a single gene allows plants to thrive in earth made toxic by aluminum, which currently renders nearly half of the world's soil useless for growing crops.... More »

Anti-'Frankenfood' Activists Should Modify Stance

Opposition to genetically souped-up crops has run its course

(Newser) - The recent destruction of a research crop of genetically modified potatoes in England highlights how attitudes towards altered crops have changed, the Economist writes. A decade ago, Greenpeace activists caught in the act of destroying food crops were acquitted because of popular fear of the consequences of “Frankenfoods.”... More »

Gene Discovery Holds Hope for Drought-Safe Crops

Scientists make botanical breakthrough

(Newser) - Scientists have discovered a gene that controls how plants absorb carbon dioxide and release moisture in a breakthrough discovery that could help develop drought-resistant crops, reports the BBC. The gene that regulates the work of stomata, or pores on plant leaves, has been sought by biologists for decades. The gene... More »

Pharmaceutical Farming Generates Hopes and Fears

Benefits weighed against risk of food-supply contamination

(Newser) - The battle over genetic modification has a new player: "pharming," or pharmaceutical farming, which uses genetically modified plants to mass-produce drug compounds relatively inexpensively. By altering common plants—for instance, tobacco, which can be engineered to produce an HIV drug—researchers say pharming could transform the treatment of... More »

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