Use of antibiotics in animal production is leading to clustering of antibiotic-resistant genes says a US research team. [node:read-more:link]

The issue of antibiotic resistance is very real and very serious.  By their nature, bacteria, when their existence is challenged, mutate to resist the challenge.  Antibiotics when used in human medicine or in agriculture present such a bacterial challenge so overuse in either sector leads to an increase in bacterial resistance and can render routine antimicrobial treatments ineffective. [node:read-more:link]

As much as 90% of Florida’s citrus acres are infected with the citrus greening disease. According to a report from the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences,  citrus greening, also known as HLB and huanglongbing, has also infected 80% of Florida’s citrus trees.The survey, conducted in March 2015, represents the first grower-based estimates of the level of infection in Florida and the effect it is having on the state’s citrus operations. [node:read-more:link]

When faced with the question of continuing to allow the planting of genetically engineered seed on open space agricultural land, there was an evidence-based path available to the commissioners. The county staff had gathered local data on the sustainability impacts of various cropping systems, presented to the commissioners as a white paper. [node:read-more:link]

Food manufacturers should be aware that private litigants may also enforce Act 120 (as it is codified in a part of the Vermont code that has a private right of action), and would likely exercise less restraint than the state AG in the first few months, predicted Hahn.

“There is a bounty hunter provision that allows individuals in the state of Vermont, lawyers for example… to enforce the law. We are concerned that bounty hunters will take action as soon as Act 120 goes into effect. [node:read-more:link]

There is nothing inherently different about food from GMO crops than food from conventional crops. Just the fact that a crop has been genetically modified does not make it more allergenic. [node:read-more:link]

For the first time, a food product created using CRISPR – could be on track to be sold and eaten. And it might be the first of many.  Few scientific issues are more divisive than the regulation and labeling of genetically modified organisms, otherwise known as GMOs. A new fungus shows just how murky our understanding of the technology – and our policy surrounding it – remains. Last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) confirmed that it will not regulate the cultivation and sale of a white-button mushroom created using CRISPR. [node:read-more:link]

The U.S. government is hoping an expert panel will be the next best thing to a crystal ball in helping predict what the future of biotechnology holds. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NAS) in Washington, D.C., yesterday held the first public meeting of a new committee of academic and industry researchers, tasked with forecasting what biotechnologies will emerge in the next 5 to 10 years, and what new types of risk they might pose to the environment or human health. [node:read-more:link]

New Jersey farmland law lets presidential candidate save tens of thousands in property taxes on golf courses [node:read-more:link]

A federal judge approved the creation of what is expected to become the largest U.S. philanthropy serving Native American farmers and ranchers, redistributing $380 million left unclaimed in a landmark 2010 civil rights settlement in which the U.S. government agreed to pay for years of official discrimination.  Most of the $680 million in the 2010 settlement went unspent after far fewer people than expected brought successful claims. Instead of the 10,000 anticipated, only about 3,600 applicants were paid. [node:read-more:link]