AGW Blog

News is breaking that FDA researchers have found (through a re-examination) that genetically modified (GM) cattle contained unnatural DNA, despite the developer’s claims to the contrary. Upon previous examination of the result of the gene-editing procedure in animals, researchers did not detect any unexpected alterations, such as insertions or deletions of DNA. But in a recently published paper, in a study of the DNA of two genetically dehorned calves, the FDA found that the calves’ genomes did contain unintended DNA alterations. The…

A Greener World’s Online Directory is visited by thousands of people each year who are looking to purchase high-welfare, sustainably produced food. The searchable online directory includes farms, restaurants and retailers selling Certified Animal Welfare Approved by AGW, Certified Grassfed by AGW and Certified Non-GMO by AGW meat, dairy, eggs and fiber products—along with handmade beauty products and even delicious candies and treats. If you’re one of the many shoppers interested in finding verified, sustainable products across North America, you’re…

A good product label is essential for any successful marketing strategy. Yet many farmers who sell directly to the public make the mistake of assuming a unique, stylized label is somehow irrelevant—or that it’s all too expensive, time consuming and bureaucratic. Yet every farmer who sells directly to the public is still very much part of a bigger and ever-changing labeling landscape. Remember: shoppers who visit farmers’ markets or farm stores will inevitably also visit the bigger grocery stores or…

Methane emissions from the industrial sector have been vastly underestimated, according to new research from Cornell University and the Environmental Defense Fund. Published in Elementa, researchers equipped a Google Street View car with a high-precision methane sensor and discovered that total annual methane emissions from ammonia fertilizer plants were 28 gigagrams—over 100 times higher than the fertilizer industry’s self-reported estimate of 0.2 gigagrams per year. In addition, the measured emissions alone far exceed the EPA’s estimate for all industrial processes…

What is a sustainable feeding strategy for cattle? Like any aspect of sustainable management or production, a sustainable feeding strategy for ruminants such as cattle comprises a number of core principles. First, a sustainable diet must meet the animals’ nutritional requirements at all stages of their development. It should ensure optimum animal health and high-quality production, rather than solely maximizing production or growth rate. Second, a sustainable feeding regime should use feeds to formulate diets that meet the proper physiological…