(U.S. Food and Drug Administration) The U.S Food and Drug Administration is announcing public meetings to be held in Charlotte, North Carolina, and San Francisco, California, regarding its Agricultural Biotechnology Education and Outreach Initiative. Congress appropriated …

(European Environment Agency)  Only a decade ago, biofuel production from plants was hailed as an ecological alternative to fossil fuels. Recently, it has come to be seen as competing with food production and not always …

by Liz Gyekye  (Bioenergy Insight)  The “first” pan-African expert network on food and non-food biomass has been launched by African and German researchers.
BiomassNet aims to ensure that food security and environmental sustainability are not compromised …

(International Renewable Energy Agency) Southeast Asia has considerable resources to produce liquid biofuels sustainably, using biomass feedstocks that would not cause carbon-dioxide emissions or interfere with food supply. Fulfilling the region’s biofuel potential would depend on …

by Mark Sponsler (Colorado Corn/Journal-Advocate)  … Oxygenating gasoline is required under Clean Air Act amendments, and ethanol — with its clean-burning qualities — has long been regarded as the best additive for that. For years, adding …

(The Rakyat Post)  Bangladesh plans to begin turning some of the grain it produces into ethanol to make its fuel greener – but economists and experts warn the move could hurt food security in a …

by Patrick Anderson (Argus Leader)  President Donald Trump has never tweeted about ethanol.  In the course of tens of thousands of posts on his social media platform of choice, the president has posted about oil …

(European Parliament/Biomass Magazine)  To counter the impact of unsustainable palm oil production such as deforestation and habitat degradation, particularly in Southeast Asia, the EU should introduce a single certification scheme for palm oil entering the …

(PR Newswire)  Coalition of 12 organizations set to launch FurtherWithFood.org, an online hub for information and solutions to cut food waste  —  Today, The Rockefeller Foundation announced its collaboration with the U.S. Department of Agriculture …

by Robin Booker (The Western Producer)  There are many innovative products and services available to Canadian crop producers that could help improve sustainability. However, the global food sector is struggling to find ways to reward growers …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  This week, in Washington and Brussels, four news flashes on global renewable fuel volumes appeared on the radar. Can you safely ignore them and get on with other work, or is …

(Biofuels International)  The Islamabad Chamber of Small Traders (ICST) has called for a worldwide ban on biofuels production, claiming that it contributes to world food shortages.
Using crops to produce fuel in a bid to reduce …

(Biofuels International)  Global Green Chemicals, a Thai oleochemicals company, has announced plans to increase its biodiesel production capacity by setting up a second methyl-ester plant in Chon Buri province, located in the southeast of Bangkok.
GCC …

by Phil Cleary (Christianson & Associates/Biofuels Digest)  The Food Safety Modernization Act covers the operation of a facility that manufactures, processes, packs, or holds animal food for sale in the United States.
Renewable fuels facilities producing feed …

by Orlando Milesi (Inter Press Service)  Seaweed, a nutrient-rich foodstuff that was a regular part of the diet of several South American indigenous peoples, is emerging as a new pillar of food security in Latin America …

by Kelly Marshall (Precision.AgWired.com)  This morning three Nobel Laureates presented at the National Press Club in Washington D.C. to call on Greenpeace, the United Nations and governments around the world to support GMOs. They are …

by Pallab Ghosh (BBC)  The ban on GM crops by European countries should be reassessed, the president of UK science body the Royal Society says.  —  Prof Venki Ramakrishnan said the science of genetic modification had …

(National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine)  Distinction Between Genetic Engineering and Conventional Plant Breeding Becoming Less Clear, Says New Report on GE Crops  —  An extensive study by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, …

by Kelly Marshall (Precision Ag Wired)  The National Academy of Sciences has released (yet another) reportreaffirming the safety and benefits of GMO crops.  Not surprisingly this report has lead to a flurry of reactions across multiple …

by Karen Batra (Biotech Now)  As the House Committee on Appropriations marks up the FY2017 agriculture spending bill, the Committee is considering $3 million for consumer education and outreach to “promote understanding and acceptance of” biotechnology, …

by Kurt A. Rosentrator (Distillers Grains Technology Council/Ethanol Producer Magazine)  Altered, novel products may require new AAFCO definitions, GRAS affirmations.  —  … During the past two years, we have reviewed and commented on two key rulings in …

by Niu Shuping and David Stanway (Reuters/AgWeek)  China’s plan to let the market set corn prices is bad news for international grain exporters, but should boost the country’s struggling corn processors that use the grain …

by Ron Kotrba (Biodiesel Magazine)  If your glycerin or free fatty acids may find their way into the food or feed supply, you must comply with the daunting Food Safety Modernization Act  —  … Moreover, if …

by Annie-Rose Harrison-Dunn (News Locker)  Voluntary measures and government targets are great – but it is legislation that will push European palm oil users to true sustainability. The food sector could learn a lesson or two …

by Stephan Piotrowski, Michael Carus and Roland Essel (nova-Institut /Biofuels Digest) How much biomass can be sustainably produced globally by 2050? How much of the demand for food, feed, materials, bioenergy and biofuels can be met …

(Global Renewable Fuels Alliance)  The UN FAO has released data showing that global food prices have experience the steepest monthly drop since 2008, casting doubt upon concerns about the impact of ethanol production in food …

by  Susanne Retka Schill (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  Meeting a court directed deadline, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration submitted the final rule for the Food Safety Modernization Act for publication at the end of August, releasing …

by Coral Didion (Renewable Fuels Association)   Food versus fuel is the misconception that we are diverting farmland and crops toward biofuel production to the detriment of the food supply.
Didion Milling, which has been in business …

by Jose Graziano da Silva (United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization/Project Syndicate) … But this is a false dichotomy. The choice cannot be between food and fuel. We can make good use of both. Given the right conditions, biofuels …

by Joanne Ivancic (Advanced Biofuels USA)  The following are key excerpts from Pope Francis’ Encyclical, “Laudato Si,” or “Praised Be,” in which he calls for renewable fuel use, energy efficiency, transition from harmful, smoky cooking fuels …

by Susanne Retka Schill (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  Consumer-driven changes peck their way up the food chain to distillers grains producers. …  The move to minimize or eliminate nontherapeutic use of antibiotics in meat production is …

(World Bank) Getting to zero net emissions and stabilizing climate change starts with planning for the long-term future and not stopping at short-term goals. It means getting prices right as part of a broad policy package …

by Mark Lynas (The New York Times)    … As we squatted in the muddy field, examining the lush green foliage and shiny purple fruits, he explained how, for the first time this season, he had been able …

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Last week there was  a Fast Food industry fly-in to DC — arguing for a repeal of the Renewable Fuel Standard on the grounds of food price impact. …  It just …

by Fiona Harvey (The Guardian)  We can fly, drive and prosper while avoiding dangerous global warming – but only if billions remain in poverty and huge changes are made in areas such as energy and …

(WebWire)  To aid U.S. policymakers and other stakeholders who make decisions about the nation’s food system, a new report from the Institute of Medicine and National Research Council offers a framework for assessing the health, …

(Ethanol Producer Magazine/Renewable Fuels Association)  The Renewable Fuels Association has submitted comments to the Food and Drug Administration last on its supplemental rulemaking proposal outlining best practices for the regulation of animal food under the Food Safety …

by Andrew Anderson (Faegre Baker Daniels/Ethanol Producer Magazine)   Although several new requirements in the FSMA may impact ethanol plants, writes Andrew Anderson of Faegre Baker Daniels, the preventative control rule is likely the one that …

by Tamar Haspel (The Washington Post)   … I’m guessing you’d agree that the public debate about GMOs isn’t playing out in a constructive way. Both sides have dug trenches, and they’re lobbing grenades over the …

by Katie Fletcher (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  A popular breakout session at the 2014 American Coalition for Ethanol conference discussed the potential impacts the Food and Drug Administration’s Food Safety Modernization Act may have on plant …

by Susanne Retka Schill (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  … In mid-April, Sen. Mike Johanns (R-Neb.) wrote to the FDA commissioner, urging the agency exempt raw agricultural commodities, distillers grains and other byproducts.  In the letter, Johanns wrote, …