(Editor’s note: This is the sixth installment in our seven-part in-depth editorial series where we look ahead at “Farm & Food 2040.” This story focuses on the expanding use of marketing and product differentiation available through food labels and how consumers digest that buffet of information.)

New disclosure requirements finalized by USDA for biotech foods will exempt products with inadvertent amounts of genetically ingredients as well as vegetable oils, sugar and other foods where the DNA of genetically engineered crops can’t be detected.

USDA, EPA and the Interior Department could all shut down at the end of this week unless lawmakers can reach a deal on President Trump’s funding demands for the border wall.

The European Union Court of Justice’s recent decision that new gene-editing techniques must go through the same lengthy approval process as traditional transgenic genetically modified plants has sent shock waves around the world and its greatest impact will be on those who are hungry and food insecure.

While all eyes in the agriculture community are on the farm bill, there is a lot of regulatory activity underway. 

USDA’s Sid Abel and Doug McKalip just briefed me on the new regulatory framework that is shaping up for the oversight of plants modified by what they are now calling “plant breeding innovations.” 

In a victory for environmental activists, Europe’s highest court said today that crops created by gene editing should fall under laws restricting the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

The public’s attitude toward genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in food is difficult to define, as illustrated by the results of two surveys released today. One found that GMO labels in Vermont lessened consumer fears, while another found that half the American public had human health concerns when shown a bottle of cooking oil with a “BE” label.