iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Dan Blaustein-Rejto @danbr.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Outrageous results often indicate outrageous methods. (And no, living near a Costco doesnt cause cancer) www.breakthroughjournal.org/p/things-tha...

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Dan Blaustein-Rejto @danbr.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Mosquitos & ticks are a policy choice after all. Lets hope this executive order jumpstarts regulators to approve emerging biotech solutions & expand research, especially on ticks. buff.ly/POOJESr

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Dan Blaustein-Rejto @danbr.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

How maddening. For over 15 years, we've have had the ability to prevent thousands of Dengue cases in the U.S. and millions of mosquito bites. But the technology has been stuck with federal regulators. buff.ly/sAHV4mn

Timeline showing Oxitec's regulatory submissions starting in 2010, with field releases not permitted in 2026.

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Dan Blaustein-Rejto @danbr.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

The Domino's Pizza Tracker truly is everywhere. Though it may have met its match: not too helpful when processing can take several weeks

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Dan Blaustein-Rejto @danbr.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Want emergency relief from high diesel prices? Lift the federal biofuel mandate. EPA estimates the mandate adds about 20¢/gallon to diesel prices. That could provide larger relief than expanding access to tax-exempt dyed diesel or limiting exports.

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Dan Blaustein-Rejto @danbr.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

About 1 in 200 adults are involved in cattle ranching, feedlots or beef processing (with many also having another occupation). All the others stand to gain from reducing beef prices, whether that's through cutting import tariffs or expanding domestic production.

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Dan Blaustein-Rejto @danbr.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

The genetically engineered "Novofly" screwworm is the highest profile case, designed to be male-only so there are more sterile males to mess with females. But there's a whole host of federally supported R&D efforts targeting other pests, perhaps even ticks one day.

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Dan Blaustein-Rejto @danbr.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

Thank your farmer AND your agricultural scientist Each new screwworm case reminds me how USDA researchers developed the sterile insect technique that once eradicated the pest. Now they’ve developing genetically engineered male-only flies to improve upon the approach. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/08/s...

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Dan Blaustein-Rejto @danbr.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

More bad news on gas prices: California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard is adding about 20¢/gallon, new data shows, its highest impact yet. The program pushes refiners toward more biofuels, but at a growing cost to drivers and w/ limited environmental benefit. www.breakthroughjournal.org/p/paying-ext...

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Dan Blaustein-Rejto @danbr.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

Really sophisticated discourse on cultivated meat going on right now.

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Dan Blaustein-Rejto @danbr.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

The US has neglected agricultural R&D for decades. Government funding is down about 1/3 from its early-2000s peak and only half goes toward making farms more productive, finds this new report. That means less innovation to keep food affordable and farmers resilient. www.aei.org/research-pro...

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Dan Blaustein-Rejto @danbr.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

Brazil just approved growing a gene-edited banana that browns less when sliced. That brings it one step closer to grocery shelves. The developer, Tropic, says it plans a U.S. launch this year, potentially making it the first gene-edited food widely available.

Photo of a regular banana browning next to a non-browning one. Source: https://tropic.bio/best-inventions-2025/

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Dan Blaustein-Rejto @danbr.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

California’s eye-popping gas prices are only made worse by the Low Carbon Fuel Standard. The program adds about 17c/gallon. Worse, much of that money is going to biofuels that would have been produced anyway under the federal Renewable Fuel Standard. www.breakthroughjournal.org/p/paying-ext...

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Dan Blaustein-Rejto @danbr.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

Its not all freeze-dried ice cream and aluminum tubes of food anymore. But space travel still showcases and drives some major food innovation. NASA even funded some of the first research on cultivated meat

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Dan Blaustein-Rejto @danbr.bsky.social · 27/03/2026

EPA just announced its highest-ever renewable fuel mandate. Renewable fuels already use more than 1/3 of U.S. corn and soybean oil. Pushing that even higher will put more pressure on food & fuel prices at a time when many families are already stretched thin. thebreakthrough.org/press/releas...

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Dan Blaustein-Rejto @danbr.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

Glyphosate also has enabled farmers to till their fields less, cutting soil runoff into waterways and fuel use (and GHG emissions) from tractor passes. This also leaves more crop residues on fields for wildlife and improves air quality.

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Dan Blaustein-Rejto @danbr.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

While it accounts for a largest share of herbicide use, glyphosate accounts for a far smaller share of the hazard posed to mammals and many other species.

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Dan Blaustein-Rejto @danbr.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

Glyphosate is the most widely used herbicide, with over 250 million pounds sprayed on U.S. crops annually. So its important to scrutinize it closely and compare its impact to the alternative options farmers have.

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Dan Blaustein-Rejto @danbr.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

The Surgeon General nominee may be concerned, but you shouldn't be. Glyphosate isn't faultless, but its one of the most studied pesticides and deemed not to pose a health concern by regulators in the US, Europe, Canada and other countries.

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Dan Blaustein-Rejto @danbr.bsky.social · 28/01/2026

USDA approved most biotechnology crops 2x faster last year than before, even though a court ruling in favor of anti-GMO groups had forced the agency to change its regulations, shows this new analysis from @TheBTI. thebreakthrough.org/issues/food-...

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Dan Blaustein-Rejto @danbr.bsky.social · 14/01/2026

While some grazed land is arid, much is not & could store more carbon if not grazed. Our research shows that the large land footprint of grass-fed beef means it has an even bigger carbon footprint than typically thought. It also means improving productivity has big benefits. t.co/51DzPkAypR

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Dan Blaustein-Rejto @danbr.bsky.social · 14/01/2026

No. Grass-fed beef actually has a larger carbon footprint than conventional beef. Not only do grass-fed cattle emit more methane, but they also use more land, which has a big climate cost. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/12/c...

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Dan Blaustein-Rejto @danbr.bsky.social · 09/01/2026

If California wants to fix its frankly scandalous record on the LCFS it needs to take a VERY hard look at the program. To start, it should make sure we don’t end up forcing Californians to pay for crop-based SAF, which has all the same problems we previously detailed:

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Dan Blaustein-Rejto @danbr.bsky.social · 09/01/2026

Why does GTAP produce such low carbon intensities? It’s rather Orwellian. The model simply does not allow producers to convert unmanaged forest (something that happens all the time in the real world).

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Dan Blaustein-Rejto @danbr.bsky.social · 09/01/2026

Surprising no one, empirical studies now coming out find land use change effects orders of magnitude higher than the ex-ante estimates produced by GTAP. Biofuel subsidies are indeed spurring significant deforestation and land conversion in the US and around the world.

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Dan Blaustein-Rejto @danbr.bsky.social · 09/01/2026

Today, we tell the infuriating story of California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard, a program that was supposed to decarbonize transportation but ended up forcing CA drivers to pay 18 billion dollars for biofuels that are worse for the climate than fossil fuels. My coauthor Lauren's excellent X thread:

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Dan Blaustein-Rejto @danbr.bsky.social · 24/12/2025

Exactly. The Guardian authors created that graph. The original results in the paper report percent change in yield "relative to counterfactual yields", not change in yield from today. They dont report predictions of actual yields, but note innovation will likely keep raising yields

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Dan Blaustein-Rejto @danbr.bsky.social · 26/11/2025

Grassley: RFK better not listen to Calley Means and criticize pesticides! RFK: Please. I’m just making his sister, Casey Means, America’s top public health messenger.

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Dan Blaustein-Rejto @danbr.bsky.social · 18/11/2025

Billions of dollars go to agricultural innovation & development, but too few solutions ever reach the farmers who need them. Our new report outlines how AIM for Scale could change that, identifying cost-effective innovations and convening orgs to scale them up. thebreakthrough.org/issues/food-...

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Dan Blaustein-Rejto @danbr.bsky.social · 20/10/2025

Cutting food tariffs in general, however, is still good. Food prices have been up since Trump levied additional tariffs. But it shouldn't be one-sided. The U.S. should continue to pair tariff reductions with opening new markets for its own farmers.

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Dan Blaustein-Rejto @danbr.bsky.social · 20/10/2025

Importing more Argentinian beef won’t change much—current imports are about equal to *a single day* of U.S. beef consumption.

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Dan Blaustein-Rejto @danbr.bsky.social · 17/10/2025

China may have stopped buying U.S. soy but Congress and the White House are finding ways to use more of it for biofuel, at taxpayers' and drivers' expense. My latest for @thebti.bsky.social: www.breakthroughjournal.org/p/burning-th...

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Dan Blaustein-Rejto @danbr.bsky.social · 09/10/2025

New evidence that tariffs have increased prices of many foods, especially coffee. www.library.hbs.edu/working-know...

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Dan Blaustein-Rejto @danbr.bsky.social · 01/10/2025

U.S. agricultural productivity has nearly flatlined, a new report shows, going from 2% annual growth in the 1980s to just 0.28%. That slowdown adds pressure on farmers, food prices, and environmental sustainability. 🧵 t.co/gpROxZL1B6

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Dan Blaustein-Rejto @danbr.bsky.social · 26/09/2025

Converting half of cropland to organic, as many in the MAHA movement wish to see, would require over 30 million more acres—nearly Iowa’s size. New analysis shows how MAHA's vision for farming would raise costs, environmental impacts, and even health risks. t.co/sMrcoT2B82

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Dan Blaustein-Rejto @danbr.bsky.social · 18/08/2025

The leaked MAHA report nods at how precision farming can cut pesticide use. But it ignores one of the biggest opportunities: biotechnology. With research + regulatory reform, biotech crops (like Bt corn) could need far fewer pesticides. agfundernews.com/leaked-maha-...

Chart showing declining insecticide application rates as adoption of Bt corn and peppers increases. Figure 3-D from Dively, G. P., Venugopal, P. D., Bean, D., Whalen, J., Holmstrom, K., Kuhar, T. P., ... & Hutchison, W. D. (2018). Regional pest suppression associated with widespread Bt maize adoption benefits vegetable growers. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 115(13), 3320-3325.

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Dan Blaustein-Rejto @danbr.bsky.social · 15/08/2025

New MAHA report says to back research on technologies to help farmers reduce pesticide use, NYTimes reports. It's a great idea. Advances in precision ag, biopesticides & GMOs can cut pesticide use. But Trump & Congress need to stand behind agriculture R&D to make that happen, not cut its funding.

AAAS figure showing proposed cuts to USDA research agencies from Trump budget and a mix of proposed cuts and increases from Congress.

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Dan Blaustein-Rejto @danbr.bsky.social · 13/08/2025

High corn & soy yields have been making headlines. But what isn't reported is that U.S. agricultural productivity is actually *slowing*. Our new roadmap outlines how to get back on course. 🧵

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Dan Blaustein-Rejto @danbr.bsky.social · 13/08/2025

The U.S. is falling behind in agricultural innovation, spending half as much as China on R&D. The result: slowing productivity growth and a record farm trade deficit. Our new roadmap shows how America can innovate to lead in agriculture again. 🔗 buff.ly/1FOtkRl

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Dan Blaustein-Rejto @danbr.bsky.social · 10/07/2025

How can we fix our food system and stop "eating the earth"? RSVP for this deep dive webinar July 30, hosted by @thebti.bsky.social with @mikegrunwald.bsky.social, @farmfuture.bsky.social and @jennysplitter.bsky.social: t.co/CobCxQF8l4

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Dan Blaustein-Rejto @danbr.bsky.social · 20/06/2025

As we've written, technology has historically continued increasing global crop yields even in the face of climate change. Wheat yields have increased 218% since 1961, relative to a hypothetical 235% w/o climate change. thebreakthrough.org/issues/food-...

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Dan Blaustein-Rejto @danbr.bsky.social · 20/06/2025

So many misleading headlines. The new Nature paper doesn't predict that crop yields will *fall*. It finds that climate change will slow growth in yields, but that thanks to innovation and other factors, yields will "probably" continue rising above today's levels. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

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Dan Blaustein-Rejto @danbr.bsky.social · 18/06/2025

Many think that eating local helps the climate. But exporting more U.S. beef, especially to China, could cut global emissions by millions of tons. Why? American beef has a far lower carbon footprint than beef from Brazil and other major exporters. www.breakthroughjournal.org/p/how-trump-...

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Dan Blaustein-Rejto @danbr.bsky.social · 12/06/2025

Gas in California is about $1.50 more expensive than in the rest of the US. Ending the Low Carbon Fuel Standard, while not a panacea, would help and also reduce support for environmentally dubious biofuels like soy-based renewable diesel. www.breakthroughjournal.org/p/how-califo...

Graph showing how the price of California gas compares to the average national price and how much of that premium is caused by gas taxes and environmental programs.

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Dan Blaustein-Rejto @danbr.bsky.social · 31/05/2025

White House budget is out. Here's USDA's. Among the proposed cuts are many to agricultural research incl. ending Hatch funding for universities, cutting $145 million at Agricultural Research Service for "climate science research and climate hubs", and cutting competitive AFRI grants by $40 million

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Dan Blaustein-Rejto @danbr.bsky.social · 14/05/2025

Yeah... and doubly so: the GHG calculations for biofuels would still "credit" them for reducing meat production by increasing the cost of livestock feed. 🫠

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Dan Blaustein-Rejto @danbr.bsky.social · 13/05/2025

Sources: ILUC values reported in the guidelines for 45ZCF-GREET, EIA's latest projections for 2025 biofuel production, Farmdoc's estimates of the share of biodiesel & renewable diesel that was soy-based from 2021-23. www.energy.gov/sites/defaul...

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Dan Blaustein-Rejto @danbr.bsky.social · 13/05/2025

With projected soy biodiesel and renewable diesel levels, that'd increase costs by nearly half a billion dollars just for 2025, and more in the future as production levels rise.

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Dan Blaustein-Rejto @danbr.bsky.social · 13/05/2025

Using default carbon intensity values from the 45ZCF-GREET model, soy biodiesel & renewable diesel is already eligible for the credit. Excluding indirect land use change would increase credit value by ~26 & 29 cents per gallon, respectively.

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