Crops & Food
We eat to live. Humans use approximately 11% of Earth’s land for the cultivation of crops for food, but also for clothing, medicine and biofuels. Globally, major crops include sugarcane, pumpkin, maize (corn), wheat, rice, cassava, soybeans, hay, potatoes and cotton.
Below is the complete archive of related articles sorted by date.
Pesticide residues on food too small to be harmful
A new study published in International Journal of Food Contamination shows that pesticide levels in food are far below levels that ...
French may be GMO averse, but its scientists still innovating in biotech
While Silicon Valley cooks up eggless mayonnaise and salt without sodium, French entrepreneurs are doing away with supermarkets. Despite traditionally ...
How to scare people into supporting bad policy on bees and other pollinators
If you are a scientist with an agenda, nothing works better than cooking up a "modeling" study: junk in, junk ...
Out of his depth, Nassim Taleb bungles risk assessment of GMOs
In a July 13 commentary in the New York Times, financial gurus Mark Spitznagel and Nassim Taleb, neither of whom boasts any ...
Myth busting: European scientists overwhelmingly endorse GMOs, and EU imports dozens of GM crops
A popular theme among anti-GMO activists is to make the claim that Europe has banned GMOs, as if to imply European ...
Saletan’s Slate on target expose of GMO fear mongering overstates corporate influence
The title of William Saletan’s July 15 j’accuse in Slate, “Unhealthy Fixation” is spot on, but the subtitle really nails ...
Vitamin A prevents night blindness, yes, but does Golden Rice?
Journalist Will Saletan set the Internet afire yesterday with his long-form piece against anti-GMO activists. A key component of his argument is ...
Organic farming contributes to more greenhouse gas emissions, not less
Here’s some hard, responsibly farmed news to swallow: Big Organic isn’t really doing much to reduce carbon emissions. In fact, commercialized ...
5 Myths about GMOs
In the neverending debate about genetically modified foods, which myths do you believe? ...
The fall of Gary Hirshberg: From reformer to reactionary anti-science propagandist?
Gary Hirshberg is in the midst of rewriting his legacy from admired 'social responsibility' leader to crank apologist for disinformation ...
Bacon substitute made from seaweed next superfood?
The world's most perfect food may have just arrived. Researchers from Oregon State University’s Hatfield Marine Science Center say they’ve ...
Kenyan farmers urge government to allow GMOs
Farmers in Kilifi county want the government to allow them access genetically modified (GM) planting materials to boost agricultural production ...
Scientists have created a luscious tasting non GMO tomato, but supermarkets won’t sell it
Tomato lovers, rejoice, for science has achieved the impossible: the perfect supermarket tomato. The Garden Gem won’t bruise during shipping, ...
Shift in GMO debate spurred by Pew scientists poll illuminating pro-GMO consensus
Topic: Has the GMO chatter really turned a corner? And why? So this discussion began the night of Wednesday, July 15 ...
Slate: Anti-GMO activists say the darnedest things
When activist organizations issue over-the-top press releases or make non-scientific claims, I just shake my head, but unless I’m writing at ...
EU lawmakers oppose plan of individual countries to enact GMO import bans
A draft EU law that would enable any member state to restrict or prohibit the use of EU-approved GMO food ...
Video: Why we love eating ‘killer’ pesticides in our food
In this PBS video as part of the "It’s Okay to Be Smart" series, Joe Hanson explains that the most ...
GM moths could offer non-toxic pest control option for vegetables
A genetically modified moth could help curb a major pest of vegetable crops around the world, research suggests. The diamondback ...
Beemageddon? As hysteria over honey bees recedes, anti-neonic narrative refocuses on wild bees
It was a crisis that never was. It's now clear that the honey bee crisis never was—the pollinator is doing ...
Taleb challenged: Investment bankers aren’t qualified to assess GMO risk
Here’s a hot investment tip: buy shares in Blockbuster. As many as you can afford. Put in all of Johnny’s and ...
Mark Bittman’s ‘urban farming’ can’t address hunger of poor but GMO but industrial agriculture can
Should the poor look to weeds from cracks in the sidewalk as a source of nutritious, organic free food? New ...
Agave genes could hold key to drought-resistant crops
Agave may be most associated with tequila, but this plant has a less familiar use — it's teaching scientists about ...
With Will Saletan’s Slate takedown of anti-GMOers, liberal debate about GMO benefits now over
Slate's subtitle says it all: "The war against genetically modified organisms is full of fearmongering, errors, and fraud. Labeling them ...
New Zealand anti-GMO activists’ rejection of gene editing could have dire economic consequnces
New Zealand urgently needs to have an informed discussion on new science technologies — and genetically modified organisms (GMO) and ...
Norwegian biosafety report claims scientific concensus on GMOs premature
A new study commissioned by the Norwegian government, and conducted by a nationally recognised scientific authority on the safety of ...
Ancient plant breeders made corn kernels edible with only minor selections
If not for a single genetic mutation, each kernel on a juicy corn cob would be trapped inside a inedible ...
Farm to boardroom: US organic industry dominated by mega corporations
According to the anti-GMO narrative, organic is frail David fighting for its life against the Goliaths of Big Ag and ...
