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.
Despite controversial new study, there’s still no evidence Monsanto’s Roundup causes cancer, epidemiologist says
News stories have exploded recently.... screaming that glyphosate [the active ingredient in Monsanto's Roundup] is a cancer-causing evil that causes a 41% increase in people ...
Crop diversity worldwide is growing, but wheat, maize (corn), soy, and rice cover almost 50% of farmland worldwide
Global agriculture is increasingly dominated by just a handful of crops with limited genetic richness, says a group of researchers ...
Viewpoint: Here’s why we don’t have to worry about a world without insects
Recent headlines about the coming collapse of the insect world are another case of extrapolation from inadequate data ...
Researchers hunt for heat-tolerant rice, wheat varieties as global temperatures rise
A group of Arkansas State University educators and students are studying effects of heat on rice crops in a three-university ...
Slow-moving bureaucracy in the Philippines could block launch of new GMO soybeans in US, Canada
A Philippines regulator poses an unexpected obstacle to DowDuPont’s launch of a new line of genetically engineered soybeans in the ...
Viewpoint: Why the USDA’s new ‘GMO label’ is meaningless
A meaningless label you want, a meaningless label you shall have ...
Kenya’s support for GMO crops likely to influence East Africa
For nearly 20 years, Kenya has attempted to adopt the better-yielding and disease- and drought-tolerant crop varieties bred through genetic ...
Deep dive into the science and history of Monsanto’s glyphosate-based weed killer
The science behind the product, the fight over glyphosate, and the research behind the formulations ...
New DNA sequencing technique offers ‘unprecedented’ look at molecular changes in GMO plants
Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are one of the most contentious topics in science today. But a study from the Salk Institute, ...
New Brazilian government backs indigenous tribe fined in 2018 for embracing modern agriculture and growing GMO crops
Brazil’s new government is backing an indigenous tribe that was fined under the previous administration for commercial farming practices banned ...
Scientists battle for consumer approval as crop gene-editing revolution advances
Genome, or gene, editing is regarded by scientists as the biggest technical advance in bioscience since “recombinant DNA” technology — ...
Egypt poised to again lead Africa in agricultural biotechnology innovation
When will Egypt again lead Africa in agricultural biotech innovation? That question kept running through my mind when I visited ...
Lab-grown meat poised for commercial success, but technical challenges may delay its debut
Private investment in lab-grown meat is soaring as companies chase the promise of boundless — and delicious — nuggets, steaks ...
CRISPR gene editing: Using ‘nature’s own tools’ to combat food waste and climate change
A new technique is sneaking in our lives, potentially changing the foods we eat every day. From growing resilient crops, ...
Reality check: Eating locally grown food isn’t always the most sustainable option
Eating local has not achieved its goal of reducing emissions through fewer food miles. The fix could include embracing genetic ...
Viewpoint: Do organic farms really produce ‘chemical free, healthier food’?
The multi-billion-dollar organic industry is thriving in large part because of dishonesty ...
European farmers dig up thousands of hectares of crops following detection of banned GMO canola seeds
Bayer said on [February 6] that farmers in France and Germany were digging up thousands of hectares of rapeseed [canola] ...
Viewpoint: Bernie Sanders’ views on alternative medicine and GMOs highlight troubling embrace of pseudoscience
At 76 years old many assumed that 2016 would be the last time Bernie Sanders would run for office. The ...
Monarch butterfly, milkweed declines not driven by GMO crops, study shows
To get a better understanding of the monarch butterfly’s future, Jack Boyle built a time machine. Boyle, a Mellon Postdoctoral ...
Marijuana is an ancient plant, but we’re only beginning to unravel its DNA
For a plant humans have grown and transported around the world for thousands of years—utilizing its precious seeds, flowers, resin, ...
Pesticides and Food: It’s not a black or white issue, Part 6: Pesticide residues ― Something to worry about?
Just like anything that goes into your body, it’s the dose (the amount) that matters ...
Pesticides and Food: It’s not a black or white issue, Part 5: Soil health―When synthetic pesticides are more sustainable than ‘natural’ organics
Most consumers believe organic farming avoids pesticides and prioritizes the health of the environment more than conventional farming. However, this is ...
Global average income has tripled in 50 years, driving rapid increase in meat consumption
You may have heard an increasing number of people vow to reduce their meat eating lately - or cut it ...
Inside Nigeria’s efforts to protect its cowpea harvest with nation’s first genetically engineered seeds
The release of the GM cowpea will significantly improve livelihoods. But not everyone is happy ...
Non-GMO vegetable seeds? Capitalizing on consumer fears to sell overpriced seeds
Niki Jabbour....recently shook a hornet’s nest. The talented gardener, book author, and radio host said on Facebook that she’d been ...
Conservation agriculture and why we must move beyond the organic vs. conventional debate
How can journalists navigate the 'pitched battle' between organic advocates and biotechnology? Focus on real measures of sustainability, not polemical ...
Question of liability: Why researchers are worried about Uganda’s new biotech act
Uganda’s Genetic Engineering Regulatory Act has sent a cold chill down the spines of scientists who dream of creating new ...
Scientists engineer chickens to make cancer drugs—10 times cheaper to produce than factory-made medicines
Researchers have genetically modified chickens that can lay eggs that contain drugs for arthritis and some cancers. The drugs are ...
