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.
Viewpoint: Regulatory hurdles, anti-GMO activists stymie adoption of sustainable crop biotechnology innovations in developing world
Ever-more powerful genetic technologies, such as genome-editing endonucleases and marker-assisted breeding, continue to facilitate the development of genetically modified (GM) ...
First plaintiff, nearing death, goes to court in case claiming Monsanto’s herbicide Roundup causes cancer
On bad days, Dewayne Johnson is too crippled to speak. Lesions often cover as much as 80% of his body ...
Viewpoint: New director of International Agency for Research on Cancer, under fire for promoting cancer fears, likely to maintain status quo
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a World Health Organization subsidiary mired in controversy, picked Dr. Elisabete Weiderpass ...
Viewpoint: FDA schedules public meeting to address regulatory issues surrounding emerging alt-meat industry
So-called cellular agriculture raises numerous questions about whether the regulations enacted to ensure food safety for conventional animal foods are ...
Viewpoint: Why a federal judge blocked mandatory California Prop 65 health warning labels on the herbicide glyphosate
Recently, a federal judge sitting in the Eastern District of California (Sacramento), for the first time, refused to require a ...
Can CRISPR save the banana and revolutionize coffee? Tropic Biosciences believes so.
In a lab at a U.K. research park, researchers from a startup called Tropic Biosciences are using CRISPR to create a better ...
Viewpoint: Questioning Nature’s publication of anti-glyphosate letter
On March 21, 2018, Nature published a letter by French journalists Stéphane Foucart and Stéphane Horel, “Risks associated with glyphosate ...
Korea suspends Canadian wheat and flour sales following discovery of GMO plants in Alberta
South Korea has joined Japan in suspending trade in Canadian wheat following the discovery of a small number of genetically ...
What’s in the CRISPR drawer for farming and food?
Most of us have heard of the gene edited non-browning mushroom that passed through USDA review without the regulatory hurdles ...
Talking Biotech: Mexico’s complicated relationship with GMO corn
Mexico is the center of origin for maize, and there is a substantial interest in protecting the genetic integrity of ...
Cell free proteins? Unraveling the mysteries of the plant circadian clock
The basic unit of life is the cell; tiny, fatty, self-replicating bubbles that have adapted to fill almost every environment ...
Viewpoint: How the organic industry spreads ‘fake science’
This fact sheet describes the contents of an organic industry confidential public relations plan to spread fake science in its promotion. In ...
Green revolution: Indian farmers advocate for legalization of GMO mustard, biotech crops
A new green revolution is in the making. Farmers in India are now using social media to promote and advocate ...
Viewpoint: Indian anti-GMO activist Vandana Shiva ‘spreads misinformation and fear’ about conventional agriculture
I attended a presentation given by Vandana Shiva, a well-known anti-GMO activist, at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. It was definitely an ...
Argentinian government approves genetically modified glyphosate-resistant alfalfa
[On June 9th], the Argentinian government approved the first transgenic alfalfa for the country with resistance to the glyphosate herbicide and with ...
How to outwit weeds: Genetically engineered cotton that feeds on phosphite, an alternative, sustainable fertilizer
Wily weeds can develop resistance to herbicides, allowing them to compete with genetically modified crops designed to tolerate weed-killing chemicals ...
Japan cancels purchase of Canadian wheat after unapproved GMO variety found in isolated non-farm location
Genetically modified wheat, which is not authorized for commercial production in Canada, was discovered growing on an Alberta farm last ...
Indian scientists criticize government for leaving GMO seeds ‘sitting on the shelf’
Farming may go high-tech, but unless seeds keep pace, all improvements will be cosmetic. Or that’s what scientists at research ...
‘Laser weeding’: Can robots partially replace farm tractors, harvesters and even herbicides like glyphosate?
Professor Simon Blackmore, head of robotic agriculture at the UK's National Centre for Precision Farming at Harper Adams University in ...
‘Super bacteria’ could boost crop yields and reduce nitrogen pollution
Bioscientist Dr. Ted Cocking, from the Centre for Crop Nitrogen Fixation in the UK, was the first to unlock the ...
Why glyphosate and herbicide-tolerant GMO seeds aren’t threats to bees
Glyphosate is a herbicide, in other words, it is toxic to plants. Its target enzyme is not found in insects ...
Viewpoint: Post-Brexit UK can help farmers by giving them access to GMO crops
With timeframes beginning to take shape for the Agriculture Bill and Environment Act, Michael Gove is presented with a number ...
Lawsuit against Dannon alleging misleading non-GMO label dismissed by New York court
The Southern District of New York joins the list of federal courts that have recently rejected potential class action suits ...
Why is the first US genetically engineered salmon farm in Indiana?
The first genetically-modified animal for human consumption could be arriving in grocery stores across the United States as early as ...
Can new IARC director bridge gap between controversial cancer agency and rest of scientific community?
A look at IARC’s recent record suggests that skepticism is in order ...
GMO crops provide billions in economic benefits each year—with majority going to farmers in developing countries, industry analysis says
This paper estimates the value of using genetically modified (GM) crop technology in agriculture at the farm level. It follows ...
Naturally decaffeinated CRISPR coffee and disease-resistant bananas? Tropic Biosciences takes big step towards commercializing both
In a lab at a U.K. research park, researchers from a startup called Tropic Biosciences are using CRISPR to create a better ...
Scientists develop GMO rice with high levels of iron and zinc
A team of researchers led by Navreet Bhullar from the Institute of Molecular Plant Biology at ETH Zurich has genetically ...
