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.
Famine in Africa and the Middle East? Devastating stem rust fungus threatens global staple crop, but genomic solution may finally be on the horizon
These tools could give wheat, one of our most important staple crops, some much-needed relief ...
39 biotech experts’ open letter protests anti-GMO activist Vandana Shiva’s ‘anti-science’ talks at Stanford and UC Santa Cruz
An activist who compares GMOs to rape and fertilizers to war should not be given a platform ...
Do GMO foods or glyphosate cause gluten allergies?
Anti-GMO campaigners continue to link GMOs and the herbicide glyphosate to gluten allergies--even though there is no commercialized genetically engineered ...
Beyond burgers: Why it’s so difficult to create ‘animal free’ steaks, bacon and chicken cutlets
A look at the food revolution of today, as well as Cultured Meat 2.0 ...
Viewpoint: Confused about GMOs and pesticides? Here’s a science-based handbook for combating anti-biotech fallacies
The risk posed by junk science meant to skew our perception of food safety and biotechnology cannot be overstated ...
Philippines is first! Long-delayed Vitamin A-enhanced Golden Rice greenlighted, bucking activist opposition
The fortified food addresses vitamin A deficiency, which kills an estimated 670,000 children each year ...
Viewpoint: Science denialism threatens the potential of gene-edited crops
Undermining science that does not fit into one's intellectual or political framework is dangerous ...
Fungi ‘junk genes’ could yield new drugs, biopesticides, study shows
Bio-Protection Research Centre scientists and collaborators have made a discovery that potentially opens the door to new medicines and biological ...
Billion-year-old microbes could give us new food, fuel sources—if we can figure out how to use them
We can’t afford to let this potential biotech breakthrough go to waste ...
Sequenced sugarcane genome aids development of high-yielding GMO crop varieties
An international group of researchers led by scientists from Brazil's Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo ...
Naturally drought-tolerant sorghum could help develop crops better suited to changing climate
A new study led by scientists from the University of California Berkeley reveals how sorghum plants control its genome - switching ...
Podcast: How activists and politicians derailed South Australia’s attempt to embrace GMO crops
Activists in Australia are manipulating politicians with fear and doubt to restrict farmer choice ...
New vaccine could immunize 50 million cattle against bovine tuberculosis
Scientists at the University of Surrey have developed a novel vaccine and complementary skin test to protect cattle against bovine ...
Will Alaska grow its own food as summer temperatures surpass 90 degrees?
Alaska has been on a multi-year weather paroxysm as the Arctic heats twice as fast as the rest of our ...
Weed that ‘eats’ glyphosate discovered in Western Australia, researchers say
Researchers have claimed a world first .... after discovering a tropical weed in Western Australia's far north that literally eats ...
Podcast: Political opposition blocks South Australia’s plan to lift GMO crop ban
South Australia is the only mainland state that bans farmers from growing genetically modified food. The ban's been in place ...
First plants didn’t evolve flower color to attract pollinators, study suggests
Flowering plants feature a wondrous array of colors, the primary purpose of which is to attract insect pollinators. But this ...
Has modern agriculture ‘tainted’ your Thanksgiving dinner?
The Environmental Working Group knows how to grab headlines with ominous claims about America's food supply. In 2018, the Washington, ...
Plant-based burgers are wildly popular. Are any of them vegan?
.... [W]ith a range of new "plant-based" meat options entering fast-food restaurants like Burger King, Denny's and Dunkin Donuts, which ...
Coating seeds with silk that supplies essential nutrients could provide a natural fertilizer to grow crops on unproductive soils
Providing seeds with a protective coating that also supplies essential nutrients to the germinating plant could make it possible to ...
How does a 4,000-year-old meal taste? Pretty good, according to recreated Babylonian recipes
What did a meal taste like nearly 4,000 years ago in ancient Babylonia? Pretty good, according to a team of ...
Pesticides endanger humans, animals, beneficial insects? Rethinking simplistic notions, understanding trade-offs in sustainability and health
As much as pesticides are a threat to certain ecosystems, they’re also responsible for providing the planet with food in ...
Post-Green Revolution study: Projected crop yields unable to feed the world by 2050, we need GMOs, gene editing and other ‘genetic strategies’
The current trajectory for crop yields is insufficient to nourish the world’s population by 2050. Greater and more consistent crop ...
Viewpoint: Proposed Philippines biotech authority could streamline GMO crop approvals, help farmers battle hunger
According to the biotech timeline prepared by the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA), the modern biotechnology ...
Podcast: ‘OMG, GMOs!’ Bill Nye answers your questions about biotech crops
Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) often gets a bad rap, but farmers have been using them for decades to feed the ...
GMOs are ‘substantially equivalent’ to conventional foods. Should they face reduced regulations?
There really is no tension between patenting plants that are also found by the FDA to be substantially equivalent ...
CRISPR, disease-sensing technologies could yield a ‘cornucopia’ of healthier, tastier foods
Consumers may soon begin purchasing fun-sized fruits and vegetables, as well as processed foods that incorporate healthier ingredients .... And ...
Expanding India’s crop diversity could boost access to vital nutrients for 200 million people, study shows
There has been a substantial increase in food production over the last 50 years, but it has been accompanied by ...
