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.
China develops African swine fever vaccine to curb disease that’s nearly halved its pork production
China’s Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, the country’s top research body on animal diseases, said it developed an African swine fever ...
Steak from CO2? How space-inspired technology could change the way we produce meat
Currently, it takes a couple of years to “make” a steak. That’s the length of time it takes to rear ...
Bureaucracy hampers GMO Bt insect-resistant cotton approval in the Philippines, despite widespread demand from farmers
The delay in the approval of the propagation of genetically modified (GM) cotton is hampering the revival and revitalization of ...
South Dakota grain dealer charged in alleged $71 million ‘fake’ organic sales scheme
A $71 million fraud case in South Dakota is the latest blow to the organic supply chain. Federal prosecutors in ...
Europe considers accelerated GMO import approval process to facilitate mini US trade deal
Brussels is ready to offer to speed up the approval process for genetically modified organisms imported into the EU, as ...
Beyond Meat goes ‘on the offensive,’ blasting critics who claim plant-based burgers are ultra-processed
While its CEO says engaging in an increasingly heated debate over the merits of plant- vs animal-based meat can be ...
‘RIPE’ computer model that boosts photosynthesis could help increase food production by 20% per acre
There’s an international research project called RIPE, short for Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency. The effort .... most recently has developed ...
How the pigweed Palmer amaranth became a ‘super weed’—and what it tells us about preventing herbicide resistance
Bound up with the bad news of super weeds is good news for farmers -- a window of opportunity ...
Starbucks will debut plant-based Beyond Meat breakfast sandwich in Canada March 3
Starbucks Corp. announced [Feb. 26] that it will add a plant-based Beyond Meat Inc. sandwich to the menu in Canada ...
Viewpoint: Energy-intensive production, contamination risks threaten to slow lab-grown meat development
Lab-raised meat is unlikely to make rapid strides in the consumer market due to steep economic and technological hurdles, according ...
Health officials urge Uganda to pass biosafety law granting consumer access to biofortified GMO crops
Representatives from the Ministry of Health, Uganda Medical Association, the National Drug Authority, and Uganda Pharmaceutical Society resolved that the government ...
Disney names GMO Impossible Burger its preferred plant-based meat, noting customers ‘have embraced’ vegan options
Disney and Impossible Foods, which makes plant-based meat designed to look, taste and cook like the real thing, have struck ...
Wealthy consumers throw out nearly 530 calories per day, study finds, more than double previous food waste estimates
Consumers are likely wasting much more food than commonly believed, according to a study published .... in the open-access journal ...
Growing cotton in space could generate crop varieties with stronger fiber, better drought tolerance and disease resistance
HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology teamed up with several partners in a series of research collaborations, grants, and projects. Their mission: ...
Vaccines, glyphosate weedkiller cause obesity? Dr. David Gorski debunks new round of ‘bogus’ health claims
Those of us who have been following the antivaccine movement and the sorts of claims that its members [make] are ...
Virus-resistant tilapia could help safeguard critical food source, preserve $10 billion fishing industry
Resistance to a deadly disease that is affecting the second most farmed fish in the world has been found to ...
Remember the questionable study claiming glyphosate boosts cancer risk 41%? Lead author reasserts her claim, EPA refutes it, and we take a second look
Sheppard and her co-authors are intent on favoring data that appears to support the existence of a risk from glyphosate ...
Vegans vs. Meat Eaters: When it comes to nutrition, the ‘what’s better’ debate has gone off the rails
The vegan vs meat eater farce has become a complete circus. The cruel irony is that by confusing ideology at ...
‘Bee-washing’ by advocacy groups and product pushers: We should shift the focus to native bees not honeybees
Amid the worry over the loss of honey bees, a far quieter but just as devastating loss is occurring among ...
Bucking US pressure, key European politicians pushing to make its farming policies a global green standard
Ahead of a much-anticipated ‘Farm to Fork’ strategy to accompany the EU Green Deal, some EU policymakers say Europe’s food ...
Kenya begins pesticide spraying to fight ‘locust swarm of the century,’ but critics abound
As the devastating locust invasion continues to spread in East Africa and a new wave of locusts is gathering, pesticide ...
Some organic farming advocates poised to embrace CRISPR and other New Breeding Techniques because of their sustainability benefits
There is a new ongoing debate as to what plant breeding technologies constitute genetic modification. The transgenic GM crops introduced ...
Beneficial bugs can co-exist with Bt crops, new studies show
Genetically modified, insect-resistant Bt crops do not have harmful effects on beneficial bugs in farmers’ fields, two new scientific papers ...
Climate change poses mixed consequences for agriculture: Conservation International study concludes global warming will make farming possible in regions important for biodiversity and carbon storage
Future farming in regions that were previously unsuitable for agriculture could significantly impact biodiversity, water resources, and greenhouse gas emissions ...
African science literacy: Ugandan teachers are being trained in agricultural biotechnology
In a bid to popularize technology in local schools, the Uganda Biosciences Information Center (UBIC) has begun training teachers and ...
Infographic: Without improved crop yields, farmers would need a lot more land to feed us
If we took away significant gains in cereal crops yields since 1962, farmers would have been forced to claim more ...
Genetic engineering of a different kind: Using nuclear energy in Burundi to attack cassava diseases
When Burundian cassava farmers split open the plant’s starchy root, they’re hoping to find white flesh that resembles coconut meat ...
Viewpoint: How Europe’s risk aversion has turned the continent into an agricultural backwater
With tariffs announced against Brazil and Argentina, and a threat against France, Donald Trump is dragging the world deeper into ...
