Agriculture & 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.
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Understanding why coffee is good for our health
Studying the effects of coffee is particularly challenging. Isolating for a beverage with over 1000 compounds is so tricky that ...
As few as 1% of the world’s population are eating healthy, sustainably-grown food
A major report on the global food system has found that less than 1 per cent of the world is ...
Foodomics: Why you need to know what’s in ‘nutritional dark matter’
When scientists cracked the human genome in – sequencing the entire genetic code of a human being – many expected ...
Can CRISPR and other forms of gene manipulation create a new generation of seedless fruits—without the structural risk to food security
Seedless fruit feels like a UX win—no pips, no fuss, just vibes. But the biology behind that convenience is a ...
Food producers exploring another alternative meat: Add proteins from plants, fungi, insects and microbial fermentation. It tastes better than it sounds
Alternative proteins derived from various non-animal sources such as plants, mycelium, cultured cells, microbes, and insects are gaining increasing attention ...
Bees in distress: Climate change is depressing the aroma that attracts bees for pollination. Scientists are scrambling for a solution
Across 120 publications from 19 countries, ozone pollution decreased performance of beneficial invertebrates by more than 31%, while nitrogen oxides ...
Sashimi that promotes healing and skin rejuvenation? It’s not the latest fad skin care breakthrough, but a yummy-tasting cultivated Omega-3-rich fish fat made using stem cell technology
Sashimi that looks, feels and tastes just like the real deal, but is actually grown in a laboratory. That is ...
After RFK, Jr. is replaced: A breakthrough mRNA vaccine that suppresses food and seasonal allergies
A new mRNA vaccine stopped allergens from causing dangerous immune reactions and life-threatening inflammation in mice, according to researchers from ...
Sugar-sweetened beverages: The health impact of soda, sweetened waters, fruit drinks, coffee and other SSBs
Sugar-sweetened beverages, the liquid delight promising a moment of joy and delivering a lifetime (?) of regret. Positioned as a ...
Sustainability breakthrough: Scientists targeting the genetic code of pests
Pests can be the make-or-break factor for a season’s harvest. Between 20% to 40% of global crop production is lost ...
What do we need Seed Banks? 75% of plant genetic diversity has been lost since the early 20th century, and its losses are accelerating
Gene and seed banks are not static museums. They are living collections of genetic material, designed to support food security, ...
Why the chemophobia obsession is baked into America’s consciousness
'No nasties’, ‘non-toxic’, ‘natural’, ‘organic’, ‘mineral’ – there are a multitude of health buzzwords sprinkled through grocery store shelves aimed ...
Fungicide alternative: Would your crops benefit from a genetically engineered vaccine?
Disease control within crop production systems has been very much centred on the development of complex organic chemicals such as ...
China’s bought about 50% of U.S. soybean exports since 1920. This year? Zero, thanks to Trump’s trade war
For U.S. farmers, abundant rains to fuel a bumper crop would normally be good news — but it won’t matter ...
Viewpoint: The fastest growing delusion in America is chemophobia—and organic marketers are to blame
“Organic” might be the most abused word in the English language. Chemists, farmers, and marketers all use it—and none of ...
Viewpoint: No burgers or bangers: EU environmental activists mobilize to remove all ‘meat words’ from plant-based proteins
I ate some Quorn sausages last night. I wasn’t confused when I bought them. I didn’t buy them because I ...
What’s driving food costs inflation?
From rice to coffee, cocoa to olive oil, extreme weather conditions are driving up the prices of staple foods around ...
Viewpoint: ‘Farmageddon’—Trump’s chaotic trade and tariff policies doesn’t hurt ‘industrial agriculture’ but smaller farms are in crisis
“We’re in a hell of a mess here,” said Ohio farmer Chris Gibbs as he worked on his combine at ...
Viewpoint: Got milk? Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. drinks the raw, unpasteurized version. Does he know something about its benefits that scientists don’t?
Honestly, I can’t believe I need to repeat this in 2025. Raw milk sales have been soaring since early last ...
Viewpoint: Is the MAHA – MAGA alliance fraying
[Zen] Honeycutt and other “MAHA moms” were disappointed by the MAHA commission report released in September that they say lacked meaningful ...
Viewpoint: The farm economy in the U.S. is cratering. Here’s why farmers are unlikely to abandon Trumpononics
Fall is here, the harvest is coming in, but President Donald Trump’s trade war rages on and China won’t buy American farmers’ soybeans. That’s ...
For food companies, GMO was a dirty word. Innovation in gene editing is soaring, changing the public discussion
The BBC reported that scientists at the University of Oxford, working in a collaboration with other international partners, have used ...
Michael Grunwald: ‘How to Fix Our Food System and Save Our Climate?’
When veteran journalist Michael Grunwald set out to write his third book, he was determined not to produce a “Debbie ...
What’s the difference between GMO and CRISPR
What is a GMO? GMOs (genetically modified organisms) involve transferring a gene from one species to another to provide an ...
Viewpoint: The MAHA movement’s wrongheaded war on glyphosate is part of a misplaced broader attack on modern agriculture
The MAHA movement’s war on glyphosate is part of a broader war on modern farming — not only herbicides and ...
Personalized nutrition: Can AI design a healthy, allergen-free diet?
In just three months, ChatGPT will turn three, and it’s already reshaping the way we work, think, and even imagine ...
Viewpoint: Starbuck’s synthetic pumpkin spice: The drink RFK, Jr. should ban if wants to protect our health
In 2003, the Human Genome Project was completed and both Tesla and LinkedIn were founded. Those were all interesting but ...
