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.
Below is the complete archive of related articles sorted by date.
The science skinny on synthetic food dyes: There is no evidence they are unsafe but they do make some unhealthy food more enticing
The appeal of a brightly colored candy, the vibrant hue of your mouthwash, the pigment of your sports drinks — ...
Just because a chemical ingredient used in food is found in household products or medicine does not mean its unsafe
"Many food-grade additives share names with industrial products, but concentration makes all the difference," said Jessica Steier, a public health ...
Appeal to Nature Fallacy: Understanding soaring chemophobia from the ideological left and right
Chemophobia is complicated, but, in short, it’s a distrust or fear of chemicals and appears in many of aspects of ...
More than 12,500 pesticides need assessment or re-evaluation. Here is how EPA does its work
Environmental Protection Agency head Lee Zeldin has said he wants the federal agency to accelerate scientific safety evaluations of various chemicals, ...
How pioneering technology transformed Israel’s desert into an agricultural oasis
Agriculture in Israel transformed in the early 20th century, marked by the rise of wheat, citrus, and other vegetable cultivation ...
Certain foods naturally contain chemicals that help us sleep better. Here are some of them
Research shows that the most beneficial diet for sleep seems to be a plant-based diet that includes lots of wholegrains, dairy ...
Can bacteria replace synthetic fertilizer?
Synthetic fertilizer is a modern wonder, helping to feed billions of people, but it’s not without its costs. Fertilizer runoff ...
Viewpoint: Can regenerative agriculture spark the beginning of the end for carbon intensive conventional farming?
Today, techniques such as cover-cropping and integrated pest management are being embraced not only by environmental activists but also by ...
Viewpoint: What the media and policymakers miss about containing agricultural pests—Exaggerating risk and underestimating benefits
The debate on the extent and necessity of regulating the use of plant protection products essentially concerns an objective assessment ...
CRISPR for ‘stronger, sweeter’ cocoa: Mars bets on gene editing technology to future-proof chocolate supply
Candy maker Mars said ... it has partnered with biotech company Pairwise to speed up the development of more resilient ...
In a dramatic shift to a more science-based food policy, Europe eases restrictions on importing GMO feed grain from the U.S.
The EU's 2025 approval of GM corn imports reflects a pragmatic recalibration of its regulatory framework. While the EU remains ...
Despite no evidence of health harm in humans, companies scramble to phase out synthetic dyes
On January 15, 2025, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration revoked authorization of Red No. 3 in food, causing it ...
How the organic industry is combating fraud
The organic industry is no longer the niche market it was several decades ago. To support growing demand across multiple ...
Landmark GMO: Pakistan develops cotton variety that resists pests and withstands 120F degree heat
In a landmark development for Pakistan’s agriculture sector, the Centre for Excellence in Molecular Biology (CEMB) at Punjab University, in ...
Honeybee supplements could protect an essential insect as climate stresses soar
Scientists have developed a honeybee "superfood" that could protect the animals against the threats of climate change and habitat loss ...
Viewpoint: The Green Revolution saved 1-2 billion lives globally. Activists say it was a failure. They’re lying
In the past few years, many environmental and academic activists have been undermining the work of Norman Borlaug and the ...
AI paired with gene editing poised to escalate fight against tomato diseases
Aided by artificial intelligence, researchers at UC Davis managed to strengthen plants’ immune response by re-engineering protein structures that detect ...
Disease is the greatest threat to bee health. Can genetically engineered probiotics help protect them?
If you cannot engineer the organism, engineer its microbiome. Since scientists began exploring how to solve problems using synthetic biology, ...
Mars’ M&Ms and Snickers may soon produce its chocolate candies from cacao gene edited to withstand plant diseases and extreme heat
Mars, Incorporated has licensed Pairwise's Fulcrum® gene editing tools for cacao research and development. This licensing agreement grants Mars access ...
The politics and science of lab-produced cultivated fish and meat in the U.S.
The regulatory landscape for cultured meat continues to evolve at the federal level. On May 28, 2025, the U.S. Food ...
Creating easy pollinating flowers: How AI and gene editing work round-the-clock to speed up crop breeding
For millennia, developing resilient crops relied on pollination by nature or humans—making the process long and often costly. Now, scientists ...
Farmers and MAHA forged a bond of convenience to help elect Trump. The weedkiller glyphosate is tearing them apart
The fact is, the Trump administration spends a lot of time trying to please completely contradictory parts of its coalition: ...
Next-generation sweeteners: Balancing function and flavor while navigating regulatory hurdles
With an increase in consumers looking for products with lower sugar contents and a need to be transparent with ingredients, ...
Viewpoint: Activist hyped study ‘proving’ that glyphosate can cause leukemia is junk science
The discussion around glyphosate, a widely used herbicide, is becoming increasingly charged, especially with new studies surfacing that suggest a ...
What is ‘Green AI’?
Degradation of the natural environment, resource depletion, and climate crisis are intricate phenomena requiring innovative and advanced solutions. This is ...
New Zealand’s plan to end 30-year ban on gene editing technology sparks ag industry optimism and public debate
The Gene Technology Bill was discussed at length at the second annual Plant Breeders' Forum in Ōtautahi Christchurch ..., hosted by the ...
From non-browning apples to robot harvesters, Okanagan has a radical plan to reshape the apple orchard
Before Neal Carter invented the world’s first commercially produced bioengineered apple, he helped mechanize lentils in the Middle East, diversify ...
