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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Dissecting MIT computer scientist Stephanie Seneff’s claim that glyphosate herbicide causes autism
[Editor's note: Josh Bloom is director of chemical and pharmaceutical sciences at the American Council on Science and Health. He ...
Words matter: Goodbye ‘GMO’?
The popular terms 'GMO' and 'genetically modified' contribute to the public's negative perceptions of genetically engineered foods? How can we ...
Nature editorial: USDA and FDA need to ‘harmonize’ gene-edited plant and animal regulations
In January [2017], two US agencies proposed the first substantial overhaul in 30 years of how they regulate genetically altered ...
Could a mushroom save honey bees from Varroa mites?
What is killing honey bees? The most prevalent cause of death is due to infestation by the invasive Varroa mite, ...
Activists fan concerns about CRISPR ‘off target’ effects in gene-edited crops and foods. Are they right?
Off-target simply means an unintended effect as opposed to what researcher's are trying to produce. It's akin to side effects ...
Climate change may speed up pest’s tolerance of insect-resistant GM Bt corn
Climate change might be great news for pests looking to munch on genetically modified crops, researchers propose. In particular, researchers ...
EPA to investigate ‘glyphosate review-related matters’ after allegation of Monsanto collusion
The inspector general for the Environmental Protection Agency is initiating a probe into possible collusion between a former high-ranking EPA ...
Genetically modified ‘resurrection’ crops could help Africa deal with drought, climate change
[Jill] Farrant is the world's leading expert on plants which can "resurrect" from a desiccated state after they are rehydrated ...
‘Gut punch’: Canadian farmer takes attacks against GMOs personally
[Editor's note: Andrew Campbell is a dairy and crop farmer near London, Ont.] Our corn and soybeans are mostly genetically ...
Recording bees’ buzzing could help farmers identify, count beneficial pollinators
Like jets radioing in their call signs to air traffic control, bees’ buzzing could help scientists know who’s pollinating what ...
Talking Biotech: ‘Know GMO’ documentary fights food fears, misinformation with science
Filmmaker Nick Saik's 'Know GMO' documentary builds dialogue on food science and farm technology ...
How genetics helps make cows more profitable and environmentally friendly
[J. P.] Brouwer, along with his father and two brothers at Sunalta Farms in central Alberta, runs the first commercial dairy ...
Debate swirls over yield and bee health impact of neonicotinoid seed treatments
A study by Purdue entomologist Christian Krupke [May 2017] was the latest to conclude that honeybees are widely exposed to ...
India’s National Academy of Agriculture Sciences backs commercialization of GM mustard
Agriculture scientists came out in the open on Monday, backing the indigenous genetically modified mustard, which they said would lead ...
New GMO crop: Brazil approves insect resistant sugarcane for commercial use
Brazilian biosecurity agency CTNBio on Thursday [June 8] approved commercial use of a genetically modified sugarcane, setting a milestone for ...
Slugging it out with a new contender in the GMO debate
“I thought it might be worth meeting,” [said Penn State University entomologist John Tooker], “because I read the piece where ...
Uganda: Successful field trial of blight-resistant GMO potato
In Uganda, about 300,000 smallholder households grow potatoes for their subsistence living and for income. Loss due to late blight ...
Podcast: ‘Consumers don’t have anything to fear’ about pesticide residue, says food scientist
"The research that I've done about the pesticide residues on foods would suggest that, by and large, consumers really don't ...
Winemakers abandoning organic status for sustainability, improved taste
The shift has been more common in France, where wineries have cited concerns about the environment and copper buildup from ...
‘Monsanto gas mask man’ photos distort GMO debate and disrespect farmers
[Editor's note: Terrance Bradshaw is a research associate at the University of Vermont and director of the university's Apple and Grape ...
Can consumers rely on the credibility of the USDA organic label?
The reliability of the USDA organic label is under fire by the Washington Post, challenging the practices of some large ...
How genetic engineering could boost biofuel production in Africa and Latin America
Bioenergy production techniques that are already available could be used to supply up to 30 percent of the world’s energy ...
Americans’ worries about GMOs–and indifference to debate–increasing, polls show
Polls examined here document a general, though not monotonic, decline in confidence that the federal government can ensure the safety ...
‘All natural fetish’ fuels ‘counter-rationalist mindset’ on GMOs in Vermont
Immersed as we are in these exquisite pastoral gifts, Vermonters tend to forget that Mother Nature might be lovely, but ...
Syngenta faces 7,000 Kansas farmers in court over claim of losses due to premature release of GM corn
Farmers have to deal with threats to their crops from nature all the time. Thousands of Kansans, though, argue that ...
Crop biodiversity: ‘Under appreciated’ weapon in fight to end hunger
[Editor’s note: Mohamed Bakarr is Lead Environmental Specialist at the Global Environment Facility. Kevin Pixley is the Director of the ...
Horizon ‘organic’ milk under fire for adding factory-produced algae oil to boost nutrition
Inside a South Carolina factory, in industrial vats that stand five stories high, batches of algae are carefully tended, kept ...
