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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Viewpoint: GMOs could improve global food and farm yields by more than 20%
In recent years, genetically modified organisms (GMOs) have become one of the most pivotal agricultural innovations, profoundly transforming the way food is produced and managed worldwide. With global populations on the rise and climate change introducing unprecedented challenges to farming and ...
Aquaculture revolution: Fish farming and the promise of gene editing
Experts from the UK and the United States have shared findings on the responsible use of advanced genetic tools to ...
Africa’s quiet biotech revolution: Gene editing emerges from Europe’s anti-GMO shadow
For decades, European regulations have dominated the global conversation on agricultural biotechnology in many regions of the globe. From field ...
Viewpoint: Misconstruing risk—Anti-glyphosate hyperbole sows unwarranted public anxiety and confusion
The Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA) was passed in 1996 and established new safety standards (i.e., tolerances) for pesticides. The act mandated ...
Genetic engineering is deeply woven into every aspect of modern life
For years, politicians and environmental organizations have been needlessly stoking fears about a technology that has been helping to conserve ...
Viewpoint: What role can indigenous populations and agroecology play in promoting sustainable food
For millennia, Indigenous peoples have cultivated diverse, adaptive and evolving food systems, rooted in deep relationships with land, water and ...
Viewpoint: California’s science-challenged Proposition 65 toxic chemical regulation are at center of ‘tort shakedown’ racket
Not to0 many years ago, my wife and I once elebrated our anniversary in South Lake Tahoe, situated on the ...
3D printer turns rotting food scraps into household items
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have unveiled a groundbreaking innovation: a 3D printer that transforms food scraps ...
Confronting the growing challenge of increased plastic pollution in agriculture
Over the past decades, plastic has become an integral part of agriculture and this use is increasing with the intensity ...
Florida E. coli outbreak linked to raw milk
Raw milk has been linked to an ongoing E. coli and campylobacter outbreak in Florida that has already sickened 21 ...
Can gene editing dramatically reduce global hunger?
In 2015, the United Nations (UN) adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals with Goal 2 (SDG 2): Zero Hunger, aiming to ...
Politics of agriculture? Large southern farms expect to benefit from $258 million in Trump subsidies but others face grimmer future
In the high plains of western Texas, 600 or so farms in Gaines County are projected to receive an additional ...
Potato, tomato: Today’s French fries linked by evolution to tomatoes 9 million years ago
Ketchup and fries make a tasty pair. But the connection between tomatoes and potatoes may go beyond making a good ...
Why gene editing of food crops remains controversial
Gene-editing techniques such as CRISPR-Cas9 have many uses in the area of food and agriculture. They can combat persistent drought ...
Why cutting out synthetic pesticides will reduce food production and won’t help the environment
Following the launch earlier this year of the UK Pesticides National Action Plan, with a strong focus on reducing the ...
Agroecological farming is not financially sustainable and will need substantial government subsidies
A new study by the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) has suggested that while nature-friendly farming methods improve ...
The confluence of AI and biotechnology will drive the development of unprecedented sustainable crops
A major review published in the prestigious journal Nature today outlines how artificial intelligence and biotechnology could transform global crop production — ...
7 year study of the effects of GMO corn on primates shows what every other study has found: ‘No significant health risks’
A study spanning more than seven years has found no significant health risks associated with the long-term consumption of genetically modified (GM) maize in ...
How climate change is helping drive food price inflation
Florida is one of the country’s top producers of fruits and vegetables. ... But climate change has already altered Florida’s ...
Genetically modified fish seed high in omega-3 oil awaits UK approval
Nufarm Seed Technology is awaiting final decisions from the European Union and the United Kingdom on whether they will follow ...
Viewpoint: MAHA and RFK, Jr. have it backward: Celebrating elimination of safe chemicals while gutting healthcare and food assistance programs
The White House and HHS are congratulating themselves for “major victories for American health.” Their actions are doing the opposite ...
Viewpoint: France’s scientifically backward view on an alleged bee-killing neonicotinoid pesticide will ensure serious destruction of leafy vegetables and fruits
France is a blessed country. After having counted 68 million doctors during the Covid crisis, then 68 million athletes during ...
Viewpoint: Europe’s backward view on pesticides—Banning synthetic crop chemicals for effective organic alternatives ensures armyworms will devastate corn crops
The polyphagous Spodoptera frugiperda (fall armyworm), a Lepidopteran pest, has European farmers in a panic and, when the environmental NGOs ...
With hopes fading about finding signs of life on the exoplanet K2-18b, scientists refocus on exploring the Moon and Mars, with providing food the largest challenge
If we are serious about settling on other planets, we must grow food efficiently outside the safe environment of Earth ...
Viewpoint: Productive intensive agriculture scapegoated in scientifically-ignorant MAHA report
Much of the [MAHA] report, like the notion of “making America healthy again,” seems like a good idea on the ...
No tears, no taste? Naturally bred tearless onions sparks debate
“Tearless” onions have made it to New Zealand, now being grown in Auckland and sold nationwide. Woolworths New Zealand launched ...
How gene editing could transform the humble potato into a sustainability powerhouse
In Peru, [gene editing] is already beginning to emerge as an ally in facing the challenges posed by climate change, ...
