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: Indiscriminate cuts of agricultural climate programs undercut American productivity
As the Trump administration reviews federal programs, reduces the federal workforce, and prepares its 2026 budget proposal, cuts to climate-related ...
Unlocking the mystery of how plants communicate
Researchers at the Center for Research on Programmable Plant Systems (CROPPS) at Cornell University have taken a huge step toward making plant ...
Viewpoint: RFK, Jr. promises to ban comparatively safe dyes while the administration cuts programs that actually do protect public health
While the decision to remove artificial food dyes is typically something people across the political spectrum can get on board ...
Should the EU grant patent protection to the coming generation of gene edited crops
Some stakeholders are worried that there will be a huge wave of [plant] patents rolling over the European market with ...
How will U.S. tariffs impact the global agriculture industry?
The global market suffered a significant shock when U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the country would levy tariffs on ...
Viewpoint: Trump’s puzzling tariff strategy leaves farmers and ranchers anxious
President Trump called April 2, 2025, “Liberation Day,” citing a national emergency from the continuing trade imbalance between the United ...
Revolutionizing, disrupting or subverting? 100 days in, Trump is upending food, health, and climate policy
The First 100 Days: How Trump and Vance Have Changed Food, Agriculture, Health, and Climate. January 20, 2025: President Donald ...
Are biological chemicals a promising possible alternative to some crop chemicals?
[A]s consumers grow increasingly concerned about the environmental and health impacts from the chemicals, there’s a pivot toward what the ...
Should the EU ease restrictions on CRISPR and other gene edited crops: ‘Yes’, says a plant researcher vs. No, from a anti-GMO activist scientist
Few topics are as divisive and controversial as genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The same level of contention also characterises new ...
Weedkiller wars: What happens if Bayer abandons the herbicide glyphosate?
Are glyphosate's days numbered? It's the world's most popular weedkiller by far. Since its introduction in the 1970s, glyphosate has ...
Climate-ready canola: USDA clears two Cibus pest resistant gene-edited seed oil crop for growing
For Cibus, regulatory clarity isn’t just a box to check—it’s a turning point. The San Diego–based agricultural technology company with ...
Viewpoint: Scientist defends the safety of glyphosate—and explains why that matters
Glyphosate is not risk-free — no chemical is. But compared to alternatives (even “natural” ones), it remains one of the ...
Viewpoint: Here’s the ‘progressive’ take on regenerative agriculture
Regenerative agriculture, the practice of restoring rather than depleting the land, has been suffocated by companies that thrive on making farmers ...
Viewpoint: How our food choices impact the global environment
Messaging about healthy and sustainable food choices — buying local, the best diets, the cost of nutritious food — can ...
DNA barcoding: How it revolutionized tracking food fraud
[T]he 2013 horsemeat scandal is considered one of the most egregious cases of food fraud on the continent [Europe], and ...
England poised to approve the growing of gene edited crops in greenhouses and fields
Coming soon to England’s fields and glasshouses? Five times higher yielding strawberries with longer shelf life. Baby potatoes with bunched ...
Viewpoint: ‘Get the government out of agriculture’? Civil Eats assesses Trump’s disruptive first 100 days on ‘food, farming and fairness’
Over the past 100 days [of President Trump's second term], President Trump and his collaborators have taken a sledgehammer to ...
Viewpoint: ‘Pesticide soaked’—Activists target sustainable ‘no till’ farming, but science disagrees
A Washington D.C.-based environmental group published a lengthy report [April 29, 2025] criticizing no-till systems across the U.S. for their ...
Viewpoint: The wellness industry is rife with bad science and fraud. It’s gaining traction
The wellness Industry has made a business of scaring people into thinking they are at risk from the benign and ...
Viewpoint: Is drinking water harmful? Activist paper demonstrates how science can be twisted to open the door to tort claims
The drinking water treatment process is designed to remove harmful pathogens that are prevalent in nature, but a new study ...
GLP spaces on X: Sugar ‘addiction’—sound science or public health mythology?
Can't say no to sugary soda? Does that pint of ice cream demand you eat every last spoonful of its ...
What are the barriers limiting organic food consumption globally
Current dietary practices significantly contribute to environmental degradation, with organic food consumption emerging as a viable alternative for promoting sustainability ...
India becomes first country to approve yield-boosting gene edited rice
Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Sunday [April 4, 2025] unveiled India’s first genome-edited rice varieties, DRR Dhan 100 ...
Intermittent fasting – timing when you eat – has legions of supporters but not strong science to back it up
Intermittent fasting has been shown to lead to some weight loss in several studies. But it might not work better than other ...
What impact will the global trade war and RFK, Jr.’s MAHA agenda have on European farming, health and the U.S. science brain drain?
A global trade war jeopardizes agriculture worldwide. EU’s Farm to Fork plan also faces criticism. Jon Entine, editor-in-chief of the ...
The coming rice crisis: Can biotechnology prevent global shortages?
More frequent droughts, extreme heat and erratic weather in Asia, where 90 per cent of the world’s rice is grown, ...
What would be the consequences if the weedkiller glyphosate is restricted or banned? Here’s a case study for Missouri
Glyphosate is an essential herbicide for Missouri’s agriculture, playing a vital role in helping farmers effectively control weeds and boost ...
