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.
Trump administration cuts $1 billion in funding for sustainable, ‘climate smart’ farm programs
USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins announced in a press release Monday her agency was immediately canceling the $3.1 billion program. The agency said ...
Tea bags have more than just tea leaves in them. Nanoplastics are common and persistent
Plastic waste contamination represents a critical environmental challenge with growing implications for future generations, However, the health risks associated with ...
Viewpoint: Nigeria is on the cusp of an agricultural genetic modification revolution. Here’s why patent protections are so crucial
The intersection of intellectual property (IP) and genomics is reshaping the landscape of healthcare, biotechnology, and business in Nigeria. Genomics—the ...
How biotech supercharged by AI, robotics and blockchain can help tackle climate change and food shortages
The integration of artificial intelligence (AI), biotechnology, robotics, and blockchain is transforming agriculture worldwide. These technologies tackle pressing issues such ...
Seafood of the future is now: 3D-printed calamari has more protein than real squid
Your next fried calamari appetizer might come from a printer, not the ocean. Scientists from the National University of Singapore ...
Kenyan doctors and health establishment pushing hard for legal clearance to grow genetically modified crops to address food insecurity
Healthcare professionals in the country are calling for resolution on the Genetically Modified food crops in order to enhance the ...
Viewpoint: More a vibe than a coalition—RFK, Jr. rose to popularity with the support of gadflies, conspiracists and crystal healers. Are they turning on him?
After the Senate voted to confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Health and Human Services secretary, supporters of his “Make ...
GLP podcast: ‘Industrial’ food is very nutritious; Porn might be harmful; Love of music is (partially) in your genes
This week on Facts and Fallacies, a farmer and plant geneticist refutes activist claims that modern agriculture drastically reduces nutrient ...
No, farmers who use agricultural chemicals do not have higher cancer rates
There is now scientific consensus that pesticides cause cancer among farmers. This conclusion has been confirmed by the courts insofar ...
FDA poised to approve more genetically engineered food animals
In the United States, animals developed with HGMs [heritable genetic modifications] must be approved by the Food and Drug Administration ...
Should we be concerned about low birth rates in the most developed countries?
"Societies experiencing falling birth rates and an increasing elderly population will eventually need to shift resources and labour from caring ...
How AI is reshaping the food and beverage industry
Everything revolves around data: It connects the links, provides insights, and enables targeted action. The Food & Beverage company of ...
Viewpoint: Dark money funded Organic Consumers Association close to dissolution. Good riddance to a science embarrassment
The Organic Consumers Association, the embarrassing stepchild of the organic industry founded by the late Ronnie Cummins in 1998, has a positive-sounding ...
How synthetic biology is producing greener chemicals, climate-resilient agriculture and repurposing food waste
Since the development of recombinant DNA technology 50 years ago – pioneered here at Stanford – we’ve seen the rise ...
Taking a fresh look at the positives and negatives of genetically modified crops
[T]he vast majority of GMOs grown in the U.S. are "engineered to produce their own pesticides, or survive direct application ...
Synthetic biology may be the only way to survive and thrive on Mars and beyond
A field known as synthetic biology has become one of the most highly anticipated in science. Its outputs range from ...
Viewpoint: U.K. poised to approve the Precision Breeding Act, reverse 25 years of science rejectionism
I served more than two decades ago as a Minister at the former Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) ...
Viewpoint: Despite global risk agencies declaring glyphosate safe, tort lawyer attacks raise concerns about the future of the herbicide and its manufacturer, Bayer
In a quiet but seismic signal to the global agri-food industry, Bayer is warning it may halt the production of ...
Food labeling lies: Bigelow loses $2.36 million judgment for falsely claiming its teas are “Manufactured in the USA”
A California jury recently found that R.C. Bigelow, Inc., the well-known manufacturer of Bigelow teas, intentionally or recklessly misled consumers ...
![Viewpoint: Why does ‘Big Organic’ oppose hydroponics and other sustainable farming innovations? [Hint: $$$]](https://geneticliteracyproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Screenshot-2025-04-27-at-10.52.43 PM-263x129.png)
Viewpoint: Why does ‘Big Organic’ oppose hydroponics and other sustainable farming innovations? [Hint: $$$]
I get pitches for stories every day and sometimes I want to see if the world that opposes science has ...
Air is a major conveyor of microplastics—and some of it is ending up in our bodies through the food we eat
Plastic production is increasing sharply. This has raised concerns about the effects of microplastics (typically defined as plastic particles smaller ...
Nugget size ‘clean meat’ chunks of chicken with natural texture could revolutonize food, medicine and drug development
Scientists have grown a nugget-sized piece of chicken using a new method that can deliver nutrients and oxygen to artificial ...
Off-patent chemistry: Financially strapped American farmers switching to generic crop chemicals
U.S. farmers struggling with slumping incomes and depressed grain prices have been switching to cheaper generic pesticides and fungicides as ...
Viewpoint: Organic or intensive agriculture? Brazil reframes the debate over the most promising future for farming
It's the year 2050, and the world's population has just passed 9 billion people. Economic growth has lifted hundreds of ...
Viewpoint: We need scalable solutions to meet the surging global demand for food. Here’s why biotechnology is key
According to the United Nations, the world’s population is projected to reach nearly ten billion by 2050.1 Against this backdrop, problems ...
Can genetically modified crops co-exist with the rest of agriculture?
Co-existence and containment of genetically modified (GM) plants has been a contentious issue since GM technologies were first commercially released ...
Viewpoint: RFK, Jr. ignites debate over the American diet and the future of meat but his solutions are simplistic and unrealistic
Now that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has kicked off his Make America Healthy Again, or MAHA Commission, food system advocates ...
