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.
Scientists say IARC fumbled glyphosate carcinogenic determination
Glyphosate, a widely used herbicide, joined the World Health Organisation (WHO)’s list of things that “probably” cause cancer on Friday, March 20th ...
House Republicans propose voluntary non-GMO food label
Inspired by the popular “USDA organic” label, House Republicans are proposing a new government certification for foods free of genetically ...
Glyphosate takes another hit: Herbicides may lead to antibiotic resistance
This has not been a good week for glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup and other herbicides. On Friday, the ...
Social scientists skeptical about benefits of vitamin A enriched GM banana
Students and faculty discussed the ethics and effectiveness of genetically modified banana research being conducted at Iowa State University. Clark ...
IARC scientist defends his finding that glyphosate is likely carcinogenic
A World Health Organization group's controversial finding that the world's most popular herbicide "probably is carcinogenic to humans" was based ...
IARC got it wrong: Link between glyphosate and cancer ‘nonexistent’
The IARC, one of the intergovernmental agencies within the World Health Organization, is widely respected for their research into the causes ...
Anti-GMO activists leverage glyphosate cancer reclassification to resurrect discredited claims
The WHO reclassification of glyphosate that's paired with herbicide resistant GM crops has led to a swirl of claims that ...
‘Neonics not key driver of bee deaths’–USDA study clashes with White House considering restrictions on pesticide
Even as a special White House created task force is poised any day now to address concerns over supposedly vanishing ...
Fair or Fear: The anti-GMO game plan. You decide
Fair or Fear Mongering? What do you think? (Credit: @chucklasker) ...
Vietnam approves GM corn as animal feed to reduce dependence on imports
Vietnamese farmers nationwide are now able to plant three varieties of genetically-modified (GM) corn from the Swiss firm Syngenta, according ...
Boom and bust of ‘green crude’ leads to new venture: synbio oil and more
The idea behind Sapphire Energy was radical: Use synthetic biology, a promising new technology that lets scientists reengineer the genetics of ...
In wake of Owen Paterson rebuke of anti-GMO ‘Green Blob’, advocates and opponents play tug-of-war over Africa
Owen Paterson's recent speech on the green lobby's role in blocking GMOs in Africa stirred some strong responses from both ...
How to genetically engineer a better tomato
So, I think we’ve all seen this type of image from anti-GMO activists: The irony is that this is so ...
Do we love chocolate enough to turn to GMOs?
GMOs may be able to save chocolate. The bigger question is whether we want them to. Chocolate–the scrumptious confection of Valentine boxes ...
Where Canada stands in GMO crop adoption
The growth of genetically engineered food crops has been strong in a handful of nations, but may be slowing as ...
Kevin Folta interview: ‘Yes, I’m a shill—not for Big Ag but for Science’
Co-hosts of The League of Nerds Myles Power and James Gurney interview Kevin Folta, professor at the University of Florida, ...
What happens when Big Data meets Big Ag?
Big Data is the 'next new thing' in agriculture. It's captured the imagination of investors and has resulted in dramatic ...
So Roundup “probably” causes cancer. This means what, exactly?
The World Health Organization just classified glyphosate — the active ingredient in the herbicide Roundup — as a probable carcinogen. Don’t forget ...
Nature: IARC glyphosate cancer classification linked to animal studies, no evidence of human threat
The cancer-research arm of the World Health Organization last week announced that glyphosate, the world’s most widely used herbicide, is ...
‘Stop farmers from being a science experiment; Get glyphosate off the market’
The issues surrounding G.M.O.s — genetically modified organisms — have never been simple. They became more complicated last week when ...
GMOs—Good option for climate friendly farming
Shahriyar Smith's guest opinion ("Clean fuels plan would drive GMO expansion in Oregon," March 8) misleads in a number of ways ...
MSNBC’s ‘Frankenjournalism’ on GM labeling
When veteran health and environmental reporters dig into the GMO debate, they start showing people what all the most trustworthy ...
ActionAid spreads fear of GMOs in Uganda with pictures of rats with tumors
Donors to one of Britain’s largest humanitarian aid charities have been unwittingly funding an aggressive anti-GM food campaign in Africa ...
Monsanto escalates attack on decision classifying glyphosate as ‘probably carcinogen’
Today, Monsanto Company further addressed last week’s assessment on glyphosate by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). “We ...
Reporters bungle coverage of ‘glyphosate probably causes cancer” determination
Headlines around the globe have proclaimed “the world’s most-used pesticides are probably causing cancer.” A UN agency has classified some common ...
IARC’s cancer classification could axe use of glyphosate in Colombian war on drugs
The new labeling of the world’s most-popular weed killer as a likely cause of cancer is raising more questions for ...
Academics Review gives UN agency ‘F’ for evaluation of glyphosate
The International Agency for Research on Cancer Monograph evaluation of certain insecticides and herbicides earns an F grade for failure ...
