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.
Ethiopian enset: Can native plants be improved for economic viability?
Ethiopians have cultivated enset—a cousin of the banana tree—for thousands of years, converting its stalk, roots and leaves into food, ...
Would genetically modified salmon be considered kosher?
Many of us in this era of ecologically motivated dietary restrictions find ourselves editing our menu choices, but I wondered ...
Will synthetic biology face same fate as GMOs?
On a cold weekend last month, more than two thousand undergraduate scientists took over two levels of Boston’s Hynes Convention ...
GMO Safety and Regulations
Calls for increased regulation do not account for the robust review already in place. The safety of GM food and ...
Beegate 3: Conflicts of interest dog European IUCN bee panel as nenonic ban devastates crops
Crops are failing in the first year of the neonicotinoid ban, anti-neonic scientists are tainted by conflicts of interest, the ...
Australian organics board reaffirms zero tolerance for GMOs
The group responsible for setting organic standards has rejected an application by the Western Australian Agriculture Department to allow a ...
Are African farmers in danger of becoming slaves to patented seeds?
GMO debate is sometimes a proxy for questions about corporate control of agriculture, particularly in Africa. As in most cases, ...
Raw organic milk implicated in death of Australian child
Mountain View Organic are a food marketing company with high flown rhetoric about 'kind farming and good health practices". Mountain ...
21 European scientists call for public support of GMOs
In an open letter released last month, 21 out of the 27 most cited plant scientists in Europe pledged decision makers ...
Patent ending for first major GM crop, Roundup Ready soy, new era of open source GMO seeds
I argued in my 2013 book, The Infinite Resource, that the “seeds shouldn’t be patented” argument against GMOs and specifically against ...
Golden rice will not solve malnutrition or biodiversity loss
Golden rice is a product of genetically modified technology that is offered as a solution to vitamin D deficiency for ...
Deflating claims of oft-quoted anti-GMO activist Jeffrey Smith
Bucolic Fairfield, Iowa is home to Genetic-ID, a company founded by John Fagan to test crops and foodstuffs for ingredients ...
Nicaraguan enviro activists say GMOs would not alleviate drought crisis
A severe four-month drought during this year's “wet” season in Nicaragua hit agricultural production in two-thirds of the country’s 153 municipalities ...
Bee-gate: European IUCN task force mired in corruption scandal over neonics ban plot
The European-based IUCN Taskforce on Systemic Pesticides consists of activist scientists that exploit the weaknesses in the peer review process, ...
While almost all celiac and gluten sensitivity claims are misguided, symptoms are real and treatable
There is no scientific evidence for a GMO-celiac disease link. It's also clear that non-celiac gluten allergies are wildly overstated ...
Nassim Taleb is wrong: Black Swan more likely for non-GMO food than GM varieties
Much has been written about Nassim Taleb's coauthored paper arguing that the precautionary principle dictates that we should avoid GMOs because of ...
Why is LA trying to ban GMO crops?
Even if you hate the idea of genetically modified food, you would gain nothing from a Los Angeles City Council ...
Why Africa should embrace crop biotechnology
Uganda passed a Biotechnology and Biosafety Policy in 2008 and later drafted and tabled Biotechnology and Biosafety Bill which is ...
Response to Union of Concerned Scientists: Fears about Arctic apple are misleading
As a consumer and as an agricultural scientist, I’m looking forward to the introduction of the Arctic® apple, which is nearing ...
Oregon GM labeling proponents concede defeat
Supporters of Oregon's Ballot Measure 92 to require labeling of genetically modified foods conceded defeat Thursday. The Yes on 92 ...
Are organic farms more drought resistant?
The supposed productivity gaps between organic and conventional farming may be a lot smaller than thought, according to a new analysis ...
Study claims agroecology closes organic yield deficit with conventional farming
The more scientists actually study agroecology, the better it looks. The largest meta-analysis to date comparing yields of organic and ...
GMO labeling costly for those who don’t even care
Mandatory labeling of GM food in the United States will not only make all food more costly but also bamboozle ...
Proponents of organic diet craze reject GMOs, swear by health benefits
Over the past several years, the organic food craze has definitely grown. But some people feel that genetically modified foods ...
Kenyan research on GM maize must reach farmers
Dr Murenga Mwimali is the country co-ordinator of Water Efficient Maize for Africa. He was interviewed by AGATHA NGOTHO You ...
We can feed the world without chopping down more forests
Maybe this is obvious, but expanding our agricultural footprint to feed the growing population — cutting down forests, plowing prairies ...
Congress skeptical of benefits of mandatory GMO labeling law
The food industry is likely to find a receptive Congress come January in its fight against mandatory labeling of genetically ...
