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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How do we feed future astronauts on Mars?
Unrelenting radiation, along with electrostatic discharge from planet-wide dust storms, drove chemical reactions in the arid Martian dirt, ultimately leaving ...
A five-star recipe for cutting food waste?
A comprehensive report on food waste published in [March 2024] by the United Nations Environment Programme shares some sobering statistics: ...
Nobel Prize winner Emmanuelle Charpentier on why biotechnology-wary Europe should embrace plant gene editing
Nobel Prize winner for Chemistry Emmanuelle Charpentier speaks. The authoritative opinion of the French biochemist and geneticist who received an ...
Viewpoint: Organic farming and food will always be a niche product for the urban elite without significant health or environmental benefits
There are many claims that people make about organic farming. It is supposed to be healthier, more environmentally friendly, and ...
Insect-resistant, genetically modified Bt cotton revolutionized farming in India. Now it faces challenges. Here’s why
[Insect resistant] Bt cotton has played a transformative role in India’s agricultural landscape, especially in the cotton farming sector. Introduced ...
Exploring the sustainability challenges of genetically modified crops
Genetically modified (GM) crops are widely used around the world, but their effects on the environment need to be explored ...
Asteroids could make a ‘tasty treat’ in space
Astronauts embarking on long-haul journeys in deep space can’t pack all the calories they will need in the form of ...
Scientists racing to save disease-threatened bananas see potential in genetically modified varieties
Chiquita Brands International [has] bred a new banana called the Yelloway 1 that is resistant to [Tropical Race 4 disease] ...
Industrial intelligence: ‘A paradigm shift comparable to historic innovations like the horse-drawn seed drill in agriculture’
Industries across the board are on the cusp of a revolution driven by technological changes like AI, analytics and digital ...
Africa fights rising hunger by looking to foods of the past
In Africa, like anywhere, hunger is driven by many interwoven factors, not all of which are a consequence of farming ...
Are weeds destined to win their escalating assault on agriculture?
Since the 1980s, more and more plants have evolved to become immune to the biochemical mechanisms that herbicides leverage to ...
How AI is already optimizing food production
[A]rtificial intelligence, or AI, is already being harnessed to optimize food production. Technology products that are currently on the market ...
New Zealand poised to soften restrictions on genetically modified crops by the end of the year, green light gene editing
For nearly three decades, New Zealand’s strict regulations around genetic modification have more or less confined research opportunities to the ...
What can farmers do to mitigate the impact of rising global temperatures
Dire warnings of the terrible effects of changes in our global climate seem to be all around us these days ...
Viewpoint: Activist superstition drives the opposition to genetically modified and gene edited crops
GMO opponents in the United States and worldwide are not concerned with rationally managing risks to minimize potential concerns and ...
What’s regenerative agriculture and what are its market prospects?
Regenerative agriculture focuses on improving soil health, increasing biodiversity, and enhancing ecosystem services while also producing food and fiber. This ...
Threat assessment that US could fall behind China in developing cell-based meat prompts some Republicans to reverse opposition
What would it take for a Republican to support cultivated meat? Could it be China’s progress in the sector? That’s ...
How do farmers in Bangladesh feel about genetically modified crops?—A survey
GM ... crops play a crucial role in feeding the global population and ensuring food security for a larger number ...
Top 10 countries growing genetically modified (GM) crops
The United States had the largest area of genetically modified crops worldwide in 2023, at 74.4 million hectares, followed by ...
Viewpoint: Organic agriculture grain crisis?—What might be the impact if farming goes fully chemical-free organic?
[A] number of papers on going totally chemical-free suggest a significant impact. For instance, a meta-analysis from Nature concluded that ...
Soil footprint: Measuring soil degradation caused by farming
The “soil footprint” is emerging as a crucial concept in sustainable farming, measuring the impact of agriculture on soil erosion ...
Feeding the Future: CRISPR gene editing key to preserving crop genetic diversity
Excessive farming of domesticated plants over the wild-type cultivars could threaten the conservation of the wild-type genetic variant causing genetic ...
‘Growing food in space isn’t exactly a walk in the park’
Picture a future where astronauts harvest fresh lettuce on the Moon and bake bread on Mars. It might sound like ...
With urban expansion and reductions in arable land, vertical farming is thrust into the limelight
Vertical farming promises to revolutionize how we produce food in urban and extreme environments by optimizing plant growth through dynamic ...
Is there a market for hydroponically grown food?
Consumer behavior around food production remains largely disconnected from how the food they consume is actually grown. "The majority of ...
Once a pariah, genetically edited plants are coming to your garden center
The introduction of genetically modified plants into the consumer market brings with it both exciting opportunities and potential challenges. With ...
Pet owners are pushing for more sustainable food options
Pet food consumers are more likely to switch brands or products due to concerns about sustainability, according to a recent ...
