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: Anti-biotechnology activists claim Western corporations ‘colonize’ the developing world. Here’s why they are wrong
Today, many scientific discussions are shot through with social justice rhetoric, and the debate over food security in the developing world ...
Part II: The Clean 18 — USDA finds almost no pesticide-related health concerns from fruits and vegetables grown on American farms, while data on organic food is lacking
The purpose of the following section is to explore commodity to commodity differences by a variety of measures and not ...
Age of eco-terrorism: Why are activists attacking the most productive part of our food industry — modern agriculture?
The attack on a grain train by activists hostile to what they call “agro-industry” on March 19 in Brittany, France ...
How Russia’s invasion of Ukraine endangers our global food system
Life is full of unintended consequences. And unfortunately, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has provided classic proof of the old ...
Viewpoint: How South Africa is bungling regulation of CRISPR and other gene edited crops — and why consumers will pay the price
Food security is a global priority – and it is becoming more urgent in the face of climate change, which is ...
Love organic sweet Ruby Red grapefruits? Did you know it’s one of thousands of plants developed by shooting gamma rays at seeds?
You may be amazed to hear that some of the ‘natural’ foodstuffs you eat today may have also originated from ...
Believing shipment was GMO crops, anti-technology organization ‘Extinction Rebellion’ illegally dumps 1,5000 tons of conventional wheat intended to feed poultry in countries hard hit by Ukrainian war
The image is distressing: an entire train stopped in the middle of the track, its ripped sides spilling 1,500 tons of ...
Could the war in Ukraine spark a global food crisis?
A crucial portion of the world’s wheat, corn and barley is trapped in Russia and Ukraine because of the war, while ...
How the Russian invasion of Ukraine is stirring global food insecurity
Consumers around the world will feel the “enormous impact” of Russia’s war on Ukraine through sharply higher food prices and ...
Ukraine crisis prompts Europe to rethink Green Deal Farm to Fork policy, move away from organics to achieve sustainability goals
According to the "Green Deal",with which the European Union wants to become climate-neutral by 2050, only half as many pesticides and ...
How ‘agricultural intensification’ could cut global farm land use by almost 50%, increase biodiversity and help address climate change
In the context of trade-offs between land use and biodiversity, LMU geographers have simulated land saving potentials for agriculture. With ...
Nigerian companies ramp up production to meet high demand for GMO cowpea seeds
Nigeria’s private local seed companies are expanding production of genetically modified (GM) cowpea seeds to supply farmers eager to grow ...
Viewpoint: Challenging the ‘appeal to nature’ fallacy — Is being anti-GMO pro-starvation?
Almost anyone who is versed in agricultural science is pro-GMO. But for much of the United States, which are generations ...
Bayer angling to introduce new high-yield, genetically modified cotton seed in India
Germany's Bayer has applied to cultivate its next generation of genetically modified (GM) cotton seeds in India, government sources said, reviving ...
Weighing risks and benefits of pesticides on India’s farms
The global population currently stands at 7.9 billon and is expected to rise to 9.7 billion by 2050. To meet the food and nutrition ...
Complicating food security: Trade-offs exist between strict conservation measures and global human health, study finds
Area-based conservation targets aimed at stopping and reversing global biodiversity loss are set to form an integral part of the ...
Viewpoint: With Africa embracing genetically modified crops, efforts should expand to include small-scale farmers
How can next-generation GM projects produce crops that work better for smallholder farmers? One immediate change is greater transparency. Most ...
Viewpoint: Anti-chemical campaigners misleadingly invoke a looming ‘insect apocalypse’ to justify demands to junk targeted, synthetic pesticides
“Alternatives to sulfoxaflor exist, what are we waiting for?” titles a blog post on the website of the Belgian environmentalist NGO ...
How would shifting to a primarily plant-based diet impact climate change projections?
The worldwide phase out of animal agriculture, combined with a global switch to a plant-based diet, would effectively halt the ...
Viewpoint: Challenging organic advocates’ claims that agroecology and regenerative farming can sustainably feed France
"Organic could satisfy the needs of the French population quite easily if the proportion of animal products in our diet ...
Myth busting on pesticides: Despite demonization, organic farmers widely use them
Anti-GMO activists like to point to organic food as free of pesticides. They are not, and some chemicals used are ...
We need to double food production by 2050. Here’s how genetically tweaking cowpea, soybean, and potato could help meet that target
AZoCleantech speaks to Amanda Cavanagh from the University of Essex abouth the future of agriculture in a changing climate and ...
GLP Podcast: Genetics of sugar cravings; Male birth control; CRISPR-edited apples coming soon?
We all crave sugar on occasion, and geneticists say they've found some of the genes that may have driven this ...
Viewpoint: The messy ‘non organic’ reality of imported organic food
I am a strong believer in consumer choice. Although I may not agree with every choice a consumer makes, it’s ...
Viewpoint: ‘Only GMOs will save the livestock sector’ — Genetically modified crops could lower the cost of feed 20% in Kenya
The rise in cost of raw materials has forced 50 percent of Kenya’s dairy feed manufacturers to close shop or downsize ...
Study credits climate, not genetics, for bumper US corn crop
Most of the maize yield improvements seen in the US corn belt state of Nebraska can be attributed to a ...
GMOs vs gene edited crops and animals: Are there meaningful distinctions?
Producers have been breeding plants and animals for desired traits, including higher yields, better taste and flavor, and disease resistance ...
