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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‘Bee-washing’ by advocacy groups and product pushers: We should shift the focus to native bees not honeybees
Amid the worry over the loss of honey bees, a far quieter but just as devastating loss is occurring among ...
Bucking US pressure, key European politicians pushing to make its farming policies a global green standard
Ahead of a much-anticipated ‘Farm to Fork’ strategy to accompany the EU Green Deal, some EU policymakers say Europe’s food ...
Kenya begins pesticide spraying to fight ‘locust swarm of the century,’ but critics abound
As the devastating locust invasion continues to spread in East Africa and a new wave of locusts is gathering, pesticide ...
Some organic farming advocates poised to embrace CRISPR and other New Breeding Techniques because of their sustainability benefits
There is a new ongoing debate as to what plant breeding technologies constitute genetic modification. The transgenic GM crops introduced ...
Beneficial bugs can co-exist with Bt crops, new studies show
Genetically modified, insect-resistant Bt crops do not have harmful effects on beneficial bugs in farmers’ fields, two new scientific papers ...
Climate change poses mixed consequences for agriculture: Conservation International study concludes global warming will make farming possible in regions important for biodiversity and carbon storage
Future farming in regions that were previously unsuitable for agriculture could significantly impact biodiversity, water resources, and greenhouse gas emissions ...
African science literacy: Ugandan teachers are being trained in agricultural biotechnology
In a bid to popularize technology in local schools, the Uganda Biosciences Information Center (UBIC) has begun training teachers and ...
Infographic: Without improved crop yields, farmers would need a lot more land to feed us
If we took away significant gains in cereal crops yields since 1962, farmers would have been forced to claim more ...
Genetic engineering of a different kind: Using nuclear energy in Burundi to attack cassava diseases
When Burundian cassava farmers split open the plant’s starchy root, they’re hoping to find white flesh that resembles coconut meat ...
Viewpoint: How Europe’s risk aversion has turned the continent into an agricultural backwater
With tariffs announced against Brazil and Argentina, and a threat against France, Donald Trump is dragging the world deeper into ...
CRISPR technology opens door to vertical farming of dozens of crops, from strawberries and cucumbers to mango and almond trees
Do you want it locally grown, water-saving and pesticide-free? Urban agriculture might suit you, with a little help from gene ...
What’s Bayer’s argument in its appeal of the $265 million Bader Farms-Monsanto dicamba weedkiller jury verdict?
What’s next in the Bader Farms lawsuit? Both Bayer and BASF deny Bader [Farms] suffered any dicamba damage. They blame ...
Viewpoint: European environmental activists scaremonger against agricultural science, manipulating media and politicians
Whether we are talking about genetic engineering or glyphosate, scaremongering threatens our prosperity. Three-quarters of the Swiss are afraid of ...
Climate change could turn bugs into more aggressive pests—and limit the ability of plants to protect themselves
Recent models are telling us that, as our climate warms up, herbivores and pests will cause increased damage to agricultural ...
What do the latest studies say about IARC’s lone conclusion that glyphosate could cause cancer? Faulty memories, statistical bias undermine conclusion
Glyphosate is a broad-spectrum herbicide that is used to control many types of plants worldwide. The International Agency for Research ...
Biofortification from Golden Rice and other biotech crops could help cut $3.5 trillion lost annually to malnutrition
Over two billion people worldwide continue to suffer from hidden hunger, or the lack of essential micronutrients, which impairs the ...
East Africa faces two plagues: Once-in-a-generation insect infestation and swarms of European activists trying to block the only effective tool, pesticides
European activists are putting lives at risk in East Africa, turning a plague of insects into a real prospect of ...
Salt tolerant plants are on the horizon – and critical to address the looming crisis of a shortage of arable farm land
An important study brings us one step closer to cultivating crops in previously infertile soil ...
Burger King plans expansion of plant-based meat options following booming sales of GMO Impossible Burger
Burger King has been a pioneer among fast-food chains when it comes to offering plant-based meat alternatives. In August, it ...
Australia’s stingless bees: Beekeepers’ best defense against deadly varroa mite?
Australia’s native stingless bees could be a key line of defense for the nation’s horticulture industry against the dangerous bee ...
‘Monsanto on the attack’: How an aggressive defense contributed to the ‘dicamba debacle’
It's pretty clear that the ag industry has a problem. But what is the nature of it? ...
The real sustainability revolution in farming rests with CRISPR and other New Breeding Techniques. Why are organic farmers blocked from using them?
New breeding techniques allow increased precision and much shorter time periods than conventional breeding ...
GMO sustainability advantage? Glyphosate spurs no-till farming, preserving soil carbon
Skeptics of GMOs decry the growing practice of no-till farming and its connection to herbicide-tolerant crops. Yet, agronomists say good ...
The Varroa destructor mite is the greatest threat to US honeybees, and why things could get worse.
Researchers are looking at a long-term solution: develop bees that can fend off Varroa themselves ...
Famine in Africa and the Middle East? Devastating stem rust fungus threatens global staple crop, but genomic solution may finally be on the horizon
These tools could give wheat, one of our most important staple crops, some much-needed relief ...
39 biotech experts’ open letter protests anti-GMO activist Vandana Shiva’s ‘anti-science’ talks at Stanford and UC Santa Cruz
An activist who compares GMOs to rape and fertilizers to war should not be given a platform ...
Do GMO foods or glyphosate cause gluten allergies?
Anti-GMO campaigners continue to link GMOs and the herbicide glyphosate to gluten allergies--even though there is no commercialized genetically engineered ...
