Sustainability/Climate Change
Food production needs are expected to roughly double over the next 35 years as the world population grows and people in under developed countries become more affluent and demand more calories. Healthy ecosystems are vital to the survival of all organisms. How can we grow crops without harming the environment? How can we balance technology and global food security? What is the right balance of organic and conventional farming? What role can genetics and biotechnology play without compromising the needs of tomorrow?
Below is the complete archive of related articles sorted by date.
How Rodale Institute, organic advocates manipulate data to ‘prove’ yields approach conventional farming
In July a new report by a panel of scientists under the banner IPES FOOD (International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food ...
New sequencing technique will make cloning genes for disease resistance in plants easier
[The] constant evolutionary arms race between plants and pathogens, whereby the organisms causing disease in plants are mutating to avoid plant ...
How crop insurance discourages use of sustainable cover crops
Cover crops feed soil microorganisms so they can, in turn, deliver more nutrients to the cash crop. They also improve ...
Nitrogen-efficient GMO rice uses less fertilizer, improves yields
According to FAO projections, by 2035, a 26% increase in rice production will be necessary to feed the growing population ...
Biotech firm Oxitec says genetically engineering fruit-damaging medfly ready for field trials
Oxitec announced [Dec. 12] that after a series of successful contained environment studies across multiple countries with its self-limiting Mediterranean fruit ...
Are millennials’ attitudes on GMOs anti-science?
If you have noticed the selection of organic, GMO-free crackers encroaching on the shelf space of the Pop Tarts and ...
Talking Biotech: Missouri’s Mel Oliver on the myth of GMO terminator genes
Missouri’s Mel Oliver on the myth of GMO terminator genes ...
How Michael Pollan and the ‘foodie’ movement hurt small farmers
...[I]n some ways I am glad the "foodie" movement encouraged people to learn more about agriculture and how farmers provide the ...
Boulder commissioners suppressed report showing GMO crops more sustainable than organic
The County Commissioners’ March 17 decision to ban GMOs from Boulder County open space was rigged. Commissioners Elise Jones and ...
New York Times unresponsive to scientists’ criticism of Danny Hakim’s error-filled article on GMO ‘failures’
The New York Times has conducted a decades-long vendetta against the ... techniques of genetic engineering applied to agriculture. Bias and inaccuracy ...
Breakthrough Institute: Outdated romantic notions of farming crippling innovation
Since the dawn of agriculture, humans have been converting forests, grasslands, and other ecosystems to farmland. The long-term conversion of ...
Norman Borlaug’s daughter Julie calls GMO opponents “anti-innovation”
The use of ... GMOs, is an important topic to many consumers. We recently talked with Julie Borlaug, granddaughter of Norman Borlaug ...
‘Precautionary’ delays in deploying GMO technology could cost $1 trillion
This article introduces a simple framework to assess the economics of delaying the introduction of GM technologies due to concerns ...
Oregon teacher: Anti-GMO activist Vandana Shiva talk slippery on facts
On November 21, 2016, prominent GMO critic Vandana Shiva, gave a presentation at the Peace Center at Lane Community College ...
UN Biodiversity Conference: Anti-technology NGOs aim to block gene drive, CRISPR, synthetic biology
The UN Biodiversity Conference is taking place in Cancun through December 17. Activist groups and ... international NGOs can have a ...
New Zealand won’t permit field trials of sustainable GMO ryegrass
AgResearch scientists have developed a genetically modified (GM) ryegrass that has a 40 per cent increase in production and a 30 ...
Monsanto, climate experts collaborating to reduce farming’s carbon footprint
Various groups have joined with Monsanto Co. to form the Carbon-Neutral Collaborative, which was highlighted in a news release as ...
Bug gene therapy: Helpful insects could carry genes to protect diseased crops
...[S]cientists at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) want to capitalize on insects’ natural relationships with plants. They believe ...
Doubling nitrogen fixation in soybeans could boost yields, reduce fertilizer need
A Washington State University plant scientist may have discovered how to double nitrogen fixation in soybeans. Her greenhouse-grown soybean plants ...
‘Gene drive’ scientists ask UN Biodiversity Conference to not block new technology
Editor's Note: This is a letter written to the governing body overseeing the biosafey treaty--the Convention on Biological Diversity and ...
UK Soil Association challenges New Scientist claim that organic farming is not sustainable
[Editor's note: This article is a response to Michael Le Page's recent article in New Scientist on why organic farming is ...
Honeybees are not in crisis, but what about beekeepers?
While it's now acknowledged that honeybee populations aren’t declining, some of the focus of concern has shifted from the pollinators ...
Video: Ecological and economic value of restoring American chestnut tree using GM technology
American chestnut trees were once among the most majestic hardwood trees in the eastern deciduous forests, many reaching 80 to ...
Buy only “hormone free” meat? Farmer says don’t be fooled by deceptive labels
No poultry, pork or beef that you eat contains added hormones. Instead of capitalizing on fear and misleading consumers into ...
GMO alfalfa has higher yields than conventional, according to USDA survey
...[R]elatively little has been known about the adoption of genetically engineered alfalfa, canola and sugar beets, crops that add substantial ...
Talking Biotech: Kentucky plant scientist Mark A. Williams on how organic, conventional farming can work together to promote sustainability
GreenGenes: Kentucky’s Mark A. Williams on organic and conventional farming working together to promote sustainability ...
Indian crop scientists: 9 natural organic pesticides that can harm our health and ecosystem
Organic food is promoted as superior and safer for today’s health conscious people. It is claimed that they are pesticide ...
