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.
Most people want government experts, not public opinion, to decide GMO labeling
I wanted to draw your attention to an aspect of the GMO labeling debate that you don't hear a lot about ...
Beemageddon? Honeybee numbers at 20 year high
You've heard the news about honeybees. "Beepocalypse," they've called it. Beemageddon. America's honeybees are dying, putting honey production and $15 billion worth ...
Opponents of Bt brinjal in Bangladesh employ false media reports and scare tactics
Media reports are claiming that Bt brinjal (eggplant) has failed in the field and that farmers in Bangladesh are regretting growing it ...
Scotland banning GMOs over objections of Scottish farmers
Scotland is to ban the cultivation of genetically modified (GM) produce, the country's rural ministry has announced. Rural affairs secretary Richard ...
Industry-University GMO relationship: Complicated reality exploited by activists
Concern over ties between academia and industry is legitimate, but often overblown, and can be used to justify witch hunts. There is the ...
GMO white sea cucumbers could make costly Chinese delicacy affordable
Sea cucumbers, sluglike creatures that hug the seafloor, have long been a prized delicacy at Chinese banquets, the mark of ...
Anti-GMO critics could use lesson in critical thinking
The debate over GMOs is a case study in critical thinking. By exploring the errors in fact and thinking circulated by ...
Can “lab-grown” meat end animal cruelty and promote sustainability?
If we know too much about that juicy steak we might not want to eat it anymore. A lot of ...
Biotech professor’s emails show no misconduct in battling anti-GMO propaganda, but Monsanto tie noted
Michelle McGuire, a nutrition scientist at Washington State University in Pullman, was stunned when anti-GMO activists asked to read her ...
GMOs are a touchy subject at the dinner table. Is thoughtful debate possible?
The subject of GMOs can whip pleasant dinner conversation into an ugly froth. It’s a complicated issue, produced with complicated science. Worse, many ...
Actress Gwyneth Paltrow lectures Congress on science and safety of GMOs
Gwyneth Paltrow lent a touch of Hollywood glamor Wednesday to a campaign against legislation that would prevent the labelling of ...
Strawberries, threatened by disease, look to pesticide-avoiding genetic solution
Delectable strawberries are highly sought after — and not just by humans. Rodents, insects, fungi and bacteria all like to pig ...
3 ways GMO rice could improve world but tech hurdles and anti-GMO protests block way
New GMO varieties of rice could improve nutrition, cut potentially dangerous arsenic levels and help combat climate change, but activist ...
Opinions on GMO labeling cross partisan divide—for now
Unlike issues such as gun control or universal healthcare that fall neatly into "Red" and "Blue" territories, divisions over GMO ...
Anti-GMO critics claim Big Ag out lobbies “good food” organic supporters
The leaders of the so-called good food sector — including Chipotle, Whole Foods and Applegate — are winning big in ...
Do activists claiming pesticide Beemageddon really care about bee survival or is it tactical ploy?
We know that activist groups really care about bees. In 2013, about 200 activists held a funeral for 50,000 bumblebees that ...
Asia poised to overtake anti-GMO Europe in farming innovation
If current economic growth trends persist, the “Great Divergence” between Western Europe and East and South Asia in per capita ...
Talking Biotech: Rothamstead’s aphid-repelling GMO wheat; Critique of Adyydurai’s formaldehyde claim
Rothamstead’s John Pickett onaphid-repelling GMO wheat; Kevin Folta critique of Adyydurai’s formaldehyde claim ...
GM moths may be eco-safe way to curb pest
Scientists from the Oxford University spin-off company Oxitec say they have developed a way of genetically modifying and controlling an ...
Has farm-to-table movement become a marketing sham?
Today, chefs can’t shut up about where every morsel that went into every dish got its start in life. No ...
Will Hollywood anti-GMO/pro-labeling activists Lena Dunham and Gwyneth Paltrow consider science?
Human geneticist who now opposes mandatory GMO labeling appeals to actresses to engage independent university scientists and not just ideologues ...
Organic agriculture ‘unscientific, heavily subsidized marketing gimmick’
Consumers of organic foods are getting both more and less than they bargained for. On both counts, it’s not good ...
To make meat greener, make it more efficiently
Meat consumption is increasing around the world as countries become wealthier. That leaves us with the practical meat question — that is, the ...
Video: Monsanto spars with Australia’s Undercurrent over glyphosate, ‘world food domination’
The Guardian hosted a scathing video on Monsanto's business practices and history by Undercurrent, an online news show. It then ...
White strawberries? How genetics is creating the berry of the future
For a little berry, the genetics of the strawberry are astoundingly complex. Humans have two sets of chromosomes, making inherited ...
Methane reducing genetically modified rice in development
Not all climate-change mitigation involves changing human habits. In a paper in Nature, scientists unveiled a new genetically modified rice plant ...