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.
Reconstructing the ‘perfect’ watermelon: Returning ‘lost genes’ from wild relatives to modern fruit
Could farmers soon be growing and harvesting the perfect watermelon? It is no secret — delivering juicy, delicious “summer smiles” is no ...
Pesticides and Food: It’s not a black or white issue — Part 5: Soil health ― When synthetic pesticides are more sustainable than ‘natural’ organics
Most consumers believe organic farming avoids pesticides and prioritizes the health of the environment more than conventional farming. However, this ...
Cutting-edge fashion: From bacteria-dyed fabric to algae-based textiles, green fashion is experiencing a technological boom
A crop of scientists and fashion tech pioneers are increasingly looking to nature for clues as to how to develop ...
Climate-smart genetically-engineered seeds may be Nigeria’s only viable way to confront farming disruptions brought on by climate change
Climate change has been a major menace in agricultural production especially for Nigeria that is fighting hard to produce enough ...
AI horticulture: Optimizing climate change resistant crops of the future with the help of machine learning
In the quest for sustainable agriculture and food security, AI-driven plant breeding has been heralded as a game-changing solution. The adoption ...
Viewpoint: ‘USDA successfully brought Big Ag aboard in the fight against climate change. Now they have to prove it will work’
The strategy of paying large incentives to farmers so they adopt climate-friendly farming methods won over large swaths of big ...
Closing gap between potential and acheivable productivity: India needs to be open to genetic tinkering and other enhancement technologies
Though India has achieved food security with the production of food grains reaching 330 MT, the demand for coarse cereals, ...
Record heat waves wreak havoc on attempts to wipe-out disease-carrying mosquitoes
Scientists have warned that some mosquito-borne diseases, like malaria and dengue fever, may spread into new territories as the world ...
Yes, more honeybees die now than 40 years ago — but reasons why are not as clear-cut as politicians and activists claim
“Save the bees,” you will hear, at ice cream shops and farmers markets. A study touting the latest death rates ...
Kenya loses 60% of corn crop to stem borer pests annually. Insect-resistant Bt GMO corn could raise yields and cut pesticide use
Bacillus Thuringiensis (BT) is a species of bacteria that produces proteins that are toxic to certain insects. Because of this, ...
Should University Agricultural Research Scientists Partner With Industry?
Studies show research on GE crops is not significantly influenced by conflicts of Interest. However, it is important to remain ...
Pest to protein: Indian aquaculture farmers explore economic and sustainability benefits of insect-based feed
Insects are emerging as a viable source of sustainable alternative ingredients – primarily insect protein concentrate or insect meal and ...
How to design climate-adaptive next-generation gene-edited plants while preserving biodiversity
A special issue of the journal PLOS Biology explores plant engineering as a tool to improve the climate resilience and carbon capture potential ...
Climate change impact of food waste: ⅓ of our food is wasted contributing to half of agriculture’s carbon footprint
Around a third of human-generated greenhouse gas emissions comes from the global food system, and lost or wasted food is known ...
AI accelerates development of pest-resistant and climate change adaptive seeds
While agricultural companies and farmers have a host of ways to tackle disease and pests, there are novel solutions on ...
Making waves in aquaculture: Norway approves plant-based omega-3 oil that replaces fish with biotech canola
The Norwegian Food Safety Authority (NFSA) granted approval for Aquaterra® Omega-3 oil for use in fish feed applications according to ...
Agricultural biosecurity: How can we keep food safe in a world of globally connected farms and pastures?
You’ve probably heard the word biosecurity referencing animal health, but many still ask what exactly is it? ...
Viewpoint: Europe’s proposed Green Deal is a “disaster under current climatic conditions”
Is Europe sufficiently equipped to cope in terms of food security and supply in the event of sharp rises in ...
Growing more ancient grain millet could help American farmers adapt to climate change
The Midwest is known for its rows and rows of corn and soybeans that uniformly cover the landscape ...
Understanding links between energy and agriculture
My parents were Calabrian. During the first half of the 20th century, my father was an orange picker and a ...
Protecting honeybees and wild bees from neonicotinoid pesticides? As environmentalists and politicians lobby for bans, science takes a backseat
There has been a recent surge in the number and intensity of campaigns by environmental groups lobbying to ban many ...
Why do lab studies suggest neonicotinoid pesticides can harm bees, while field research suggests they have minimal environmental impact?
Pollinators play a crucial role in the production of food crops. While many crops are open pollinated, meaning they don’t ...
We need another source of omega-3 supplements for food and animal feed. Enriched genetically modified rapeseed could fill the gap
In March this year, Norway’s Food Safety Authority became the latest country to conclude that using Omega-3 enriched GM rapeseed ...
Traits found in roots of desert plants could help crops survive escalating droughts due to climate change
Germinating Arabidopsis (thale cress) and alfalfa with a microbe taken from the roots of a common desert plant has been ...
A feast for bioengineered yeast? How leftover agricultural waste can be transformed into bioplastics, pharmaceuticals and fuel
Yeast has been used for thousands of years in the production of beer and wine and for adding fluff and ...
Bioengineer or die: The genetically-engineered toolkit plants need to survive a climate-changed future
Climate change is affecting the types of plant varieties we can cultivate, as well as how and where we can ...
‘Stabilize the climate, halt mass extinction, and reduce the risks of new pandemics’: Can rewilding help nature restore itself?
Rewilding has gone global, and rewilding projects are growing in more than 70 countries across Asia, Africa, Europe, Australia, Latin America and ...
