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.
California grows 90% of America’s fresh strawberries. Does pesticide dependence threaten the industry’s future?
Agricultural abundance is a pillar of the California dream. In 2016 the state turned out more than US$45 billion worth ...
Plants communicate to fight off pests. Their ‘conversations’ might help us safeguard our food crops
When a beetle larva bites into the leaf of a goldenrod plant .... [t]he bite damages the goldenrod .... causing ...
Nutrient-fortified, drought-tolerant chickpea could provide sustainable protein source for India
Chickpea is a major source of protein for the people in India. It is grown mainly in semi-arid regions during ...
Locust invasion has jeopardized the livelihoods of 20 million Africans—now a second wave is coming
Billions of desert locusts have swept across east Africa, threatening the livelihoods of more than 20 million people. Now a ...
How do you make vegetables taste like meat? The science behind the rise of plant-based burgers
“Beyond Meat,” an American company that produces plant-based meat substitutes, made a huge splash in financial markets when its stock ...
Ultraviolet irradiation could kill mold on strawberries, cutting fungicide use and food waste
How many times have you purchased a package of beautiful, red, ripe strawberries from the grocery store only to have ...
Viewpoint: Regenerative agriculture—An oversold sustainability solution to climate change?
Over the past six months, major food companies, like General Mills, Danone North America, Kellogg, and others, have launched efforts ...
Farmers running ‘unprecedented race’ to secure fertilizer, seeds and pesticides amid coronavirus outbreak
North America’s biggest farm suppliers are accelerating shipments of fertilizer, seeds and agricultural chemicals to crop-growing regions in an unprecedented ...
CRISPR gene editing could yield drought-tolerant tomatoes and kiwis that grow in salty soil
Genetic engineering will allow the production of tomatoes and kiwis that are more tolerant to saline lands and will require ...
‘My cows don’t know about coronavirus’: Why America will have all the food it needs
My cows don’t know about coronavirus. They’re still giving milk on the schedule that they always follow. They love their ...
Next-generation GMO crops poised to make major contributions to sustainable farming and medicine
Transgenic crops have been planted in different countries for over twenty years, starting from 1996. About 191.7 million hectares were planted ...
Oil from GMO canola, high in omega-3 fatty acids, poised to hit US stores in mid-2020
A newly emerging omega-3 canola oil is set to be available in the market by the second quarter of 2020 ...
Next-generation insect-resistant crops could beat back pests farmers can’t control with chemicals
To compensate for plant’s reduced defenses, farmers have used insecticides or pesticides to control pests and kill those which attack ...
Customized biotech yeast could make more plant-based proteins and replace artificial food additives
A Brazilian biotech start-up is custom-designing novel, natural yeast strains that can be used to make plant proteins, replace artificial ...
Coronavirus boosts likelihood of food shortage in Kenya as farmers battle crop-destroying locust swarms
Several counties are battling new desert locust invasions despite the ongoing spraying of hatchlings .... Farmers have urged the government ...
Europe fears empty grocery stores amid coronavirus outbreak, but food companies say there’s plenty to go around
Naked supermarket shelves and masked shoppers hoarding pasta have become the iconic images of the coronavirus crisis so far. But ...
Can we immunize our food supply the same way we combat deadly diseases with vaccines?
In 16th century China, physicians found that inoculating healthy individuals with pus or dried scabs from someone infected with smallpox, ...
Existing research may downplay environmental benefits of organic farming, new study claims
The environmental effects of agriculture and food are hotly debated. But the most widely used method of analysis often tends ...
Plant-based meat titans Impossible Foods, Beyond Meat face local competition as they expand into Asia
From lab-grown "seafood" to dumplings made with tropical fruit instead of pork, rising demand for sustainable meat alternatives in Asia ...
Gene editing might help restore extinct plants used as food, medicine and perfume thousands of years ago
We debate the ethics of reviving extinct species like the passenger pigeon or woolly mammoth, with scientists clamoring to make some ...
Increased seed oil content could make CRISPR-edited Camelina a desireable choice for cooking and animal feed
Yield10 Bioscience, Inc. [on March 19] announced the results from field tests conducted in the 2019 growing season in the ...
Responsible use of biotech crops can help feed 800 million-plus chronically undernourished people
In 2018, the number of chronically undernourished people in the world is estimated to have increased to 821.6 million, up ...
Should we abandon ‘monoculture’ farming to protect biodiversity and slow climate change?
How we farm can guard against climate change and protect critical wildlife -- but only if we leave single-crop farms ...
Ancient plant genes could increase food production without added fertilizer use, mitigating deadly algal blooms
Some 500 million years ago -- when our continents were connected in a single land mass and most life existed ...
Fall armyworm adds bitter note to farmer’s ‘sweet and sour journey’
For 83-year-old Florence Wambui Theiru, a life of farming in Central Kenya has been a sweet and sour journey. Over ...
Boosting sustainability and combating world hunger using protein from CO2-munching bacteria
This 'miracle' protein powder has the potential to significantly impact our efforts to feed a growing population ...
Kenya GMO insect-resistant Bt cotton approval exposes ‘missed opportunity’ for neighboring Uganda
Kenya has made history as it joined six other African countries in commercial cultivation of BT cotton. Peter Munya, the ...
