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.
Researchers petition UK officials to launch disease-resistant potato field trials
The Sainsbury Laboratory, Norwich [in the UK], has applied to [the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs] Defra for ...
What should we call lab-grown meat? Our decision could help or hinder food innovation
The Dirt: We need protein as part of a healthy diet— and many of us turn to meat as a ...
Sequenced nematode genome could help win ‘arms race’ against devastating soybean pest
Iowa State University researchers overcame the quirks of the soybean cyst nematode’s DNA to sequence its genome, paving the way ...
African biotech scientist challenges activist opposition to Bt pest-resistant cowpea, Nigeria’s first GMO crop
Cowpea is one of the most important indigenous African legumes in Nigeria due to its ability to grow in drought-prone ...
UN report warning of ‘disappearing’ biodiversity raises unjustified alarms about food security, agronomist argues
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has just published a voluminous report, The State of the World ‘s Biodiversity for ...
While Americans are ambivalent about plant-based ‘clean meat’ protein alternatives, Chinese and Indians are enthusiastic
Would you eat a burger grown from animal cells rather than a whole cow? What about a plant-based burger, once ...
RNA-based pesticides are coming, but how will they affect the ecosystem?
New research shows how a new kind of genetically engineered pesticide moves through and degrades in the soil. This new generation ...
Golden Rice is coming. Finally! Will it be the game-changer hinted at for almost 20 years?
Having a staple crop that delivers adequate nutrition is a necessary precondition to fixing poverty ...
Reexamining the agricultural ‘Green Revolution’: Did Norman Borlaug really save a billion people from starvation?
A memorable episode of The West Wing....features a President Nimbala of a fictive African republic. Nimbala holds forth at a press ...
How plant pollen could speed development of higher yielding CRISPR-edited crops
The genome editor CRISPR has transformed many areas of biology, but using this tool to enhance certain varieties of crops ...
Biotech industry, USDA hype CRISPR gene-editing benefits to avoid second GMO safety debate
The U.S. agriculture industry is trying to get ahead of any backlash over gene-edited foods and win over the public ...
‘Factory farming’ poisons our food and harms animals?
Veterinarian Dr. Leah Dorman takes on popular myths about animal agriculture ...
Neutralizing toxic military explosives with GMO plants
Military preparedness means testing ammunition in controlled field trials, as well as decommissioning obsolete weaponry. The result is a significant ...
New herbicide controls hard-to-kill weeds, could be paired with resistant GMO crops
Purdue University researchers have developed a compound effective for controlling weeds that is also safe for people and the environment. They ...
From pesticide scare stories to insect ‘extinction,’ reporters are addicted to ‘pseudoscience,’ says science writer Matt Ridley
Three times in [February 2019], pseudo-science flew around the world before the scientific truth had got its boots on (as ...
Mysterious genes that make citrus fruit sour could lead to sweeter lemons, limes and oranges
Lemons are known for their face-puckering sour taste. Now scientists have uncovered the mysterious genes behind this acidity, new findings ...
Billionaire investors led by Bill Gates back biotech start-up Ginkgo Bioworks to expand plant-based meat industry
As demand for plant-based food like fake burgers heats up, biotech start-up Ginkgo Bioworks is launching a venture to bring ...
Swapping tractors for computer tablets: Is the future of farming digital and indoors?
Workers at Bowery Farming's warehouse near New York have swapped out a farmer's hoe for a computer tablet that takes ...
How genetic engineering can help Africa cope with climate change by tweaking crops, animals
The impact of climate change on African crops could be mitigated by GE technologies ...
Meet the Israeli start-ups aiming to make earth-friendly steak in the laboratory
Several Israeli start-ups have joined a handful of companies around the globe trying to develop lab-grown meat, something they see ...
Claims of ‘insect armageddon’ based on ‘patchy, unrepresentative and piecemeal’ data, entomologists say
In 1828, a teenager named Charles Darwin opened a letter to his cousin with “I am dying by inches, from not having ...
Nanotubes and CRISPR gene editing could make producing disease-resistant crops faster and cheaper
Inserting or tweaking genes in plants is more art than science, but a new technique developed by University of California, ...
How plant breeders produce new crops to stay ahead of climate change, disease
Global warming and changes in the amount – and location – of water, are key factors in the need to ...
Biodiversity declines threaten world food production, warns United Nations
A drop in global biodiversity is putting our ability to produce food at risk, a new United Nations report warns ...
With lab-grown meat coming to our plates, will we be eating animals in 50 years?
Climate change has altered the debate over the ethics of meat consumption, adding a new dimension that certainly changes the ...
From a sustainability perspective, GMO AquaBounty salmon should be a ‘dream come true’. Why do environmentalists oppose it?
The flip-flop by Food and Water Watch and other advocacy groups rests not on environmental or science-based concerns but on ...
Drought-tolerant corn adoption jumps 20% in four years as US farmers strive to protect crop yields
Droughts have been among the most significant causes of crop yield reductions and losses for centuries....To date, little has been ...
