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.
Can indoor farming surmount agriculture’s biggest challenges?
A car park opposite the infamous New York City housing estate where rapper Jay-Z grew up seems an unlikely place ...
Growing some crops under solar panels boosts water efficiency, electricity generation
Solar panels might seem like they’re in direct competition with plants. One is catching sunlight to do photosynthesis, the other ...
Podcast: Turning mushrooms into bacon (and other cool stuff) to boost sustainability
Today John Cumbers [founder and CEO of SynBioBeta] talks with Eben Bayer, CEO and Co-Founder of the biomaterials company Ecovative ...
Funnel web spider venom kills a human in an hour—can we use it to battle deadly honeybee pests?
A bite from a funnel web spider delivers neurotoxins that can kill an adult in hours, or a child in ...
Hormel, Kellogg launch ‘non-GMO’ plant-based meats to compete with Beyond, Impossible
Hormel said [September 4] it will launch its own plant-based meat brand, following Kellogg’s announcement of a similar addition to ...
Podcast: The story of a grape disease that decimated vineyards for 200 years—and how science helped stop it
When Europeans began to colonize North America 400 plus years ago, they brought along the crops they knew how to ...
Podcast: Food snobbery vs the Impossible Burger: A skeptical look at health claims about plant-based meat
"Natural food" advocates have blasted Impossible and Beyond as unhealthy. Let's look at their arguments ...
Cloning tool spots ‘foreign DNA,’ minimizes off-target changes with CRISPR gene editing
Researchers from Polytechnic University of Valencia, Spain and Durham University in the UK developed a tried and tested cloning system ...
Viewpoint: Myth debunked—GM crops haven’t radically changed our food supply
[In August] South Australia announced it would be lifting its ban on the growth of genetically modified organisms (GMO) ...
Podcast: South Australian farmers battle for access to GMO crops. Will they win?
Australia has welcomed the use of genetically engineered (GE) crops, and farmers have found particular benefit from broad acre canola ...
Can we stop stupid politics from ruining carbon farming?
It seems like every Democratic presidential candidate wants to get farmers sucking carbon out of the air and sticking it ...
Climate change boosted banana production for 60 years, but hotter temperatures could finally cut yield gains
Climate change could negatively impact banana cultivation in some of the world’s most important producing and exporting countries, a study ...
Viewpoint: Developing world farmers see GMO crop adoption as path to prosperity
Farmers on the frontiers of prosperity are choosing GM seeds. They’re embracing this technology so much that 54 percent of ...
Pollen diversity boosts honeybee defenses against parasites, insecticides, long-distance transport
A new study provides valuable insights into pollen abundance and diversity available to honeybee colonies employed in five major pollinator-dependent ...
Virus-resistant GMO pinto bean could cut crop losses in Brazil by 40% or more
Brazilian farms are expected to begin planting a transgenic [pinto] bean resistant to the main crop disease in October, and ...
DNA sequencing technique spots wheat pathogens, and diseases-fighting microbes to stop them
Plant diseases, especially those caused by fungal pathogens, jeopardize global crop biosecurity and preventing them requires rapid detection and identification ...
GMO ryegrass could help mitigate climate change, but research, regulatory hurdles remain
AgResearch principal scientist Dr Greg Bryan recently returned from the United States where the Crown Research Institute is conducting field ...
Viewpoint: Brazilian farmers destroy the Amazon? Here’s what Greenpeace isn’t telling you
In 2016, the Brazilian model Gisele Bündchen flew over the Amazon forest with the head of Greenpeace Brazil as part ...
GM cassava research progresses in Uganda
Ugandan researchers are requesting permission to create permanent demonstration gardens of the improved crops ...
Climate change’s silver lining? Longer growing seasons boost farm productivity in some regions
Depending on your side of the aisle, climate change either elicits doomsday anxiety or unabashed skepticism. Jason Hubbart, director of ...
Infographic: GMO crops ‘wreck’ the environment, human health? Latest evidence says otherwise
"GMOs are not saving farmers money, they're not producing higher yields, and perhaps most significantly they're wrecking the environment and ...
KFC tests Beyond Meat wings, nuggets to size up demand for plant-based chicken
Kentucky Fried Chicken on [August 26] said it plans to start testing Beyond Meat chicken nuggets and boneless wings this ...
New biosensor technology may help breed plants more resilient to harsh environments
Researchers have developed a method with which they can further investigate an important messenger substance in plants -- phosphatidic acid ...
Fine-tuning cocoa yields chocolate with richer flavor, aroma
Just as we have seen an increase in the number of microbreweries making specialty beers, the market for chocolate has ...
Neonicotinoid insecticide exposure could harm ground-nesting bees, study suggests
In a first-ever study investigating the risk of neonicotinoid insecticides to ground-nesting bees, University of Guelph researchers have discovered at ...
Forest biotech scientists lobby against GMO tree ban to promote sustainable forestry
A group of leading forest biotechnology scientists from around the world call for the reassessment of all sustainable forestry certification ...
CRISPR gene editing speeds efforts to breed disease-resistant wheat, cut nitrogen pollution
Researchers from around the globe gathered in Saskatoon [in August], focused on making wheat more efficient and sustainable using the ...
