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.
Tyson Foods ends investment in plant-based protein startup Beyond Meat
Tyson Foods, the US meat producer, has exited its investment in Beyond Meat, the alternative protein company which is due ...
Activists, scientists spar over effort to restore American chestnut tree with genetic engineering
The American chestnut tree once sustained a way of life. Pioneers used the tall, straight, and fast-growing tree for fences, ...
Infographic: 1.3 billion tons of food end up in the trash. Here’s how biotech crops can help
Each year the world wastes 1.3 billion tons of food—1/3 of global production. The US throws away approximately 40 percent ...
New data, novel research approaches help tackle declining monarch butterfly mystery
Monarch butterflies are an icon of nature: spectacular in form, known for their unfathomable annual migration, and frequent visitors in ...
Podcast: GMO insect-resistant cowpea helps Africa combat destructive pests without chemicals
Cowpea is a critical crop in Western Africa. It is consumed by millions of people daily and provides important nitrogen ...
Viewpoint: 5 popular Netflix documentaries serve up pseudoscience about agriculture, chemicals and nutrition
Netflix brought in $15.8 billion in revenue in 2018 in part because the streaming service floods subscribers with a deluge ...
How the USDA could help foster a technological ‘revolution’ in agriculture
Anyone paying passing attention to the agricultural sector understands that it is in the middle of an “agtech” revolution. Innovations ...
Plant-based GMO ‘Impossible’ Whopper a surprise hit at 59 Midwest Burger King locations
The St. Louis area, with 59 Burger King locations, has been chosen as the sole test market for the [plant-based] ...
Some wild bee populations declining, but ‘scarce data’ hamper impact and research efforts
More than a dozen wild bee species critical to pollinating everything from blueberries to apples in New England are on ...
CRISPR co-inventor Jennifer Doudna: Gene-edited foods could hit stores by 2024
While ethicists debate the applications of blockbuster gene-editing tool Crispr in human healthcare, an inventor of the tool believes it has ...
Viewpoint: GMOs are an overlooked but consequential solution to climate change
GMOs, or genetically modified organisms, are not only a lot less scary than pop culture would lead you to believe ...
Naturally mutating corn pollen genes may lead the way to higher-yielding crops
Pollen genes mutate naturally in only some strains of corn, according to Rutgers-led research that helps explain the genetic instability ...
Microbial biofertilizer could boost sustainable farming as food demand booms
Agriculture is facing tough challenges in the years ahead, including a rising world population and arable land and water becoming ...
Lab-grown meat startups see profitable future in Canada
Canadian companies plan to serve up chicken, beef burgers and mouse-meat cat treats in the coming years, all without the ...
Drought, neonicotinoid insecticide ban cut EU’s canola yields 18 percent, USDA reports
The European Union is picking a good time to produce its second straight subpar rapeseed crop. The United States Department ...
Epigenetics could alter the way we breed crops for drought and climate change
New techniques allow researchers to change the way crops behave and handle adverse conditions--without actually altering the plants' underlying DNA ...
New model uncovers possible mechanism behind Varroa mite’s assault on honey bees
The association between the deformed wing virus and the parasitic mite Varroa destructor has been identified as a major cause of worldwide ...
First lab-grown burger may cost $50 at anticipated 2020 restaurant debut
On April 15, Bruce Friedrich ascended a stage in Vancouver, Canada to give a TED Talk to a packed room ...
Pakistan announces field trials of 85 GMO pest-resistant Bt cotton varieties
The Pakistan Central Cotton Committee (PCCC) has announced that 93 new cotton varieties will undergo National Coordinated Varietal Trials (NCVT) in four ...
‘Edible insects’ boost food sustainability, but will consumers eat BBQ-flavored bugs?
There is an increasing range of insect-based products, such as whole/flour, snacks, health bars, pasta, pasta sauce and burgers. Edible ...
Newly discovered ‘gene conversion’ mechanism could lead to high-yielding wheat
When it comes to breeding better wheat varieties....we seek to introduce desirable genes that increase yield, [but] these can come ...
CRISPR-edited ‘super plants’ might be our best chance to slow climate change
If this were a film about humanity’s last hope before climate change wiped us out, Hollywood would be accused of ...
Viewpoint: ‘Naïve’ calls for glyphosate ban threaten higher food prices, resurgence of more toxic pesticides
The unintended consequences of glyphosate bans are many and potentially severe ...
Podcast: Synthetic ‘light switch’ boosts photosynthesis to increase crop yields
One of the limiting factors in photosynthesis is the plant’s ability to take up carbon dioxide to assimilate into carbohydrates ...
Drought and pollution: How do thirsty plants impact air quality?
[P]lants can both help create and cleanse one dangerous air pollutant: ground-level ozone, which causes breathing problems and exacerbates lung ...
High production costs, regulation: Obstacles keeping lab-grown meat off our plates
The thought I had when the $100 chicken nugget hit my expectant tongue was the one cartoon villains have when ...
Engineered ‘self-limiting’ insect could suppress soybean looper, ‘exponential’ threat to US crops
Oxitec Ltd., a UK-based biotechnology company that pioneered the use of biologically-engineered insects to control disease-spreading mosquitoes and crop-destroying agricultural ...
