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.
Understanding honeybee deaths: Close to 100% of Massachusetts’ hives infected by viruses
The honey bee population is on the decline, and bee experts want to know why, so the State Department of ...
‘GMO’ petunias: Ridiculousness exposed and explained
Italian researcher offers satirical look at the story of the GMO petunias that were ordered destroyed. How would you explain ...
French grain farmers’ union opposes glyphosate ban, calling herbicide ‘essential’
With France set to vote against EU glyphosate re-registration this month, a group of French farmers have said they will ...
Rothamsted Research calls for more GMO trials or global food security will suffer
Genetic modification of plants will be essential to avert future food shortages, conclude a group of agricultural scientists who have ...
Insects can build resistance to Bt crops in as little as five years, study shows
While organic farmers have used Bt proteins in sprays successfully for more than half a century, some scientists feared that ...
Air freshener moss genetically engineered by failed plant glow-in-the-dark inventor
In 2013, Taxa launched a Kickstarter for genetically engineered plants would glow at night, cutting street lamp electricity costs tremendously ...
Livestock feedlots more sustainable than organic cattle grazing, research shows
[Editor’s note: Dan Blaustein-Rejto is a food and agriculture analyst at the Breakthrough Institute.] A new report provides further evidence ...
Viewpoint: Do neonic traces found in world honey pose problems to bees or humans?
The last taste of honey you enjoyed likely came from bees exposed to neonicotinoids, the world’s most widely used class ...
Video: Malaysian scientist’s TED talk on how to elevate public understanding of science and genetics
Fear-mongering ‘facts’—like tomatoes engineered with spider genes or cars exploding from full gas tanks on hot summer days— show how ...
Talking Biotech: How Africa can move beyond subsistence farming
World Food Program's Bret Rierson: Inexpensive storage options could dramatically help developing world farmers manage, store and sell surplus crops, ...
Genetically enhancing the nutrients in corn using synthetic methionine
Methionine, found in meat, is one of the nine essential amino acids that humans get from food, according to the ...
Viewpoint: Should US be subsidizing organic farming when label seems increasingly meaningless?
Congress is considering tripling the budget for the USDA's organics program. Should we be asking for more answers from regulators ...
More evidence parasitic Varroa destructor mite poses most serious threat to bee health
[Editor’s note: Karen Rennich is the Project Manager for Bee Informed Partnership and APHIS National Survey, working out of University ...
Nigeria’s biosafety director supports advantages of GMO crops despite criticisms
Despite the criticism that has trailed the used of Genetically Modified Organisms, GMOs, Nigeria’s bio-safety chief has defended the use ...
10 truths about GMOs, organics and modern farming
As the debate over GMOs has gone viral, city-dwellers often position themselves as experts on farming. But there's often a ...
Viewpoint: Self-interest, rather than ignorance, key driver in GMO and climate change rejectionism
GMO opponents and climate change deniers often share a common characteristic -- their actions and decisions are driven by the ...
CRISPR technologies could help ecosystems cope with climate change
Could an ingenious new technology save humanity from its greatest act of planetary self-harm? It may sound like something out ...
Glyphosate herbicide negatively affects soil-friendly bacteria, study shows
Cornell researchers found negative consequences of the weed-killing herbicide glyphosate on pseudomonas, a soil-friendly bacteria [read the full study here] ...
Disease-resistant GMO tomato that could eliminate need for copper pesticides blocked by public fears
Field trials have shown that a disease-resistant GMO tomato variety eliminates the need for copper pesticides that pollute soil and ...
Opinions on GMOs less swayed by facts as food becomes synonymous with religion
Personal food preferences aren’t really a rational choice. They’re more like an ideology that’s bordering on a religion. ... Gillian ...
Plan for farmers in Boulder County forced to transition away from GMO crops stalls
Boulder County open space farmers facing a forced transition away from GMO crops are asking for a time out as ...
Viewpoint: Climate change, pesticides endanger monarch butterfly populations
The life cycle of the monarch hinges on the availability of milkweed, but the prevalence of the herbicide Roundup has ...
For consumers to embrace high-tech meat, producers must address sustainability concerns
Plant-based and cultured meat producers see themselves promoting sustainability, promising healthier options in a world that demands convenience and good ...
Ben and Jerry’s announces organic dairy line in Europe, pledges ‘no glyphosate traces’
Ben & Jerry’s has moved to cut all glyphosate-tainted ingredients from its production chain and introduce an “organic dairy” line ...
Conventional agriculture holds multiple ecological advantages over organic, analysis shows
Conventional farming outperforms organic in several key measures -- particularly crop yield, according to a meta analysis of 164 research ...
Drought-tolerant maize could increase food security in Zimbabwe
A new study from scientists with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) shows that drought tolerant (DT) maize ...
Gene identified for disease resistance in bananas, may stave off ‘bananapocalypse’
For decades, biotech researchers and conventional breeders were foiled in their efforts to bring disease resistance to the Cavendish [banana] ...
