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.
Rich people care more about perceived ‘naturalness’, environmental impact than lower-income food buyers
[Editor’s Note: Jayson Lusk is a food and agricultural economist and head of the Agricultural Economics Department at Purdue University.] ...
Is climate change to blame for disappearing bumblebees?
[Researchers] have discovered one of the reasons why bumblebees are disappearing – global warming’s effect on flowering times. Scientists at ...
Talking Biotech: Can we fight herbicide-resistant weeds with non-GMO RNAi technology?
Monsanto biochemist Doug Sammons: RNAi technology increases weed sensitivity to targeted herbicides. This could counter the growing problem of glyphosate-resistant ...
Viewpoint: Glyphosate herbicide’s ‘tough year’ could get much worse
Monsanto’s flagship weed killer, Roundup, has had a tough year. And it could get worse. With Roundup at the center ...
Do GMOs, pesticides cause cancer? The Amish would say ‘no’
Amish farmers may not get cancer as much, but it's not because they don't use pesticides or GMOs. In fact, ...
Crops and chemicals: What does the future hold for GMOs and pesticides?
[Editor's note: The following is a Q&A with Paul Vincelli, a plant pathology professor at the University of Kentucky.] Farmers are ...
Uganda becomes newest country to approve growing of GMO, gene-edited crops
Uganda’s Parliament voted the long-awaited National Biosafety Act of 2017 into law ... ending years of governmental debate over whether ...
Trace amounts of neonicotinoid pesticides found in 75% of honey samples worldwide—’far below’ levels dangerous to humans
A new study has found traces of neonicotinoid chemicals in 75% of honey samples from across the world. The scientists ...
Are ‘free-from’ (gluten, GMO) food labels informative—or misleading?
What could be conceptually simpler than labeling a food product? You tell the customers what’s in the product, or maybe ...
UK environmental groups ramp up effort to ban ‘bee-harming’ neonicotinoids
Environmental group Friends of the Earth has released a YouGov survey showing that over three quarters of the UK public ...
Pass the manure: Organic farming practices increase planet-warming methane emissions
The realization that livestock like cows are ruminants - and produce a lot of methane while chewing - was a ...
Guided evolution of wheat and other grains could feed growing population
Can we breed wheat and other cereal grains with the ability to fertilize themselves? Researchers report promising results that could ...
GMO seeds could be critical for extended space travel, colonization
If we hope to colonize space, scientists must figure out how to feed astronauts on journeys that could last years ...
Scientists urge US Interior Department to lift ban on GMO seeds
The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), one of the world’s top science and technology think tanks, along with a ...
Calls to ban glyphosate, neonics highlight need to ‘protect science’, say French corn farmers
At a meeting hosted on Wednesday [27 September] by CEPM, the maize lobby in Europe, maize farmers stressed the need ...
GMO algae—environmentally-friendly alternative to palm oil—runs into resistance
When green cleaning company Ecover announced the launch of a new laundry liquid containing an oil made from algae, as ...
Viewpoint: Conventional farmers take better care of soil health than media portrays
[Editor’s Note: Amanda Zaluckyj is a practicing attorney and farmer's daughter who shares her family's story at The Farmer's Daughter ...
Talking Biotech: Is genetic engineering the best way to resuscitate the American chestnut from blight?
Plant biologist Jared Westbrook: 4 billion American chestnut trees have died because of blight in the 20th century. Now, there ...
Creating ‘super wheat’: Genetic modification supercharges photosynthesis
A growing global food demand is challenged by the problem of limited crop-growing space. Could GMO-edited wheat meet this need ...
Genetic engineering could increase biofuel production by fattening plant leaves
While there are legions of plant researchers dedicated to the idea of using GMOs to maximize food production, there's a ...
Viewpoint: No, Big Ag doesn’t ‘control’ the world’s food supply
Is there truth to a common anti-GMO narrative that large multi-national companies seek to “control the food supply” through patents ...
Viewpoint: Restrictions on GMOs a ‘catastrophe’ for Australian farmers
Onerous and expensive regulations have denied farmers’ access to new and existing Genetically Modified (GM) crop varieties and reduced their ...
Uganda on track to pass ‘biotech bill’ that should pave way for GMO crop commercialization
Uganda’s long-awaited national Biotechnology and Biosafety Bill was delayed again yesterday, but is likely to be passed next Tuesday [Oct ...
Viewpoint: Politico exaggerated link between climate change and food ‘nutrient collapse’
Politico offered the following headline, The great nutrient collapse, The atmosphere is literally changing the food we eat, for the ...
Challenging food movement: Small, organic farms not key to fixing food system
[Buying food from small, local, organic farms] cannot fix that chemical-intensive system that crowds out biodiversity, depletes the soil, pollutes ...
UK science advisor: Agricultural pesticides important, but better regulations needed to limit environmental impacts
The assumption by regulators around the world that it is safe to use pesticides at industrial scales across landscapes is ...
Tale of two neonicotinoid bumble bee studies—And how science can be massaged
Are neonics dangerous for bees? Two studies published on the same day reached sharply different conclusions. Guess which one got ...
