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.
Waitrose, major UK grocery chain, reducing use of GMO fed animals in its supply chain
Waitrose has received its first shipment of soya grown in the Danube region of Europe as it attempts to bring ...
Mother Jones: New York Times report on GMOs used misleading statistics
[Editor's note: A recent article in the New York Times claims that GMO crops have not lived up to their ...
Following ban on neonicotinoid pesticides, Cambridge University’s lawns destroyed by pests and crows
The immaculate lawns of Cambridge University are being spoiled by crows feasting on bugs after an EU ban on a ...
Agricultural economist: GMO crops have benefits, otherwise farmers wouldn’t grow them
[Editor's note: Jayson Lusk, a food and agricultural economist at Oklahoma State University, responds to Danny Hakim's recent article in ...
Zimbabwean scientists develop drought and heat-tolerant maize
Scientists in Zimbabwe say they have developed new heat- and drought-tolerant varieties of maize that may be ready for sale ...
Insect-resistant GMO Bt eggplant in development in Philippines does not harm beneficial insects
The first-ever field level study of the effects of insect-resistant genetically modified Bt eggplants on non-target arthropod species, carried out in the ...
What the New York Times missed with its big GMO story
The [Danny Hakim] story is an odd one for the Times because if you take the most mild interpretation of ...
Why Danny Hakim’s New York Times GMO exposé misleads
An agricultural economist analyzes the New York Times' takedown of GMO crops ...
Kevin Folta: If GMO crops don’t meet expectations, why do so many farmers grow them?
Kevin Folta is a professor in and chairman of the Horticultural Sciences Department at the University of Florida, Gainesville. He got ...
New York Times reporter claims GMO crops have failed to live up to expectations
The promise of genetic modification was twofold: By making crops immune to the effects of weedkillers and inherently resistant to ...
Strawmen and selective statistics: Did The New York Times botch its critique of GMO crops?
An opinion piece maintaining that the current generation of GMO crops has under delivered in yield and led to increased ...
Spray on GMOs: RNA interference spray silences fungal pathogens, controls disease
RNA interference has emerged as a powerful genetic tool for scientific research. The demonstration that agricultural pests, such as insects ...
Biopesticides: Leveraging nature’s pesticides to protect our food
[Brooke Borel writes in bioGraphic about a demonstration trial in Canada using bumble bees to deliver a 'biopesticide' to a ...
How will CRISPR be deployed in the battle against weeds?
[Editor's Note: Weeds are one of the biggest threats to crops. Farmers use more weed killer than any other kind ...
Gene sequencing accelerates development of climate change fighting, disease-resistant cabernet grapes
A new sequencing technology, combined with a new computer algorithm that can yield detailed information about complex genomes of various ...
UN FAO report endorses biotech crops as important climate change tools
The report ... renews the [Food and Agricultural Organization]''s focus on “climate-smart agriculture,” which combines both adaptation and mitigation in improved ...
A voting guide for 2016 for those who care about science
Conflicted about this year's elections? Still on the fence about your candidates? Do you care about science? This graphic from ...
CRISPR could immunize citrus trees against devastating greening disease
Nian Wang, the University of Florida professor leading this CRISPR research team at Lake Alfred, said the tool could cut ...
Buzz Kill: How the Sierra Club uses scare tactics about bee health and twists the science to raise money
The Sierra Club, once venerated for its problem-solving approach to environmental issues, has become a shrill campaigner against many modern ...
Buying organic to preserve the environment? Think twice
...It’s a jungle of misinformation out there on the internet. And you’ve probably been following some bad advice while trying ...
Weed scientist—Herbicide use increasing most rapidly in non-GE crops not paired with glyphosate
[Editor's note: Dr. Andrew Kniss is a weed scientist at the University of Wyoming. He co-authors the Weed Control Freaks ...
Pope claims GMOs could have ‘ruinous impact’ on environment
Pope Francis has warned against the use of genetically modified foods in a message to mark World Food Day. ...[T]he ...
Dannon, other food companies leverage consumer preferences on GMOs to gain market share
[Editor's note: In April, Dannon announced that it would start to produce non-GMO yogurt and establish non-GMO feed supply chains ...
Farm groups call Dannon’s move towards GMO-free ingredients ‘marketing flimflam’
Several major U.S. farm organizations said they are “troubled” by The Dannon Co.’s shift to using fewer genetically-modified ingredients, a ...
GMO grass could cut methane emissions from cows, improve milk yield
The grass is about to get greener thanks to DNA technology out of Denmark. Researchers say they've genetically modified a ...
Alison Van Eenennaam: Anti-GMO activists target public scientists
As the mock trial circus winds down in the Hague, fringe anti-GMO activists plan to reinvigorate their targeting of independent ...
RNA spray could fight fungal disease in barley crops
Spraying barley crops with RNA molecules that inhibit fungus growth could help protect the plants against disease, according to a ...
