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.
Did EU abuse emergency authorizations of neonicotinoids?
The EU has been criticised after a new legal analysis showed it had allowed scores of “emergency authorisations” of banned ...
US producers struggling to keep up with rising demand for organic, non-GMO grains
Increasing consumer demand for organic and non-GMO foods led to a sharp rise in organic grain imports in 2016 — ...
‘Oregon prohibition on local GMO restrictions should remain’
[Editor's note: The following is an editorial by Capital Press, an independent news website that covers the agriculture industry in and ...
Indian farmers can benefit tremendously from planting GM crops, new book says
Former director of [the] Centre for Plant Molecular Biology at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University [in India,] S Sadasivam on [Feb ...
Corn catalog: Crop’s climate adaption genes identified to help breeders speed up improvements
Over many thousands of years, farmers have bred maize varieties so the crops are optimally adapted to local environments. A ...
Talking Biotech: Shoppers may soon be able to buy pre-sliced, tastier and more nutritious pears
Choosing when to eat a pear is notoriously difficult, for it quickly turns bad. Horticultural genomicist Amit Dhingra is working ...
Organic industry fears Republicans are targeting National Organic Program
Back in December [2016], the Freedom Caucus [a group of US House Republicans] released a "recommended list of regulations to ...
Pediatrician debunks claims that GMOs and chemicals used with them are bad for the environment
[Editor’s note: Emiliano Tatar is a pediatrician at the Einstein Healthcare Network Roxborough Plaza. The following is an interview with ...
Drought-tolerant genetically engineered maize poised to help African farmers adapt to changing climate
[Editor's note: Mark Lynas is an author and journalist who reports on crop biotechnology around the world.] Tanzania's first-ever genetically ...
Food, farm and anti-pesticide groups ask US attorney general to block 3 agri-business mergers
Nearly 325 consumer, food, farm and anti-pesticide groups sent a letter [on February 13] to newly confirmed Attorney General Jeff Sessions ...
Shared Values Must Come Before Science in Winning Consumer Trust On Today’s Farming Practices
Science isn’t enough. Science tells us if we can do something while society tells us if we should. Farmers need ...
‘Clean food’ is a marketing ploy and offensive to hard-working scientists, farmers
[Editor’s note: Kevin Folta is a molecular geneticist and chair of the horticultural sciences department at the University of Florida.] When ...
Europe appears poised to overturn neonicotinoid pesticides ban
[Editor's note: Matt Ridley is a columnist for the Times (UK), a member of the House of Lords and the ...
Former UK chief scientist: Europe’s opposition to GMOs ‘dangerously naive’ in the face of climate change
A former UK chief scientist has warned that politicians around the globe are ignoring science for the sake of short-term ...
Nigeria faces drought, famine, malnutrition and hunger, but GMOs offer hope
A report recently published by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) says a total of 8.1 million people ...
Is Organic Farming Better for the Environment?
Many consumers believe buying organic is “voting with their dollars” for environmentally sustainable farming. Is that science or myth? There ...
Armyworms ravaging African staple crops: GM insect resistant crops offer a solution
[Editor's note: The following is an interview with Kenneth Wilson, professor at the Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University.] A combination of ...
Bee crisis? How intelligent sticky drones could buzz alongside nature’s pollinators
Tiny drones dressed in horsehair and coated with a sticky goo have been attempting to pollinate lilies in a Japanese ...
Without Glyphosate, What Would Farming Look Like?
Dave Walton--who grows corn, soybeans, alfalfa and hay, and is director of the Iowa Soybean Association—discusses the ecological consequences if ...
To help bees and farmers, EU should roll back ‘fear-based’ ban on neonicotinoid pesticides
[Editor's note: The following is a letter by David Zaruk, Belgian-based environmental-health journalist specializing in science and public policy, to Vytenis ...
Talking Biotech: Clay nanoparticles deliver plants gene-silencing virus-protecting RNA spray
Revolutionizing crop protection? Biotechnologist Neena Mitter on 'bioclay' — spray that protects plants from a virus using nanoparticles to deliver ...
Scotland’s first minister: GMO ban will remain post-Brexit
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon extolled the importance of scientific advice in policy-making yet insisted her Government had no plans to ...
Trump Administration has opportunity to base biotech regulations on science, not fears
At least when it comes to biotechnology, the president's order freezing recent regulations provides a chance to get regulations right ...
Were ‘activist scientists’ behind European Union neonicotinoids ban?
[Editor's note: Henry Miller is a physician and molecular biologist who was the founding director of the FDA’s Office of Biotechnology.] ...
Nigerian biotech expert says GMOs won’t replace conventional seeds, refutes common GMO myths
[Editor's note: The following is an interview with Rose Gidado, Country Coordinator of the Open Forum for Agricultural Biotechnology (OFAB) in ...
Iowa farmer debunks 8 popular myths about GMOs
[Editor's note: Michelle Miller, known on social media as the Farm Babe, raises lamb and beef cattle, and grows almost ...
High-yield, environmentally-friendly GMO ryegrass moved to US for field trials due to New Zealand’s strict biotech laws
Genetically modified grass that could lower farming's environmental footprint will be taken offshore next year for field testing. Developed by ...
