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.
Bacteria genetically engineered to make indigo could make dying jeans ‘greener’
Blue jeans get their signature color from indigo, a dye. Producing that indigo releases chemicals that can pollute water and ...
#CRISPRfacts media debate over Wired’s hype of gene editing technique
On July 21, WIRED magazine released its August issue with a cover story on the controversial new gene-editing technique CRISPR. Under the headline “The Genesis ...
Food and ideology don’t mix: There’s not one way to feed world
There’s an unbreachable divide between advocates of modern conventional agriculture and, essentially, everyone else, from the mainstream (organic, local, anti-GMO) ...
How one farmer uses GMO corn to reduce pesticides, increase sustainability
In a wide, brown field, Bret Davis opens a pocketknife with a click, kneels down and scrapes through a furrow ...
How low-quality research is used as activist propaganda
The paper published in Agricultural Sciences by Shiva Ayyadurai presents a hypothesis that transgenic soybeans are high in formaldehyde and ...
As disease threatens Uganda’s banana crop, ActionAid and anti-GMO groups fan fears
Uganda is an emerging battle ground where anti-GMO activists try to scuttle introduction of a transgenic banana that could rescue ...
Bees not dying; Europe should lift neonics ban
Brussels banned a class of pesticides to avert a ‘beepocalypse’ that wasn’t happening. Now bugs threaten crops, and farmers may ...
GMOs contain formaldehyde? Kevin Folta challenge: ‘Let’s cooperate on lab analysis’ (crickets)
Dr. Shiva Ayyadurai recently published a systems biology paper in Agricultural Sciences. The report left much to be desired, and ...
Talking Biotech: GMO rescue of American chestnut tree and genetic history of lettuce
American chestnut tree GMO revival: William Powell; DNA of lettuce: Richard Michelmore ...
Rice with barley genes emits less greenhouse gas
A new type of genetically modified (GM) rice might significantly lessen the impact of agriculture on the climate. The plant, ...
Open letter to Consumer Reports: Organic alternatives to glyphosate not necessarily safer
Dear Consumer Reports, In the article Beat Those Weeds (Which was, somewhat ironically, published in the YOUR ADVOCATE section of ...
Saving Earth’s biodiversity will rely on conservation, space agencies’ collaboration
Global biodiversity loss is intensifying. But it is hard to assess progress towards the Aichi Biodiversity Targets for 2011–20 set ...
New study challenges Moms Across America claim glyphosate present in mothers’ breastmilk
Washington State University scientists have found that glyphosate, the main ingredient in the herbicide Roundup, does not accumulate in mother's ...
House passes voluntary GMO labeling law as Senate girds for fight
The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday, July 23, passed a hotly debated measure that would set up a system ...
GM canola becoming popular in Australia as farmers see yields increasing
Canola was once considered only useful as a break crop to clean-up weeds in paddocks, according to agronomist Greg Sefton, Cobram, ...
UK lifts EU ban on neonics to allow farmers to fight pests
Farmers will be able to use blacklisted pesticides linked to serious harm in bees after the UK government temporarily lifted ...
Star Trek, synbio and sustainable food: Will Friends of the Earth and other activists block the future?
Far as we are from instantaneous synthesis of food on command, advances in synbio and genetic engineering offer a glimpse ...
GM rice could address hunger, cut methane emissions 90%, fight climate change
It’s food for climate conscious consumers. A strain of rice has been genetically engineered to produce less methane. Rice agriculture ...
Chef Tom Colicchio weighs in against the ‘DARK act’
It’s not surprising that as a chef, I want to know what I am feeding my customers. It’s also not ...
Chipotle loses integrity hyping non-GMO menu, as growth and traffic sour
In April, the high-class Mexican food chain Chipotle announced that it was going GMO-free. That is, the company would no ...
Neil Young donates $100,000 to fight Vermont’s GMO lawsuit
Canadian rocker Neil Young joined Gov. Peter Shumlin to voice his support for Vermont’s GMO labeling law, which requires food ...
Audio: Bill Nye suggests ‘Proudly GMO’ label
Just in case Part 1 wasn’t controversial enough, Bill Nye and Chuck Nice are back to answer new fan questions ...
Water: California drought yet water bottles everywhere
Humanity's future depends on how we manage our interactions with water. This takes the form of how we package it, ...
Democratic critics of voluntary GMO labeling bill launch attacks
Critics of a GMO regulation bill are proposing amendments that would add restrictions or exemptions to the legislation and allow ...
Anti-GMO activists so religiously dedicated to ideology they’ve lost progressive ethos
Plentiful are the takeaways from Will Saletan’s expertly researched, if a bit viciously anti-activist, barn-burner of piece over at Slate ...
