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.
British farmers abandoning less sustainable, more costly organic techniques
Even as demand for organic food remains high, the farmers producing it are falling by the wayside. UK government figures ...
Beyond ‘romance’ of organics: 6 ignored sustainable practices organic proponents should embrace
Organic farming is often promoted by followers as 'close to Nature'--the sustainable way to grow food. Although some organic techniques ...
Friends of the Earth report blames Big Ag of forcing GMOs in Africa
African governments must do more to control the planting of genetically modified (GM) crops that could affect smallholders, says a ...
Neonics ‘not harmful’ to bees but German court rules activist organizations can claim otherwise
A judge has ruled that the German branch of Friends of Earth (BUND) has a right to voice its concerns over ...
Organic and biotech leaders clash at summit meant to promote cooperation
Can genetically modified crops grow in harmony with their non-GMO counterparts? The debate between the pro-biotech and non-GMO camps increasingly ...
Peak food? Can food tech supercharge crop yields and address global food security?
Breakthroughs are helping researchers 'supercharge' photosynthesis and increase rice yields. But anti-GMO critics say food security should focus on distribution, ...
Substitutions like Non-GMO can be inferior or harmful
Many supposedly health-conscious consumers who choose products with labels like “BPA-Free” or “non-GMO” may be getting less than they bargained ...
Vandana Shiva trashes GMOs—Florida’s best hope for orange tree disease
I get rather irritated when I listen to Vandana Shiva, mostly because her ideas are rooted in a place of ...
Leading entomologist Marla Spivak: ‘We can have both pesticides and pollinators’
Marla Spivak, who holds a McKnight professorship in entomology at the University of Minnesota and directs the Bee Lab there, ...
GM labeling bills on docket in Massachusetts, Rhode Island
New England could once again be a hotbed of action for GMO labeling during this legislative session, with hopes particularly ...
Combination of stresses contributes to bee deaths
In a recent review paper for Science, a team of researchers argue that the combination of modern stresses facing bees ...
Eaten alive: Crops can ‘feel’ insects eating them, providing clues to insect resistance
A new study arrived at the fairly gruesome conclusion that plants can feel insects eat them alive. And a specific type of plant, ...
AAAS presidents: ‘Anti-GMO harassment of best scientific thinkers must stop now’
In the latest organised attack on science, 14 senior U.S. scientists are being targeted by anti-GM lobby group U.S. Right ...
Genetically altered rice variety yields for years without replanting
Ten thousand years ago, China’s ancient inhabitants harvested the grains of wild rice, a perennial grass growing up to 15 ...
5 reasons how Consumer Reports rejects science on GMOs
Consumer Reports is escalating its opposition to GMO foods. Now, even responses to subscriber/customer inquiries are met with the a ...
The Death of death? Review of “Evolving Ourselves” and unnatural selection
The meat of this controversial new book is the immense array of futurist and transhumanist possibilities for driving change on ...
Activist groups demand Costco not sell GM salmon if approved
Food safety advocates are urging that Costco not sell genetically modified salmon if it is approved. Friends of the Earth, which ...
Atrazine critic-scientist Tyrone Hayes’ own data shows frogs thriving in ag regions
An herbicide popular with farmers but targeted by environmentalists because it is supposedly responsible for chemically castrating frogs has been ...
Monsanto said to offer ‘sustainable solutions’ to arrest decades long monarch butterfly decline
Monarch butterflies are in trouble. These popular insects, which have captured the public imagination with their several-thousand mile migrations, have ...
Cornell Alliance students challenge ‘anti-GMO bullies’ over FOI demand
The Cornell Alliance for Science--a global initiative for science-based communications at Cornell University--has launched a petition to support biotech scientists ...
Crusaders slam GM foods, glyphosate, conventional agriculture
A “GMO Plenary” held last month in Missouri featured a panel of anti-GMO activists who discussed multiple health and environmental risks ...
Organic farmer says “no” to organic-led ‘New MacDonald’ GMO demonization campaign
Polarizing "New McDonald" video sparks outrage among organic farmers more interested in sustainable farming than winning debate points. Will this ...
Concerned consumers can easily avoid non-labeled foods with GMOs
The failure of Measure 92 in Oregon's last election, which would have required genetically modified food to be labeled, has ...
Searching for biotech alternatives to unsustainability of palm oil
Palm oil is a wonderfully versatile and cheap raw material. On its own or via chemical derivatives, the oil makes ...
Anti-GMO activist ‘ecologists’ destroy GM eucalyptus seedlings in Brazil
Recently 300 peasants organized by La Via Campesina occupied the meeting of the Brazil National Biosafety Technical Commission (CTNBio) in ...
Oregon legislature divided on GMO “contamination” bills
Backers of two bills that would allow the state to regulate where genetically modified crops could be grown in Oregon ...
Forty years of food technology brought famine-riddled countries back from brink
In the mid-1970s, the outlook for food supplies around the world was grim. There were talks of "food triage" — food-rich ...
