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.
Study claiming organic more nutritious captures why it’s harder to figure out risk
A study in the news last week perfectly captures why it’s getting harder and harder to figure out what’s risky ...
Video: Africa’s leaders need education about role of biotech in agriculture
As a boy growing up on the shores of Lake Victoria in Kenya, Harvard international development professor Calestous Juma noticed ...
How GM crops can help address India’s food security problems
The new environment minister Prakash Javadekar is yet to take a call on allowing further trials of genetically-modified (GM) crops ...
Nigerian scientists declare opponents of biotech ‘enemies’ of African development
As the controversy over the safety of biotechnology continues, Nigerian scientists yesterday reiterated their stand on the safety of the ...
Why GM debates do not persuade public opinion
When, earlier this year, SciDev.Net decided to host a live online debate around genetically modified (GM) plants and animals, it was because we knew ...
Plant-based, animal-free cow’s milk soon to be reality with GM yeast
Biohackers Ryan Pandya and Perumal Gandhi are working on crafting a plant-based concoction that’s nearly identical in makeup to what’s ...
No fooling science with anti-GMO myths
The internet is full of false information about genetically modified crops and derived food. Unfortunately the average person — including many ...
Biotech can help increase food security in sub-Saharan Africa but opportunities ignored
Transforming agriculture is central to sub-Saharan Africa's development prospects. Three-quarters of people in extreme poverty – existing on less than $1.25 a day ...
Will consumers accept GM yeast that could save our oceans?
Scientists at DuPont have genetically modified a yeast to produce a long-chain omega-3 fatty acid, essential to human health and ...
Video: Sequencing of bread wheat genome ‘game-changer’ for meeting climate change challenge
Scientists reported a draft sequence of bread wheat's genetic blueprint, boosting efforts to produce new varieties of bread wheat that ...
Harvard scientists call for debate on new gene-manipulation technique
A powerful new technology could be used to manipulate nature by “editing” the genes of organisms in the wild, enabling ...
For your daily bread, give thanks to the latest genetic research
Bread wheat feeds about 30 percent of the human population, and thanks to two recent major genetic research developments, it ...
Tasmania’s poppy industry pushes to lift GMO ban
Tasmania's isolation and wilderness once made it a dumping ground for the British Empire's convicts. But these same qualities, and ...
US farmers adopt biotech cotton, corn and soy in record numbers
USDA says farmers in the US adopt, in record numbers, genetically engineered corn, soy and cotton crops that are herbicide-tolerant, ...
Scientists call for careful regulation of species-altering ‘gene drive’ technology
Scientists working at the cutting-edge of genetics say one possible application of a powerful new technology called genome editing has ...
Are ‘gene drives’ scary or promising?
Perhaps you've followed that teeny tiny controversy around genetically modified foods, the “GMO” debate. Or you watched the fierce back-and-forth over whether ...
GM offers many opportunities to save lives in poorest countries but blocked by unnecessary regulation
I was at the International Consortium of Agricultural Biotechnology Research conference in Kenya. Despite security concerns, about 200 people braved ...
Newcomers to Hawaii drive anti-GMO activism against local farmers and scientists
After Hawaii banned GMO crops, local farmers say they have no idea whether their plants are illegal or not. Plus, ...
Nigeria to accelerate adoption of GM crops
A disclosure came from the National Agricultural Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA) that the Federal Government has put in place necessary ...
Anti-GMO activist Vandana Shiva: ‘Awakening’ of millions to GMO dangers cannot be stopped
Monsanto and friends, the biotech industry, its lobbyists and its paid media representation continue to push for monopoly control over ...
Nature editorial: Shift debate from farm systems (organic v GMO) to sustainable, nutritious food
Research on different farming systems can often seem like a contest in which one practice is pitted against another and ...
Golden Rice raises stakes in war over GM foods
One of the world’s great humanitarian crises has a simple cause and, some researchers argue, a simple solution. But that’s ...
Skepticism grows over claims that organic food is healthier
You've no doubt noticed that organic foods are a fair bit more expensive at the grocery store. An organic head ...
Anti-GMO activist Vandana Shiva earns $40,000 per speech advocating policies harming poor
Vandana Shiva, the Indian activist who opposes modern agriculture and modern science — and well, modernity in general — is a popular ...
Nigerian university plant breeder says Africa needs GMO technology
Prof. Mahammad Faguji Ishiyaku is a plant breeder/biotechnologist at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. In this interview with Dele Ogbodo, ...
Australian farmers need to improve public opinion of GM crops
A greater effort is needed from farmers to improve mainstream attitudes towards genetically modified (GM) crops, says Agricultural Biotechnology Council ...
Field trials for 21 new varieties of GM crops, including rice and wheat, approved in India
The new government has approved field trials for 21 new varieties of genetically modified (GM) crops, including staples such as ...
