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.
Projecting agricultural impacts of climate change, can GM crops help?
In a summer like this, as we watch crop conditions wither in record-setting heat and dry conditions, we might wonder ...
“Agent Orange Corn”: NGOs skirt science, liken Dow’s new seed to Vietnam era pesticide
Researchers have developed a new variety of biotech corn that carries a natural resistance to the herbicide 2,4-D. Some NGOs ...
Beets root of fuel source
A biofuel company hopes plots of high-sugar “energy beets” will fuel an ethanol project ...
Organic agriculture: Is it a religion?
No person would choose organic food over conventional food on objective grounds to address regional needs or world hunger. Its ...
Chinese scientists identify yield-boosting rice gene
Researchers in China have identified a rice gene that could improve both the quality and yield of the staple crop ...
GM maize more environmentally friendly than conventional
Spain, one European country that favors genetically modified (GM) crops, claims that transgenic maize is more environmentally friendly than the ...
Types and uses of cassava
The plant has certainly been “rediscovered” and in many countries significant research has begun to evaluate the use of cassava ...
Can GMOs save us from climate change?
Malnutrition and starvation are problems that occur all over the world, primarily in developing countries. In coming years, as climate ...
Prairie cordgrass: Potential for energy crop
When D.K. Lee and Lane Rayburn, faculty members in the crop sciences department at the University of Illinois, talk about ...
Energy beet project moves forward
An energy beet project is going toward planned commercialization in 2014 in North Dakota, despite the loss of a key ...
Plea for allowing research trial on developing genetic crops
Government should allow scientists to conduct research trials for developing genetically modified crops and ensure technology is taken to the ...
Overcoming obstacles to GM crop adoption
This policy brief, published by the UK's Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST), examines the potential benefits and challenges ...
GMOs, fastest path to enhanced ag productivity in Africa
Executive Director at the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF), Dr. Denis Kyetere, has said improved seeds, especially by genetic modification ...
Canada’s swine genetics industry poised to help feed growing population
Last week’s announcement that the Ukrainian market has opened to live swine and swine genetics is a step in the ...
Sorghum should be in the biofuel crop mix, experts say
Sweet and biomass sorghum would meet the need for next-generation biofuels to be environmentally sustainable, easily adopted by producers and ...
Australian farmer: Don’t let the biotech revolution leave us behind
In southern Australia, the soil there is some of the driest in all of the world. To cope with drought ...
Biofuel crops can bring invasive weed risk
One of the most popular biofuels crops is giant miscanthus (Miscanthus × giganteus). This fast-growing hybrid is unable to produce ...
Castor bean moving forward on new biodiesel crop opportunity
Center for Jatropha Promotion & Biodiesel (CJP) has been promoting the farming of castor bean, a seed producing plant that ...
US sending money to North Carolina, New York farmers for energy crops
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack plans to announce Wednesday that North Carolina and New York each will receive about $4 million ...
Elephant grass used for energy
An Ontario company wants to help turn elephant grass into electrons at a biomass plant proposed for Hantsport. Pro Farm ...
GM crops good for environment, study finds
Crops genetically modified to poison pests can deliver significant environmental benefits, according to a study spanning two decades and 1.5m ...
Fifth generation farmer defends biotechnology
A handful of outspoken activists are attempting to slow down or ban the use of biotechnology. To support their ideological ...
Scientists map and sequence genome of switchgrass relative foxtail millet
A newly published genetic sequence and map of foxtail millet, a close relative of switchgrass and an important food crop ...
Is Africa’s slow adoption of GM crops justified?
Africa was one of the first places that adopted GM crops, but most of countries in Africa have refused to ...
GMOs: What are they and what’s all the fuss?
We hear a lot about Genetically Modified foods, or Genetically Modified Organisms - GMOs. But what exactly are they, and ...
Africa: Biosafety regulators urged to strengthen links
In efforts to harmonise national biosafety regulations across Africa, the links between national regulatory authorities and key stakeholders must be ...
Opponents of this crop trial are blind to the food crisis, says GM supporter
The battle over GM food has begun again and it seems there is little in common between those in favour ...
