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.
Do we need synthetic fertilizers?
The following is an excerpt. According to organic advocates Tom Philpott and Barry Estabrook, we don’t need synthetic fertilizers at all. Both argue ...
Genetic modification: Time for a more nuanced debate
The following is an excerpt. What is a person with a conscience to think about the fraught and complex issue of ...
Why “playing God” could help the human race
The following is an excerpt. Despite the frequently encountered argument that scientists are ‘playing God’ with nature, the pros of ...
Tanzania considers applying biotechnology in cotton farming
The following is an excerpt. The government recognises the potential of modern biotechnology in reviving the country's cotton industry, the ...
Can Syngenta help make open-source GMOs a reality?
In a new initiative, Syngenta will make its genetic engineering tools and GM plant varieties freely available for non-profit researchers ...
Are we on the cusp of a bio-industrial revolution?
Imagine a biosynthetic hardware store, where researchers can cherry-pick exactly the correct parts to build whatever they’d like. Just as ...
Ugandan farmer’s diary: The biotech debate and our challenges
The following is an excerpt. The legalisation of biotechnology is not to outlaw organic farming, which is to sustain soil ...
Anti-GMO attitudes on the left and right
The following is an excerpt. If you follow public debate on genetically modified foods, you know that Monsanto is routinely ...
Eating organic food associated with longer lives (in flies)
The following is an edited excerpt. In a new study at Southern Methodist University, researchers raised fruit flies on extracts of ...
Nigeria: President urged to sign Agricutlural Biotechnology Bill
The following is an excerpt. Senator Bukola Saraki has urged President Goodluck Jonathan, to, as a matter of urgency, give ...
GMO opponents rail against the “Monsanto Protection Act”
A new resolution would seem to place the commercial concerns of Monsanto, the world’s largest producer of GM crops and ...
Who wants to live alongside sabre-toothed tigers?
The following is an excerpt. A few weeks back I chanced across a post by Carla Sinclair at BoingBoing in which she ...
Tanzania: President wants GMOs taken aboard
The following is an excerpt President Jakaya Kikwete has called for change of negative mindset on the adoption of Genetically ...
The lowdown on GMOs with Kevin Folta
Plant geneticist Kevin Folta argues that "GMO debate" is entirely in the minds of campaigners; the science is settled as ...
Ghana: Farmers receive education on modern biotechnology
Farmers noted that over the years several interventions of modern technology in increasing production were brought to their doorsteps yet ...
Philippines: Resistance to Golden Rice
The following is an excerpt. The Philippine Rice Institute (Philrice) has finished the field testing of golden rice in Camarines ...
Ireland: GM potato resists blight, not mistrust
The following is an edited excerpt. Ewen Mullins is a plant scientist whose work on a genetically modified potato inherently ...
Nitrogen-efficient crops: The holy grail of agricultural biotech?
Nitrogen fertilizers cost a tremendous amount of money, damage the environment, and drain the planet's resources -- and only about ...
Q&A with Mark Lynas and plant geneticist Nina Fedoroff
Nina Fedoroff, a leading geneticist and pioneer in transgenics, critiques Lynas' recent speech and discusses the future of plant biotechnology ...
Q&A with Mark Lynas and plant geneticist Nina Fedoroff
Nina Fedoroff, a leading geneticist and pioneer in transgenics, critiques Lynas' recent speech and discusses the future of plant biotechnology ...
Q&A with Mark Lynas and plant geneticist Nina Fedoroff
Nina Fedoroff, a leading geneticist and pioneer in transgenics, critiques Lynas' recent speech and discusses the future of plant biotechnology ...
Q&A with Mark Lynas and plant geneticist Nina Fedoroff
Nina Fedoroff, a leading geneticist and pioneer in transgenics, critiques Lynas' recent speech and discusses the future of plant biotechnology ...
Q&A with Mark Lynas and plant geneticist Nina Fedoroff
Nina Fedoroff, a leading geneticist and pioneer in transgenics, critiques Lynas' recent speech and discusses the future of plant biotechnology ...
Q&A with Mark Lynas and plant geneticist Nina Fedoroff
Nina Fedoroff, a leading geneticist and pioneer in transgenics, critiques Lynas' recent speech and discusses the future of plant biotechnology ...
Can a rose catch your cold? Threat of ‘killer’ viral plant gene is latest anti-GMO rant
The latest "greatest danger to ever face humanity" has emerged from an obscure, technical study in GM Crops & Foods, ...
Chickpea genome map to benefit poor farmers
The following is an excerpt. A team of agricultural researchers from Asia, Australia, Europe and North America, led by the ...
Letter: GM crop bans are unnecessary in Canada
Editor's Note: this letter is a response from Lorne Hepworth, president of CropLife Canada, to Victoria News in response to ...
