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.
Gene editing poised to save Florida’s citrus crop from greening disease spread by invasive insect
In 2003 and 2004, citrus yields were the highest in Florida history, at almost 300 million boxes, more than any ...
Breakthough Institute: Are cover crops the silver bullet to reduce agricultural carbon emissions as regenerative-farming enthusiasts claim? Time for a rethink
Cover cropping, the practice of planting secondary crops during the off-season to improve soil health, has roots stretching back to ...
Environmental-Industrial Complex: How governments, advocacy groups, ‘progressive’ foundations and industry profit off of climate fears
Is history repeating itself? In 1961, US President Eisenhower gave an alarming farewell address, warning that the military-industrial (Congressional) complex ...
Podcast: Robo-restaurants, AI mapping farmland and CRISPR tomatoes
Tomatoes are thirsty crops. Here’s how CRISPR gene-editing could help them thrive with less water ...
From ‘lifeless dust’ to livestock farm: Farmer credits regenerative agriculture for soil transformation
In 2010, when Barry Meijer bought Meijer’s Rust near De Rust in the Klein Karoo, the soil was bare and ...
Why organic food costs so much: Hand weeding
Organic food sales nearly doubled between 2013 and 2022, to more than $61 billion. The top seller, according to the Organic ...
Viewpoint: ‘Is your favorite clothing brand plundering ancient and endangered forests?’
You might think that wearing a top made from wood pulp would give instant eco-credentials – it is renewable, biodegradable, ...
GLP podcast: Debunking opioid myths; Decaf coffee boosts cancer risk? No. Local food might not be better for the planet
Most of what you know about the opioid epidemic is probably wrong. One expert shares the facts about pain pills ...
Synthetic fireflies? Identifying contaminated water with gene-edited cells that light up when they detect pollutants
Study has revealed a revolutionary method for identifying contaminants in water using the properties of fireflies ...
Assisting evolution: Gene drives increase crop climate resilience while preserving diversity
Chinese scientists have reportedly engineered a way to use gene-editing technology to bypass natural plant behavior and force crops to inherit genes ...
Viewpoint: Why is the World Economic Forum waging war against modern agriculture and hurting developing countries?
The World Economic Forum says the world faces a new crisis, “One-third of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions come from food ...
Only 10% of all plastic ever made has been recycled. Here’s why — and how we can improve the recycling process
Technology is giving us more options to reuse and recycle plastic waste, but new methods are still far from perfect ...
Infographic: 800 million people worldwide are hungry and a third of the population food insecure. These 3 tech innovations could help
It’s 2050. The global population has increased to nearly 10 billion, and while we’re still working to ensure every person ...
Smaller than microplastics? Nanoplastics are too small to see yet may seriously impact our environment and health
It’s become common to read that microplastics – little bits of plastic, smaller than a pencil eraser – are turning ...
Butter substitute made from CO2? Carbon-capture technology could help us replace unsustainable palm oil
A new type of dietary fat that doesn’t require animals or large areas of land to produce could soon be ...
What’s better for the environment: Organic foods from far away or local conventional foods?
Consumers buy food, whether organic or not, without paying attention to its origin and therefore without knowing the cost to ...
Tomatoes are thirsty crops. Here’s how CRISPR gene-editing could help them thrive with less water
Researchers have figured out how to grow tomatoes that consume less water without compromising the yield, quality, or taste, Phys.org reported ...
Viewpoint: Organic foods more expensive, less sustainable, and no healthier than conventional. So why do some consumers choose them?
Every time you walk into your favorite grocery store, there is a competition happening. Its contestants include all sorts of food and ...
This desert moss can survive freezing temperatures and intense radiation. Might it be the first plant to grow on Mars?
A future civilization on Mars could be accompanied by one very special and resilient little plant ...
Viewpoint: ‘Regenerative agriculture could be seen as a dangerous distraction from farmers’ core mission: Feeding the world’
Recent years have seen a growing recognition of the need for change in how the world’s food is produced. The ...
Protecting crops from unpredictable weather, restoring soil health, and removing carbon from the atmosphere: Three ways seaweed is transforming agriculture
Ascophyllum nodosum is also known as rockweed in many areas of the world. It’s been used for centuries by local ...
Viewpoint: We need crops that can withstand record-breaking heat waves. But so far, funding has lagged
Southeast Asia grappled with a record-breaking heat wave in April and May that not only claimed hundreds of lives but diminished entire ...
Organic produce made up 15% of all US fruit and vegetable sales in 2022. Is the organic label really worth the cost?
In 2022, organics accounted for 15 percent of all fruit and vegetable sales in the United States despite being far pricier than conventional ...
Viewpoint: Environmental trade-offs are more important than knee jerk, feel-good chemophobia — Pistachio growers make the case for paraquat
The latest errant shot at farmers is Assembly Bill 1963, authored by Asm. Laura Friedman, D-Burbank, an unnecessary and unscientific ...
Methane-free cows? Editing genes of gut microbes responsible for emissions could be one-time treatment for climate-friendly cattle
From feed supplements to animal breeding to vaccines, multiple approaches are being explored to cut methane emissions from belching ruminants. But if you can edit ...
Organic farms are always free from pesticides? Debunking 17 enduring organic food myths
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, organic retail sales were estimated to be more than a staggering $52 billion ...
Viewpoint: Harnessing bacteria, fungi, and viruses — Genetically engineering microbes could help us contain climate change, if we get clear regulations
Microbes are tiny living things — such as bacteria, fungi, and viruses — that can help boost crop immunity to ...
