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.
Discovery of growth ‘switch’ in cold-hardy plants could unlock pathways to develop more cold-resilient crops
Scientists in South Korea have discovered a rapid molecular “switch” that reprograms plant growth in response to cold stress. The ...
Organic food consumer snapshot: Okay benefits but only if cost premium is under 5%
Understanding what truly drives consumers to choose organic or locally produced foods requires looking beyond assumptions and into real behavior ...
Corporate control, ecological challenges and food safety: Challenges await expansion of the gene-editing crop revolution
Ethical considerations surrounding genome editing are as complex as the science itself. As the debate rages on about the safety ...
The expanding role of robotics in agriculture … on Earth and in space
Despite challenges, agriculture remains an appealing sector for robotics applications. ... In recent decades, agri-tech companies have been investing in ...
Viewpoint: U.S. and Europe lagging behind China’s embrace of crop gene editing
Ships, chips, and missiles dominate discussions about defense. But don’t forget food. Secure supplies are key to supply-chain sovereignty — ...
Fungus ‘meat’? Yes, it could be a less expensive, environmentally sustainable —and tasty— chicken substitute
Chinese scientists have genetically tweaked a fungus to make protein-rich “meat”, which they say can be a low-cost, environmentally friendly alternative ...
Yield, resilience and profits: Seed technology is put to the test
Dr Godfrey Kgatle, plant pathologist and research coordinator at Grain SA, offers insight into how traditional breeding, hybrids, genetically modified ...
Utopian fantasy or realistic tools? Deploying synthetic biology to jump crop yields sustainably
As the climate crisis accelerates, there’s a desperate need to rapidly reduce carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, both by ...
Will South Korea join the rest of the science world in deregulating genetically engineered crops?
[Korea's] National Assembly [just] passed the “GMO Full Disclosure Act (Food Sanitation Act Amendment).” This reflects progress in transparency, safeguarding ...
Viewpoint: The rosy-eyed view of the changes that could be coming with the EU’s approval of agricultural gene editing
In recent years, there has been a need for the rapid development of new varieties to address the negative constraints ...
Viewpoint: India needs to refine its view of the benefits and limits of crop biotechnology
This year’s Nobel laureates in Economics affirm that the future of growth models will be driven by innovation. This is ...
Most people have no clue how gene edited could tweak crops, but when the benefits are clear, they are receptive
Consumers are far more open to gene-edited foods when the benefits are personal, values-driven and clearly explained, according to recent ...
Most scientists reject social media while others consider it their obligation to counter junk claims. Here’s the best of the best
Once upon a time, science communication was a niche hobby, reserved for the rare few who could translate lab jargon ...
Activist claims that U.S. crop yields are in decline are mostly propaganda
For years, climate activists have pointed to the threat of declining crop yields as a reason to pass the most ...
Agri-biotechnology innovators turn to living organisms and natural materials to build future-focused food systems
[B]iotechnology companies are turning to living organisms and natural materials for inspiration. ... [U]nibaio extracts chitosan from shell waste and transforms ...
How to future-proof global food security to meet 2050 demands
Food security faces growing challenges due to population growth, resource limitations, economic pressures, and industrialization-induced lifestyle changes. Traditional food systems ...
CRISPR is coming: Europe takes a giant step forward escaping three decades of crop biotechnology denialism
[The European] Council has reached a provisional agreement with the European Parliament on a set of rules that establish a legal framework ...
Are climate activists targeting dogs and their owners?
I’ve been a vegetarian for over a decade. ... It’s a lifestyle choice I made because I wanted to reduce ...
Beautiful and delicious mutants on your plate: The misunderstood world of crop improvement
When most of us hear the word mutation, the images that come to mind are not positive. We think of ...
Viewpoint: Who’s Who of litigation-financed junk scientists publish screed in European pay-for-play journal designed to target safe chemicals and their manufacturers for billion-dollar tort actions
Springer Nature published on November 4, 2025, in Environmental Sciences Europe, "Scientists' warning: we must change paradigm for a revolution in toxicology and ...
‘We will witness a radically redrawn coast line’: Sea levels poised to run 15 feet or more over the rest of this century
In May 2014, NASA announced at a press conference that a portion of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet appeared to have reached ...
Viewpoint: Small-scale organic farming’s ‘costly indulgence’—Unlike genetically engineered crops, sustainability myths cannot reduce chemical use and increase yields on less land
The modern food debate is full of comfortable myths. The most persistent is that “organic” is better for you, and ...
Protecting pigs and loving bacon made from them—Here’s how we can get the best of both worlds
Cultivated pork is the newest entrant in the effort to rethink meat. For years, plant-based offerings have been mimicking burgers, ...
Global food security in a fast changing climate
The availability, quality, and affordability of food depend on a stable climate and stable socioeconomic factors that affect supply and ...
‘Climate-friendly,’ net-zero beef: Possible or just PR?
Last year, the New York attorney general’s office and the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit organization, filed lawsuits against JBS ...
Viewpoint: South Korea’s outdated crop gene editing regulations stifles agricultural production
At a policy seminar where Korea’s science community, agriculture sector and government gathered to discuss regulatory reforms for gene editing ...
Viewpoint: New Zealand rebuffs science-rejectionist attack on the safe use of glyphosate weedkiller
I agree with the recent decision by the New Zealand Food Safety Authority concerning glyphosate. It states that glyphosate can ...
