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.
Viewpoint: Kenya needs hundreds of thousands more tons of corn to feed the country’s population. Lifting the GMO ban is a great first step
I don’t know much about Kenya’s new president, William Ruto, but I already like his approach to agriculture. In the ...
With organic demand outstripping supply, USDA commits $300 million to help convince farmers to grow organic
Over the decades, something unexpected happened — demand for organics started increasing so fast that it began outstripping the supply produced ...
Targeting sustainable farming: Here’s how much money low and middle-income countries are missing out on if they reject genetically-modified crops
GM crops produce higher farm incomes plus reduced land tillage practices and lower insecticide use, bringing substantial environmental benefits. While ...
Rice paddies in the desert? How China is creating productive farmland and growing ‘seawater rice’ using heat-tolerant biotech crops
In a bid to finally ensure that nobody ever needs to go hungry in China again, researchers there have been ...
Podcast: ‘Regenerative’ farming—a green fad; Gene-edited bacteria destroy tumors; Banana-flavored beer
So-called "regenerative" farming is gaining traction as a method of sustainable food production. Does it live up to the hype ...
Carbon removal breakthrough: Genetic tools that have created climate resilient crops could capture carbon dioxide as well
To understand just how powerful genetic tools can be in agriculture, take a look at [Pamela Ronald, a plant geneticist ...
Next generation biofuel: Genetically-modified duckweed can grow in wastewater, and it yields seven times more oil than soybeans
While plants such as corn and soybeans are major sources of biofuel, they're grown on land that could otherwise be ...
Uganda’s challenge: Climate change, crop disease and pests are crippling agriculture. Here’s why new solutions are so desperately needed
Climate change has come along with incurable crop diseases and insurmountable pests and our main cash and food crops are ...
Viewpoint: Anti-GMO activists, from Organic Consumers Association to Joe Mercola to Vandana Shiva, formed an alliance. Why this is good news for biotech and science supporters
Alliances and networks is the new game plan among anti-GM activists. Recently, Organic Consumers Association [read GLP profile head Ronnie ...
Viewpoint: Sri Lanka’s ban on synthetic crop chemicals put ideology ahead of science. Here’s a rethink on sustainable agriculture
In April 2021, the Sri Lankan president announced that the import of synthetic fertilizers was banned and no more would be procured ...
India approves first genetically-modified crops in 20 years: Herbicide-tolerant cotton and mustard
The commercial cultivation of genetically modified (GM) crops may get approval in the country after 20 years. These crops are ...
‘Globally we are no longer innovating’: Agricultural productivity is faltering — and that’s why we need to streamline regulations of new technologies
The recently released 2022 Global Agricultural Productivity (GAP) Report tells a disturbing story: Growth in global agricultural productivity is in steep ...
Viewpoint: Plants are ‘carbon sequestration factories’. It’s time to capitalize on their natural ability to address climate change
Could plants be created that have higher rates of photosynthesis to improve growth and yield? The short answer is yes ...
Viewpoint: Why Washington should sharply increase funding for intensive agricultural to address climate change, spur sustainability
The 20th century was a time of massive changes in US agriculture. From farmers scraping a living out of the ...
How CRISPR gene editing is emerging as powerful tool to counteract climate change
CRISPR technology could be deployed in a wide array of food and agriculture applications. One major issue that CRISPR could fight is ...
Blight resistant gene-edited potatoes now third genetically-enhanced crop approved in once anti-biotech Ethiopia
Ethiopia has given the green light to carry out observation field trials for genetically modified potatoes that are said to ...
Bacon-flavored algae and spirulina salmon? Here’s how aquaculture might provide enough protein to satisfy humanity’s growing appetite
A new paper published in the journal Oceanography speculates future global food production problems could be solved by growing protein-dense microalgae in ...
Benefits of increasing yields in the Amazon rainforest: Nature Sustainability study concludes ‘agricultural intensification’ could cut Brazil’s climate warming by 58%
The Amazon basin includes 550 Mha covered with rainforests, and 60% of this area is in Brazil. The conversion of rainforest ...
Viewpoint: ‘Organic-only policies are the new face of European colonialism’ — Here’s how crop biotechnology innovation is opening doors to Africa’s self sufficiency
Former colonies of Europe were banned from sale unless they obeyed Europe when it came to food. Yet Africa has ...
Viewpoint: Why Mexico’s ban on GM corn threatens job security and will spark outflux of immigrants
Mexico may soon join a growing list of countries that ban the importation of genetically modified (GM) corn, potentially affecting ...
Viewpoint: ‘Regenerative’ is replacing ‘organic’ as the latest green farming fad. Here’s why the reality falls far short of the hype
Politicians have a complicated relationship with science. When they think the evidence comports with their political goals, they love scientists ...
Biopesticides and robotics emerge as lower-impact alternatives to synthetic pesticides
Replacement of the old generation of pesticides with a new suite of technology-based and ecological-based solutions to managing pests is ...
Kenya approves GMOs after 10-year ban
Kenya has approved genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and broken free from a decade-long ban on the technology, a move that ...
Banana flavored beer? Gene edited yeast expands beer taste possibilities
Beer may have lost some of its past flavor. Beer had historically been brewed in open, horizontal vats, but the ...
Challenging ‘green’ wisdom: Why Africa desperately needs more, not less, access to synthetic fertilizers
The European Commission has opposed a plan to support expanding fertilizer production in Africa because it would clash with the European Union’s ...
Can ‘grow-anywhere’ micro-algae provide the nutrients and calories needed to sustainably feed our expanding species?
Most people are familiar with the largest form of algae, kelp or seaweed. It can grow up to three metres ...
Promise and peril of Kernza: This deep-rooted, erosion-fighting perennial beer grain grows back every year — but brewers struggle with transition from traditional wheat
Barley and wheat are also vulnerable to erratic weather patterns. Already, harvests of these staple grains have been disrupted across ...
