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.
Switch to more organic farming would lead to higher food prices, lower profits — California Farm Bureau study
A European Union policy goal to exponentially increase organic farming to 30% of all agricultural production by 2030 is expected ...
‘The supply just isn’t there’: Brazil, Argentina and US push back on Mexico’s looming GMO corn ban
The U.S. corn sector has been adamant that it cannot easily or quickly shift to producing non-GMO corn to comply ...
Viewpoint: California governor Gavin Newsom wants to transform 30% of the state’s agriculture into organic. This study claims that would be a disaster
A new study finds that rapidly converting 30% of California agriculture to organic practices would dramatically increase food prices and ...
Viewpoint: Massive drought, population rise, and lack of agricultural land spurred Kenya to embrace GMOs — not ‘corporate greed’
President William Ruto lifted a 10-year ban on Genetically Modified (GM) crops officially allowing the importation of the same into ...
Viewpoint: GM drought-tolerant crops: Here is one biotech innovation that only anti-GMO science rejectionists can demonize
If you think biotech crops have some role to play in fighting global hunger, the Non-GMO Project is here to ...
Viewpoint: ‘Prices may rise to the point that eggs become a luxury item’ — Why Mexico’s looming GM corn ban spells economic trouble
“Prices may rise to the point that eggs become a luxury item” for many Mexican consumers, warns a new report ...
Saffron, the world’s most expensive spice, is under threat by climate change. Here’s how researchers are using genetic modification to build resilience
In order to address climate change impacts on saffron production, particularly the deficit of rainfall, new saffron varieties are needed ...
Analysis: We can’t limit climate change impact in agriculture unless we embrace biological solutions and move away from outdated farming techniques
In many circles, “biotechnology” is a four-letter word. Whether you’re a Jurassic Park truther, an anti-Monsanto activist, or an anti-Vaxxer, the ...
Viewpoint: A degree in regenerative organic agriculture at a ‘transcendental meditation’ university? What are students actually learning?
Maharishi International University offered to make me one of its referral partners for a new degree program: Regenerative Organic Agriculture. I’d ...
Mosquitoes genetically engineered to kill off their own kind reduce local populations by up to 96%, study shows
In the Brazilian city of Indaiatuba, an effort is underway to eliminate Aedes aegypti mosquitoes before they have a chance ...
Is the Biden administration politicizing agricultural pesticide policy? The GOP believes so, and plans offensive
Republicans plan to use their razor-thin House majority and the committee control it gives them to investigate the Biden administration’s ...
How corruption jeopardizes food security in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation
Today, data shows 7 out of every 10 Nigerians are food insecure. According to a 2021 report by Onyenekenwa Cyprian ...
EU ‘Green Deal’ softens hard-line proposals for extensive restrictions on pesticides as food security concerns escalate
EU countries are pushing back against the European Commission’s plans to radically slash the use of pesticides in the bloc, ...
An alternative to harvesting environmentally-destructive palm oil? Here’s a biotech solution using soybeans
Plant-based synthetic biology continues to play a role in novel ingredient discovery, which ultimately helps alleviate global food chains from ...
Viewpoint: As Africa faces climate change and farming disruptions, biotechnology-driven innovation offers hope. Why is it not more widely adopted?
On June 9th 2022, persistent rainfall swept through Lagos, Nigeria’s most populous and smallest state. The downpour led to loss ...
Beyond the ‘yuck factor’: Precision fermentation of bacteria could dramatically soften environmental footprint of livestock-linked food production
Precision fermentation is a refined form of brewing, a means of multiplying microbes to create specific products. It has been ...
With demand for plastic expected to triple by 2050, here’s how biotechnology can reduce its environmental impacts
In theory, many commonly used plastics can be recycled. But only about one-tenth of the plastics that have ever been ...
Spanish biologist: ‘No evidence that organic diet better for health or organic farming better for the environment’
Do foods with an organic seal have benefits? The only thing they guarantee is that they have been grown according ...
Do we unfairly label ‘invasive species’? Conservationists debate whether their positive qualities suggest a rethink
A little over a decade ago, Jason Gleditsch was removing Asian honeysuckle when he noticed the birds. Robins and gray ...
‘We can’t simply innovate our way out of danger’: Can biotechnology and other innovations help soften the blow of climate change?
Can technology save us from the worst effects of climate change? Probably not, reports a new study, “Does Directed Innovation ...
How can US farmers adapt to climate change? Environmental Defense Fund offers five key options
Farmers have a long history of steadily increasing crop yields through technological innovation and improvements in management practices. However, as ...
Naturally saffron-flavored rice? Here’s how scientists are using genetically modified tobacco and lemon to recreate the world’s most expensive spice
Biotechnology mass-produces valuable molecules from nature, from drugs to textiles to a jellyfish protein that lights up most anything a ...
Viewpoint: ‘Farming is always unnatural’ — German farmers on why the EU needs to stop romanticizing agriculture and start embracing ‘intensive’ farming
We get too romantic about farming: “Nature is not gentle. Farming is always against nature. If you don’t do anything, ...
Agrivoltaics: With farm land scarce, solar panels can work in tandem with agriculture
Farmers installing solar panels on their land traditionally have kept their paneled acres separate from those containing their crops. But this ...
How to scale up lab-grown meat? Scientists ‘zap animal cells with a magnet’
Scientists from the National University of Singapore (NUS) have found a novel way of growing cell-based meat by zapping animal ...
Climate change: Gene editing can help create resilient crops
Experts say enhanced access to gene editing can help create resilient crops that respond appropriately to climate change. Some agricultural ...
‘Sustainable fondue’: Cattle and dairy farming produces billions of tons of CO2 each year. Here’s how climate-friendly lab-grown cheese can change that
Hi, I’m Will, and I have a cheese addiction. My partner regularly catches me swiping slices when I am cooking, ...
