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.
RNA tweak: Engineering rice and potato plants boosts yields by 50%
Manipulating RNA can allow plants to yield dramatically more crops, as well as increasing drought tolerance, announced a group of ...
Viewpoint: Organic farming’s 44% productivity gap makes for a facile sustainability case, New Zealand agricultural scientist says
With all the research and information available it is extraordinary that the myth of organics – that the food is ...
Synergistic effect of ‘agricultural chemical cocktails’ commonly used by farmers pose harm to pollinating insects
For bees, the threats are numerous, including habitat loss, climate change, and intensive agriculture. As fields of flowering plants are ...
Most plant-based proteins are made from soy. From microalgae to fermented fungi, these surprising sources are bringing us the faux meat of the future
What will take on the ubiquitous soy and pea?​ As well as chickpea, other plant proteins have come to the ...
How ‘cattle charlatan’ Allan Savory hijacked the ‘regenerative ranching’ movement
Given the billions of humans on the planet and the futility of feeding them all on hunting and gathering from ...
To adapt to changing climates, we need to overhaul how we breed corn and soybeans
U.S. corn and soybean varieties have become increasingly heat and drought resistant as agricultural production adapts to a changing climate ...
‘We already have the products. All we need is the scale, the money, and the will’: Are we on the verge of revolutionizing meat and dairy production?
According to [billionaire Jim] Mellon’s predictions, the food industry is set to see some big changes over the next decade ...
Could underwater strawberries and deep-sea herbs provide a more sustainable alternative to land-based farming?
An over-reliance on pesticides, displacement of wildlife, the wasting of gallons of water and the generation of harmful emissions are ...
Seed treatment overload? Are there unintended consequences from a popular practice?
For the first time in nearly a decade, Dan Hesterberg poured a few bags of untreated corn seed into his ...
Can synthetic biology be scaled up quickly enough to make significant progress against climate change?
In cities, something like 40 or even 50% of food doesn’t even reach our plates. [Claudia Vickers, Director of the ...
Viewpoint: German agricultural economist argues organic crops suffer from low yields, nitrogen leaching, and higher levels of heavy metals — and says ‘greening conventional’ farming is more sustainable
Organic farming sees itself as a superior form of land use. Whether this positive view is justified can be measured ...
Universities racing to update curriculums to catch up with technology-driven ‘future food’ revolution
[N]ow that food companies big and small are embracing new technologies to create alternative forms of meat, universities around the ...
Meet the ‘disruptive technologies’ revolutionizing aquaculture
Aquaculture is the fastest growing food producing sector, per the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and ...
Lab-grown meat dilemma: Sustainable alternatives to livestock farming held back by patents, reluctance to share research and lack of government support
[M]any technological, social, and economic hurdles remain before our supermarkets are filled with a variety of cultured cutlets. To surpass ...
‘Covid exposed so much that was broken’: How can we remake our post-pandemic food system?
The United States spends $1.1 trillion a year on food. But when the impacts of the food system on different ...
Viewpoint: ‘Sure, organic agriculture is sustainable: it sustains poverty and malnutrition’ — Why organic farming is a ‘green’ dead end
It is mystifying to me that organic food is still widely seen as healthier, more sustainable and, most absurdly, safer ...
Eastern monarch butterfly is in decline, but it’s not due to habitat loss or chemicals. Blame it on climate change
Michigan State University ecologists led an international research partnership of professional and volunteer scientists to reveal new insights into what’s ...
‘Genetic engineering the wild’: Crucial questions to ask as we enter the era of gene drives
Gene drives are a technology through which a few individual genetically engineered organisms would be deployed to intentionally push new ...
Concerned about insect declines? AI pollinating robots could come to the rescue
Across the globe, startups are testing robots to pollinate everything from blueberries to almonds. And in Australia, one company is ...
How AI and gene editing can combine to revolutionize climate-smart farming
While precision agriculture promises to reduce indiscriminate use of water, fertilizer and pesticides, intensive efforts are also being made at ...
Kenyan small farmers look to genetically engineered disease resistant cassava to improve food security
Catherine Taracha, a scientist at the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (Kalro), is looking forward to starting planting genetically ...
Impossible Foods taking on mega-huge chicken nugget market with its GMO, plant-based alternative
Impossible Foods Inc. plans to debut a plant-based chicken nugget this fall, the latest imitation meat maker to jump into ...
Here’s how Europe plans to cut agriculture carbon emissions
A new carbon removal approach in agriculture will contribute to stepping up Europe’s climate ambition, the European Commission reiterated at ...
Viewpoint: Stanford is a world-class science institution … except when it comes to critical thinking about the ‘sustainability myth’ of organic agriculture
Stanford, which consistently ranks among the top U.S. colleges and universities, is one of the great research institutions in the ...
Tofu waste used to make less expensive and more ethical cell-based meat
Researchers at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) are finding new uses for okara — the pulp leftover from making soy-based foods ...
Consistent global regulations essential to bring cell-based meat into the mainstream
Singapore's historical approval of cell-based meat late last year spurred industry momentum, but there remains a lack of clarity on ...
Foie gras without the guilt: Lab-grown duck and goose liver in the works
Foie gras, which is made from duck or goose liver, has long been public enemy No. 1 among those concerned ...
