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?
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Biofuels, bioplastics and bioremediation: How CRISPR-designed technologies can protect the environment
Nowadays, scientists can use CRISPR design technologies to protect the environment. Remember, the environment is at the mercy of human ...
Kenya looks to gene editing to grow its key food crops
Kenya’s agriculture is set to benefit from several gene-editing projects that target some of the country’s key food crops and ...
The central challenge for regenerative agriculture advocates: Not undermining the movement by ‘overselling’ its limited and targeted advantages
The term regenerative farming first popped up in the mainstream media in a 1987 New York Times article about what ...
Hermès’ eco-revolutionary new handbags: How agricultural leftovers and mushrooms could fuel a switch to sustainable leather alternatives
MycoWorks certainly made headlines in the fashion world in March when it announced a collaboration with Hermès on the creation ...
Viewpoint: ‘No one really agrees on what “regenerative agriculture” means.’ Is it merely a marketing buzzword or a genuine revolution in how we produce food?
A growing movement harbors a secret: No one really agrees on what “regenerative agriculture” should mean. That lack of consensus ...
Regenerative agriculture: The movement dedicated to unseating intensive, ‘industrial farming’ by claiming it has comprehensive sustainability advantages
For the last century, each generation has produced an alternative approach to farming that is aimed at a central challenge ...
How prevalent are microplastics in our environment? How harmful are they?
From limited surveys of microplastics in the air, water, salt and seafood, children and adults might ingest anywhere from dozens ...
Viewpoint: ‘Things only got worse’ — DDT bug spray curbed malaria-spreading mosquitoes but led to a host of unintended consequences. Here’s how to understand risk and environmental ‘trade offs’
DDT is a bug spray [used to kill malaria-spreading mosquitoes]. It was outlawed in many countries because once you spray ...
Reducing plastic waste: Recyclable eco-friendly, plant-based packaging in development could dramatically reduce microplastic pollution
Nowadays, those who shop for food in discount stores will almost always be buying plastic packaging as well. The vast ...
Viewpoint: Sri Lanka announces plans to ban agrochemical imports on path toward going 100% organic. It didn’t work in Cuba and here’s why it won’t work here
[Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's] decision to shift totally to organic agriculture, from conventional, could lead to widespread hunger and ...
Robotics, sensors, drones, and more: Agricultural technology enables farmers to go green without going broke
While always stewards of the land, [farmers have] faced a continuous squeeze over the decades with the real price of ...
Viewpoint: Livestock—an underrated solution to climate change
Climate change is real and in many instances, agriculture’s livestock is often tagged as being a leading emitter, but what if ...
Using 3D printing to create algae-based novel, environmentally-friendly ‘living materials’, from skin to bio-garments
[A] solution that can help save our environment and change the world is 3D printing, which has been used in ...
Podcast — ‘We’re growing food now in a way that doesn’t leave room for other biodiversity’: How GMO crops are affecting the monarch butterfly and what can be done about it
[su_panel color="#3A3A3A" border="1px solid #3A3A3A" radius="2" text_align="left"]Editor's note: The following is an excerpt from an interview with University of Georgia ...
Meet Tom, Dick and Wilma: These precision farming robots can ‘maximize yields at the individual plant level’
[A] UK startup called the Small Robot Company is about to change how farming is done. SRC uses two autonomous ...
Duckweed to the rescue: How the world’s fasting-growing plant could boost food security despite climate change
Scientists are looking for clues in the genes of the world's fastest-growing plant to help them get a leg up ...
Viewpoint: Here’s one key thing the Biden administration can do to seriously address climate change
President Biden and his administration need to take concerted actions to advance an area of research that could prove decisive ...
‘Imposing expansion of organic farming by decree counterproductive’: Farmer, ag industry executive challenges Europe to rethink its anti-biotech, anti-nuclear ideology
In the midst of the Farm to Fork (F2F) debate and the renegotiation of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), the ...
Genetically modified Bt cotton helped eradicate pink bollworm — and saved US farmers $200 million over five years. Now, scientists and farmers are deploying technology to target other pests
A recent study from the University of Arizona shows that farmers were able to eradicate [pink bollworm] with the help ...
Methane emissions from burping cattle are major contributor to global warming. Here’s an innovative way to address that using a ‘cow cocktail’
Branded Kowbucha, a nod to the popular fermented drink kombucha, it’s being tested by one of the world’s biggest dairy ...
Viewpoint: If the EU is serious about its Farm to Fork goals, it must address massive ‘yield gap’ between conventional and organic farming. Ag biotechnology is the solution
The EU’s Green Deal has a “Farm to Fork” strategy designed to meet the global sustainable development goals and increase ...
Climate change is roiling the African continent. With cutting-edge biotech solutions largely blocked, governments rely on tweaks of more traditional technologies to boost output
While Africa is currently responsible for a negligible amount of total global greenhouse gas emissions, the continent is under significant ...
From lab bench to dinner table — How do you create cell-based prime rib eye?
In March of 2021, researchers at the University of Tokyo announced that they had successfully grown steak in a lab ...
Hacking plants’ circadian clock: How watering and applying pesticides at the most effective time of day can boost yields
Like humans, plants have an ‘internal clock’ that monitors the rhythms of their environment. The authors of a study published ...
‘Compassionate caviar?’ Cell-based fish egg technology could make an exclusive food accessible to everyone — and reduce our carbon footprint
Caviar is renowned as an exclusive luxury typically only enjoyed by champagne-swilling elites in five-star suites or on-board first-class flights ...
Prevention first, pesticides second: Why regenerative agriculture does not mean chemical-free farming
The philosophies of regenerative agriculture, sustainable agriculture, and holistic agriculture are generating a great deal of interest these days. While ...
Microplastics are overwhelming the environment. Here’s how we could mobilize bacteria to clean up our pollution mess
Microplastics are not easily biodegradable, so they stick around for long periods of time and they also absorb and accumulate ...
