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.
Meat alternatives are ‘mass-produced, processed imitations’—but could they save the planet?
Meat alternatives are mass-produced, processed imitations: “fake” foods. To borrow one of Michael Pollan’s rules for eating wisely, your “great-great-great ...
The ‘Church of Nature’ and the sudden collapse of the cult of Extinction Rebellion
When a cult loses its grip on a person, a form of reawakening takes place. It involves having to return ...
Animal biotech could help tackle disease that costs Africa’s cattle farmers $1 billion annually
Animal biotechnology has been primed to contribute significantly towards addressing the challenge of food security, especially in the developing world ...
CRISPR for cannabis: Gene-edited, disease-resistant marijuana poised for 2021 debut
Israeli startup CanBreed said it has reached a licensing agreement to use gene editing tools to provide cannabis growers with ...
Neonicotinoid insecticides probably not driving monarch butterfly declines, study finds
The long-term decline of monarch butterflies has been attributed to loss of their milkweed (Asclepias sp.) host-plants after the introduction ...
Viewpoint: Why the USDA should approve GMO disease-resistant chestnut trees
You may [have] heard “chestnuts on an open fire” at Christmas but they are a lot of rarer than they ...
Viewpoint: US farm productivity shows Europe why rejecting biotech crops was a mistake
Over the past two decades, Europe has decided to go its own way in agricultural policy. While both North and ...
GMO corn could help combat voracious pests, drought in Nigeria, field study shows
Nigeria’s quest to introduce maize varieties resistant to insect pests such as Stem Borer and Fall Army Worm (FAW) and ...
Monarch butterflies avoid pesticide-treated milkweed to limit chemical exposure
Hundreds of recent studies have voiced concern over the negative impacts of non‐target pesticides on pollinator health. However, pesticide loads ...
Meat from algae: The next plant-based contribution to sustainable food production?
Microalgae capture sunlight using pigments of vibrant colors, such as chlorophylls, carotenoids, and phycocyanin. In particular, the algae spirulina and ...
Viewpoint: Federal court banned dicamba weedkiller at worst possible time for farmers
As a farmer whose family has raised soybeans, corn, and pumpkins for the last 50 years, I know first-hand how ...
Insect-resistant cowpea demonstrations across Nigeria aim to build farmer support for GMO crop
The Institute for Agricultural Research, Ahmadu Bello University (IAR/ABU) Zaria and the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) have concluded arrangements ...
How do you make meat without animals? The 5-step ‘recipe’ for a lab-grown, cell-based burger
Cultured meat, lab grown meat, cell based meat, clean meat, and cultivated meat are all terms used to describe meat ...
Engineering rice plant roots increases crop yields in salty soil, study shows
Genetically improving the root system architectures of plants is an effective strategy for developing climate-resilient crops. In this study, we ...
Podcast: Activism’s dark side—Earth Liberation Front bombs ‘GMO’ tree lab, destroys endangered plants instead
Law enforcement agencies keep a watchful eye on environmental groups that have engaged in eco-terrorism, notably Greenpeace and PETA, and ...
Viewpoint: American agriculture could ‘unravel’ without major sustainability changes
Picture an ideal dinner plate. If you’re like most Americans, it features a hearty portion of meat, from animals fattened ...
Judge may reject FDA AquaBounty GMO salmon approval, citing risk to ‘local ecology’
At a hearing [August 25], U.S. District Judge Vincent Chhabria said he’s concerned that AquaBounty, the biotech company behind the ...
Rainfed GMO insect-resistant Bt cotton in India cuts pesticide use 28 percent, study finds
Scientists from Alagappa University in India conducted a study to analyze the performance of insect resistant Bt cotton in rainfed areas. The results are published ...
Study challenges prior research blaming decline of monarch butterflies on deaths during annual migration
A new study suggests that extensive agricultural use of glyphosate herbicide is to blame for the decades-long decline in North ...
Impossible Foods, Beyond Meat dismiss criticism from rival Lightlife Foods as a PR stunt
In an open letter slammed by Impossible Foods as cynical and disingenuous and dismissed by one commentator as a “PR ...
Lightlife urges Beyond Meat, Impossible Foods to drop ‘hyper-processed ingredients, GMOs’ from plant-based burgers
About a year ago, Lightlife President Dan Curtin challenged his team to make the cleanest plant-based burger they could create, ...
Video: USDA to decide fate of American chestnut restoration
University researchers are seeking approval to restore the iconic chestnut to American forests by using a genetically engineered (GE) variety ...
Viewpoint: Farm to Fork failure—How Europe’s ‘obsession’ with organics undermines the global sustainable farming movement
Europe’s quest to confront climate change and achieve carbon neutrality is being undermined by “Big Ag”? That’s not my claim. It’s the ...
How tech-driven, ‘eco-rational’ environmentalism can help solve the world’s problems
Few of us are committed to having an evidence-based worldview — it’s truly hard to do. We have to remain ...
Seafood of the future: Could lab-grown fish replace its wild and farmed relatives?
Do we need animals to make meat? What if we could grow cells outside the body of an animal to ...
Cuba expects massive crop yield increase with GMO insect-resistant, herbicide-tolerant corn
In the midst of a deep food crisis and a shortage of supplies in the country, the Cuban regime opened ...
CRISPR cows could boost sustainable meat production, but regulations and wary consumers stand in the way
When Ralph Fisher, a Texas cattle rancher, set eyes on one of the world’s first cloned calves in August 1999, he ...
