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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Video: Coffee’s status as world’s favorite drink threatened by climate change, shallow gene pool
Climate change could spell disaster for coffee, a crop that requires specific temperatures to flourish and that is highly sensitive ...
Bangladesh to provide incentives for farmers to grow more GMO Bt eggplant
The government plans to incentivise farmers to produce more genetically modified (GM) brinjal [eggplant].... [Eggplant, also known as brinjal and ...
‘Supercharged’ GMO rice could increase yields 50 percent with improved photosynthesis
Researchers from Oxford University have taken an important step in a long-term project aimed at improving photosynthesis in rice. In ...
European Parliament votes to ban glyphosate by 2022 in non-binding vote
Ban household use now, agricultural use by end 2022 Risk assessments by the EU Commission must be made public EU ...
Viewpoint: Anti-pesticide activists exploit chemical testing technology to scare public
One religious group forecast an apocalypse a few weeks ago. They used the Bible as their source. More recently, a newer religion ...
Talking Biotech: Uganda farmer-scientist on benefits of GMO disease resistant bananas
Kevin Folta in Uganda interviews scientists and farmers about bananas resistant to crop disease and the likelihood of commercialization ...
Activist case that glyphosate herbicide causes cancer mired in scandal
A perfectly useful herbicide could be banned in Europe thanks to a tangled network of lobbyists, lawyers and activists. … ...
Glyphosate, IARC and politics: ‘We need a more honest debate’
Glyphosate is one of the most hotly-debated herbicides of the modern era. Many of the arguments against the popular weed-killer ...
Plant growth genes identified that could lead to increased crop yields
Scientists say the discovery of a group of hormones in plants could revolutionise food production by improving yields. The Universities ...
Bipartisan group of 79 congressmen urge EPA, FDA to streamline agricultural biotech regulations
In a letter to three federal agency heads on Tuesday, a group of 79 bipartisan members of the United States ...
There’s ‘Big Ag’ and ‘Big Organic’—How much does ‘big’ matter when it comes to sustainability?
It's the way crops are farmed not the farm's size that matters when it comes to sustainability ...
‘Ecological Armageddon’? Three-quarters of flying insects in Germany vanished in 25 years, study claims
The abundance of flying insects has plunged by three-quarters over the past 25 years, according to a new study.... Insects ...
Bayer to allow public access to pesticide safety information
[Editor's note: Adrian Percy is the Global Head of Research and Development for Crop Science, a Division of Bayer.] After ...
‘GMO’ petunias: Ridiculousness exposed and explained
Italian researcher offers satirical look at the story of the GMO petunias that were ordered destroyed. How would you explain ...
Understanding honeybee deaths: Close to 100% of Massachusetts’ hives infected by viruses
The honey bee population is on the decline, and bee experts want to know why, so the State Department of ...
Rothamsted Research calls for more GMO trials or global food security will suffer
Genetic modification of plants will be essential to avert future food shortages, conclude a group of agricultural scientists who have ...
Insects can build resistance to Bt crops in as little as five years, study shows
While organic farmers have used Bt proteins in sprays successfully for more than half a century, some scientists feared that ...
Air freshener moss genetically engineered by failed plant glow-in-the-dark inventor
In 2013, Taxa launched a Kickstarter for genetically engineered plants would glow at night, cutting street lamp electricity costs tremendously ...
French grain farmers’ union opposes glyphosate ban, calling herbicide ‘essential’
With France set to vote against EU glyphosate re-registration this month, a group of French farmers have said they will ...
Livestock feedlots more sustainable than organic cattle grazing, research shows
[Editor’s note: Dan Blaustein-Rejto is a food and agriculture analyst at the Breakthrough Institute.] A new report provides further evidence ...
Viewpoint: Do neonic traces found in world honey pose problems to bees or humans?
The last taste of honey you enjoyed likely came from bees exposed to neonicotinoids, the world’s most widely used class ...
Video: Malaysian scientist’s TED talk on how to elevate public understanding of science and genetics
Fear-mongering ‘facts’—like tomatoes engineered with spider genes or cars exploding from full gas tanks on hot summer days— show how ...
Talking Biotech: How Africa can move beyond subsistence farming
World Food Program's Bret Rierson: Inexpensive storage options could dramatically help developing world farmers manage, store and sell surplus crops, ...
Genetically enhancing the nutrients in corn using synthetic methionine
Methionine, found in meat, is one of the nine essential amino acids that humans get from food, according to the ...
Viewpoint: Should US be subsidizing organic farming when label seems increasingly meaningless?
Congress is considering tripling the budget for the USDA's organics program. Should we be asking for more answers from regulators ...
More evidence parasitic Varroa destructor mite poses most serious threat to bee health
[Editor’s note: Karen Rennich is the Project Manager for Bee Informed Partnership and APHIS National Survey, working out of University ...
Nigeria’s biosafety director supports advantages of GMO crops despite criticisms
Despite the criticism that has trailed the used of Genetically Modified Organisms, GMOs, Nigeria’s bio-safety chief has defended the use ...
