Crops & Food
We eat to live. Humans use approximately 11% of Earth’s land for the cultivation of crops for food, but also for clothing, medicine and biofuels. Globally, major crops include sugarcane, pumpkin, maize (corn), wheat, rice, cassava, soybeans, hay, potatoes and cotton.
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Agriculture is ‘ecocide’? Third-generation farmer takes on environmental objections to modern food production
When times are tough and people are struggling, we tend to look for someone to blame. The op-ed “Link between ...
GMO tomato as edible COVID vaccine? Mexican scientists work to make it a reality
While large companies and public sector consortiums in the United States, Canada, China and Europe are running at full speed ...
Book review: Sheldon Krimsky’s ‘GMOs Decoded’ cherry-picks data to spur fear of biotech crops
Judith Heimann reviews “GMOs Decoded: A Skeptic’s View of Genetically Modified Foods,” by Sheldon Krimsky ...
Second massive locust swarm hits East Africa, exacerbating already severe food shortage threat
They’re back: Trillions of locusts descend on East Africa in second wave. Think of locusts as giant, hormonally charged, very ...
Following restaurant debut, gene-edited, heart-healthy soybean oil now available directly to consumers
Plant-based technology company Calyxt has launched a direct-to-consumer site for its high oleic soybean cooking oil, Calyno, which is claimed ...
Despite GMO Bt insect-resistant cotton approval, Ethiopia still skittish about widespread biotech crop cultivation
The Ethiopian government has denied approving the commercial cultivation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) other than two Bt cotton varieties ...
Podcast: GMOs = witchcraft? ‘Big Ag’ didn’t cause coronavirus; Remdesivir for COVID-19
We finally have a drug to treat COVID-19 in remdesivir, but how well does it work? Anti-GMO activists have blamed ...
GMO corn cultivation in Europe has no adverse environmental effects, decade-long study confirms
In European regulations for the deliberate release into the environment of genetically modified organisms (GMO), the objective of General Surveillance ...
Impossible Foods rolls out plant-based GMO burger to 1,700 new stores as COVID-19 strains meat supplies
As more meat plants temporarily close or operate at reduced capacity as coronavirus spreads, plant-based brands “have a window of ...
US government launches GMO website, may allow GM crops in some wildlife refuges
While much of the United States government’s recent activity has focused on COVID-19, some agencies are continuing their work in ...
EU could make 25% of its farmland organic by 2030 to combat biodiversity loss
The EU could set a target of one-quarter of agricultural land in Europe to be farmed organically by 2030, with ...
Reversing herbicide resistance? Geneticists uncover source of ‘dreaded’ pigweed’s glyphosate tolerance
Just hearing “pigweed” can cause fear in cotton and soybean farmers, but a Clemson University geneticist and others believe they ...
Viewpoint: COVID-19 food shortages—Why the pandemic is a warning to embrace agricultural technology
The question worth asking is this: will we learn from this trying experience and embrace agricultural technology to build a ...
Animal breeding advances yield disease-resistant chickens to combat hunger in Africa
In many low and middle-income countries, indigenous chickens are an integral part of the farming system and are an important ...
Africa looks to build food self-sufficiency as COVID disrupts global supply chain
As Africa grapples with disruptions in the global supply chain caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, some see it as an ...
Viewpoint: ‘Monocultures’ unnatural? Mother Nature grows them, too
....[Wh]at’s often in the crosshairs of activists is the philosophy of the planting system — the “dreaded” monoculture. Row crops ...
11 GMO, gene-edited animals and plants that will help us battle hunger and disease
The Genetic modification of foods, organisms, and animals, is very controversial, for quite obvious reasons. And yet, the practice has ...
Ugandan scientists use CRISPR in pioneering research to breed hardier cassava
Ugandan scientists have begun moving gene extracts into cassava cells in a first-of-its-kind research trial using the CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing ...
Podcast: Norman Borlaug a hero? Spread coronavirus for herd immunity? CRISPR v. agroecology
Norman Borlaug's Green Revolution saved an estimated billion people from starvation, but critics contend his work brought severe environmental and ...
COVID-19 nudges us to rethink our approach to the existential threats of our time
The world as we knew it ended a few months ago. What we have now is a seemingly alien muddle ...
GMO success story: South African farmer accused of witchcraft after achieving 1,600% corn yield increase
TELA maize products are transforming livelihoods at [the] household level in Matibidi village, Mpumalanga province in South Africa. Meet Mr ...
South Australia lifts 16-year-old GMO crop cultivation ban after months of political wrangling
South Australia will allow mainland farmers to grow genetically-modified (GM) crops from next season, but councils can apply to remain ...
Fluorescent foliage: Researchers grow glow-in-the-dark plants with help from mushroom DNA
Fans of the "Avatar" movie will have long dreamed of lush jungles teeming with glowing plants. But fluorescent foliage may ...
Coronavirus outbreak fuels surging plant-based meat demand in China
Demand for plant-based protein foods is surging in Asia, suppliers say, as suspicion over possible links between wild animal meat ...
Viewpoint: Blame the coronavirus on ‘industrial agriculture’? We need more, not less of it to stave off the next viral pandemic
An internet meme is circulating worldwide in the heat of the COVID-19 pandemic: “Every disaster starts with a scientist being ...
Podcast: Why scientists have an obligation to teach the public about GMOs
Dr. Maha Arujanan is the global coordinator of the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA) and also ...
Camelina vs. canola: Which GMO crop offers more sustainable source of omega-3 fish oils?
Field trials of a plant genetically modified to produce omega-3 normally sourced from fish oil have shown that it can ...
‘Climate proofing’ the world’s food supply with edible microorganisms
We need a global food production system that is tolerant to unpredictable climate fluctuations ...
