Agrifood Articles
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When planting trees does more harm than good
Note to anyone who thinks planting trees is the bees’ knees: Grasslands are important, too. With forests disappearing at record rates and the carbon sequestration and other benefits of vegetation getting increasing visibility, tree-planting has become almost an iconic “environmentally friendly” activity. But in some cases it could do more harm than good, according to Iowa State ...
By Ensia
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Phosphorus runoff is a big problem, but Florida is getting closer to a solution
Excess phosphorus runoff and emissions from urban areas and croplands, animal feedlots, sewage treatment plants, and combustion of fossil fuels has been blamed for the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico, toxic algal blooms in Lake Erie and problems in numerous other lakes and rivers around the world. For years unwanted nutrients were also choking the Florida Everglades, but in a surprising ...
By Ensia
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How to grow more food with less water
Scientists and farmers collaborate on a quest for more efficient irrigation This story was co-published with Civil Eats, a daily news source for critical thought about the American food system. From reading the weather to choosing a crop, farming has always been a hands-on enterprise. When a farmer wonders how much water a crop needs, a simple test has always sufficed: Grab a handful of soil ...
By Ensia
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Sub-critical water as a green solvent for production of valuable materials from agricultural waste biomass: A review of recent work
Agricultural waste biomass generated from agricultural production and food processing industry are abundant, such as durian peel, mango peel, corn straw, rice bran, corn shell, potato peel and many more. Due to low commercial value, these wastes are disposed in landfill, which if not managed properly may cause environmental problems. Currently, environmental laws and regulations pertaining to ...
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Agroecology can help fix our broken food system. Here’s how.
The various incarnations of the sustainable food movement need a science with which to approach a system as complex as food and farming. This story was co-published with Food Tank, a nonprofit organization focused on building a global community for safe, healthy, nourished eaters. Thumb through U.S. newspapers any day in early 2015, and you could find stories on President Obama’s ...
By Ensia
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Conversion of coconut gene farms threatens diversity
The land conversion of coconut gene banks located in research farms across the Asia-Pacific threatens the future of coconut diversity, researchers warn. A coconut gene bank in Indonesia was recently converted into a racetrack while another in Samoa was turned into a prison, SciDev.Net has learned. Scientists in Southeast Asia are worried that without legal protection the number of coconut gene ...
By SciDev.Net
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Crop gene banks are preserving the future of agriculture. But who’s preserving them?
As climate change makes crop diversity even more important, gene banks struggle to stay afloat. During the past few years of civil war in Syria, rebel fighters have destroyed Shia mosques and Christian graves, and burned and looted Christian churches while the Islamic State group has demolished priceless artifacts in the region. Nothing seemed sacred to the disparate groups vying for control of ...
By Ensia
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Top Tips to Save Money, Use Sprayer Efficiently
Using clean water when calibrating a pesticide sprayer and carrying extra nozzles for quick repair of simple problems in the field are just some of the tricks of the trade that can help growers save time, energy and money during spraying season, says a spray technology expert in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences at The Ohio State University. Because there are so many ...
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USDA Announces $3.8 Million Awarded in Grants for Nano Research
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) announced on April 27, 2015, that it awarded more than $3.8 million in grants “focused on using nanotechnology to find solutions to societal challenges such as food security, nutrition, food safety, and environmental protection.” The grants were made through NIFA’s Agriculture and Food ...
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Urban farming is booming, but what does it really yield?
City-based agriculture produces 15 to 20 percent of food globally. In the U.S., its benefits go far beyond nutrition. This story was produced in collaboration with the Food & Environment Reporting Network, a non-profit investigative news organization. Midway through spring, the nearly bare planting beds of Carolyn Leadley’s Rising Pheasant Farms, in the Poletown neighborhood of ...
By Ensia
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The European Environment Agency - who we are, what we do, how we do it
Eionet and other EEA partners The information provided by the EEA comes from a wide range of sources. A network of national environmental bodies was set up to work with the EEA — Eionet — which involves more than 300 institutions across Europe. The EEA is responsible for developing the network and coordinating its activities. To do this, we work closely with National Focal Points (as ...
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Analysis of competitiveness of a dairy property through reverse logistics: a case study
This paper aimed at evaluating the competitiveness of a dairy property located in the Western Paraná State that uses the reverse logistics of the animal waste produced by the activity. Therefore, we collected information related to the property and the activity by questionnaires and in loco observations seeking information regarding the drivers that affect the competitiveness of the property, ...
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Insecticide risk map exposes threat to aquatic life
The global threat that insecticides pose for aquatic biodiversity has been revealed in a recent modelling study that pinpoints areas at greatest risk. The mapping exercise conducted by the researchers reveals that aquatic life in water bodies within 40 per cent of the global land surface is at risk from insecticides running off the land. Published in Environmental Pollution last month (30 ...
By SciDev.Net
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Hot Source: GMO Labelling Requirments, Food Illness Outbreaks, New Pesticides Lab in Mombasa & More
In this issue of Hot Source, food supply, security and sustainability comes to the fore with the publication of new principles for Responsible Investment Agriculture and Food Systems, by the Committee on World Food Safety (CFS) under the auspices of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN (FAO). Visit us for more details: ...
By SGS
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A review of mercury concentrations in freshwater fishes of Africa: Patterns and predictors
The methylated form of mercury (methylmercury) is a potent neurotoxicant and a contaminant of concern for fisheries because of its potential effects on ecosystem and human health. In Africa, inland fisheries are a crucial component of food and economic security, yet little information is available on Hg contamination trends. The authors compiled published data on mercury (Hg) contamination in ...
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Palm oil: not the evil we think it is
Oil palm is a globally important crop, but our hatred of it stops us from pushing for better ways to develop it. The oil palm, one of around 2,600 species of palm, must be one of the most hated plants on Earth. Ask any self-respecting environmentalist, and his or her face is likely to turn red with anger at the mere mention of its reviled name: Oil Palm. The oil palm is the Lord Voldemort of ...
By Ensia
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To feed the world in 2050 we have to change course
In order to feed a growing population we need to focus on reducing biofuel production and food waste and spoilage, while supporting small-scale farmers. The 2008 global food price spikes were a wake-up call to global policy-makers, shaking them from the lethargic slumber of the overfed. The rhetorical responses were swift, but policies and practices have changed little. That is in part because ...
By Ensia
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The socio–economic impacts of currently commercialised genetically engineered crops
A substantial and growing body of literature now exists on the socio–economic impacts of genetically engineered (GE) crops. While the bulk of literature has focused on the primary impacts of commercialised GE technology, in terms of changes in yields, costs and profitability, researchers have increasingly addressed a range of additional questions such as the distribution of impacts across groups, ...
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U.S.-India: Dealing With Monsoon Failure
The scene plays out in India. At a reception, I met the head of Indian operations for Esso (now ExxonMobil). When I asked him how business was, he said it was great. In particular, diesel sales to fuel irrigation pumps were nearly double the previous year’s level. Why? Because farmers were pumping continuously to try to save their crops. Soon after, I met an embassy staff person, an avid ...
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Press Advisory: Global Forest Watch to provide unprecedented monitoring of forests worldwide
On February 20, the World Resources Institute (WRI) will launch Global Forest Watch (GFW), a dynamic online forest monitoring and alert system that empowers people everywhere to better manage forests. Created by WRI, Google, and more than 40 partners, GFW unites satellite technology, open data, and crowd sourcing to guarantee access to timely and reliable information about forests. The event, at ...
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