Steve Savage
Four ways to strip carbon out of agriculture and limit farming’s climate impacts
Carbon is a “hot topic” in an age of Climate Change (pun intended). That is playing out in unique ways ...
Would widespread adoption of organic farming practices be a good idea from a climate change perspective?
Agriculture plays a complex role when it comes to climate change. Farming does contribute a significant share of certain greenhouse ...
35 years after Alar hysteria devastated the apple industry, there are more varieties than ever before. What happened?
[I]n 1989 the apple industry was hit with the notorious “Alar Scare” when the environmental group NRDC asserted that a ...
What defines ‘Regenerative Agriculture’ and does it deliver real benefits?
While explicit promotion of “Regenerative Agriculture” is a relatively recent trend, it’s practical implementation typically involves a combination of already ...
6 problems CRISPR gene-edited agriculture helps solve
Genome editing with CRISPR and other tools is an exciting new technology with myriad applications from human health to industrial ...
A natural biological approach to weed control
Weeds have been a major challenge since the earliest days of farming. Tillage - the mechanical means of weed control ...
Are bananas at risk of extinction? Many varieties are, but gene editing offers a solution
Bananas are one of the world’s most widely available fresh fruits. They are particularly popular with children and are a ...
A llama-inspired way to protect crops
Most of us will never see a live llama except at a zoo unless we have an opportunity to travel ...
Chocopocalypse? Social justice, sustainability and economic threats pose increasing challenges to the cocoa industry
“Chocolate” represents a diverse category of products with distinctive and delicious flavors, often with pleasant “mouth feel,” and a range ...
Good news for health-conscious, tech-embracing consumers: Here’s the science behind the latest gene-edited food, a tastier mustard green
Precision gene editing methods such as CRISPR are revolutionizing everything from cell and gene therapies to diagnostics, bioenergy, and agriculture ...
Science-based reasons why Environmental Working Group’s Dirty Dozen list of ‘pesticide-laden’ fruits and vegetables is dangerously misleading
Fruits and vegetables are an important part of a healthy diet providing vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, dietary fiber and other benefits ...
Here’s how drones can optimize harvests and save on labor
Drones are being used for an ever widening range of agricultural applications enabled by new technology and diminishing regulatory constraints ...
Plant microbiomes: Humans are not the only organisms that need healthy biomes. Here is how to grow safer and more nutritious food and feed
A “physical examination” is the standard way to track human health. It involves a variety of measurements such as blood ...
Viewpoint: ‘It undermines farmers and confidence in regulators’ — Real impact of Environmental Working Group’s organic-promoting ‘Dirty Dozen’ list
Nutrition experts agree that many Americans should eat more fruits and vegetables, but that can be challenging for those with ...
Here’s a primer on the technology behind lab-grown meat
Between population growth and rising economic status, global demand for food protein is expected to continue to increase for a ...
How a genetic tweak boosted ethanol production and serendipitously yielded beef and dairy sustainability benefits
Enogen corn was developed using genetic engineering to add a gene for the enzyme alpha amylase which breaks down starch ...
Pesticides are critical to grow food, but concerns are widespread. Here’s why they are overblown – and a look at the cutting-edge RNA genetic tools designed to reduce health risks even more
For farmers to supply society with food, fiber and fuel they must battle pests. There is no magic, natural way ...
Climate Action Farming: What farmers need to do to adapt as our planet heats up—and why organic and ‘regenerative agriculture’ cannot meet the challenge
There are a number of practices that farmers could use to manage their land in ways that would optimally remove ...
Is conventional ‘industrialized’, technology-driven farming ‘destroying biodiversity’ as critics claim — or saving it?
Well over 90% of food, produce and grains in the United States is grown on conventional farms. Critics stigmatize this ...
With the US honeybee population stable, what are the challenges going forward?
There is a common phrase that appears in the popular press, in grant proposals and as a fund raising theme ...
Part II: The Clean 18 — USDA finds almost no pesticide-related health concerns from fruits and vegetables grown on American farms, while data on organic food is lacking
The purpose of the following section is to explore commodity to commodity differences by a variety of measures and not ...
Part I: The Clean 18 — Challenging Environmental Working Group’s Dirty Dozen scare survey of pesticide residues on conventional fruits and vegetables
The recent release of the “Dirty Dozen List” by the organic-industry-funded Environmental Working Group has stirred up its annual hornets’ ...
Citrus greening crisis: How genetically engineered tools and other strategies might prevent total devastation of Florida’s orange and grapefruit industry
For more than two years, human society has been dealing with ramifications of the Covid-19 pandemic and that already feels ...
Viewpoint: Salmon, apples and potatoes — 3 healthy and sustainable foods that you can buy now under the new “bioengineered” label
The “bioengineered” label for foods sold in the United States is now in effect. Any food or food ingredient that ...
Viewpoint: Europe’s globally important wine industry threatened by pesticide, biotech phobias
“Make food systems fair, healthy and environmentally-friendly.” That's the lofty goal of the European Union's (EU) Farm to Fork Strategy, ...
Viewpoint: 3 biotech foods you can’t buy at Costco thanks to anti-GMO activism
The opponents of this method of improving food have been successful in suppressing even the most logical applications ...
Podcast: How 1970s fat-free fad launched organic, non-GMO and other ‘absurd’ labeling schemes
Go walk the aisles of your local grocery store and see how many products are being marketed for what they ...
Viewpoint: Biotechnology could save our favorite banana. Will anti-GMO activists stand in the way?
Anti-GMO intimidation could plunge banana-producing communities into poverty ...
