Steve Savage
Viewpoint: Our favorite Cavendish banana may be heading towards extinction—Scientists say only a biotech solution, blocked by anti-GMO activists, can save it
Shall we just resign ourselves to the eventual demise of the banana, or take steps to save it? ...
Podcast: As more US farmers retire, here’s how to recruit a new generation of growers to feed us
Is farming for the aging? While Paul McCartney ponders, “Will you still need me, will you still feed me, when ...
Podcast: How farmers grow the 2.7 billion pounds of coffee we drink every year
Whether you typically crave a drip coffee or something a bit more intricate, we can all agree that caffeine is ...
How a genetically altered virus could save Florida’s decimated orange industry from citrus greening disease
In the early 1970s there was a ubiquitous television ad promoting Florida orange juice including the line, "a day without orange juice ...
Podcast: Getting back to nature—7 reasons you should start a home garden
Our collective desire to get “back to nature” is probably one of the better instincts from the Woodstock era that ...
Podcast: Could a benign virus save Florida’s devastated orange industry from citrus greening disease?
Huanglongbing, or HLB, is the Chinese term for the Yellow Dragon Disease–usually referred to as citrus greening. The disease first ...
Podcast: How science brought us ‘synthetic’ fertilizer, and why it was a game changer for farmers
Bet you never thought fertilizer was magical but that changes today! On this episode of Biotech Facts and Fallacies, plant ...
Podcast: Environmental Working Group’s ‘Dirty Dozen’ list is an unscientific scam
Scammers are having a moment. On this episode of Biotech Facts and Fallacies, plant scientist Steve Savage tackles scams within ...
Podcast: 7 modern pest control tools that protect our food from hungry bugs
Need to manage a pest problem? Luckily, there are many ways to do that! From physical to biological and chemical ...
Podcast: Recycling 190 million pounds of pesticide containers to promote sustainable agriculture
Ag recycles! On this episode of Biotech Facts and Fallacies, plant scientist Steve Savage delves into the world of agricultural ...
Podcast: Genesis of GMOs—How the tools of biotechnology came to be
Following some groundbreaking experiments in the early 1970s, biologists discovered they could move DNA between species. This development launched the ...
Podcast: Primer on bees, varroa mites and the ‘beepocalypse’ that never was
This time it’s all about the bees! From the composition of a working hive to the diseases that plague honey ...
Mother Nature? More like ‘Mad Scientist Mama’—creator of chemicals good and bad for humans
Nature is not some sort of cosmic mother figure. On the contrary, nature is composed of diverse biological and physical ...
Here’s what electricity can teach us about pesticide safety
Many people may find it difficult to imagine how a pesticide could ever be safe. To understand how that is ...
Viewpoint: How the Environmental Working Group and ‘Big Organic’ manipulate pesticide data to scare people
Consumers have a legitimate desire for transparency when it comes to their food - particularly when it comes to the ...
Battling cancer-causing aflatoxin contamination in Africa with genetic engineering, other technologies
We in the rich societies of the world don’t hear a lot about aflatoxin. It is probably one of the single ...
Public health breakthrough: US and Indian scientists work together on genetic solutions to food toxins
Genetically engineered peanuts that are immune to aflatoxin contamination, which is associated with an increased risk of liver cancer, would ...
Can biotechnology defuse the looming ‘bananapocalypse’?
Scientists have developed GMO bananas resistant to a destructive disease sweeping across the globe. But they may never reach the ...
Viewpoint: Environmental Working Group’s Dirty Dozen list highlights ‘meaningless distinctions’ between organic and conventional foods
On April 10, the Environmental Working Group – an NGO funded by big organic marketers – released its annual “Dirty Dozen List” ...
Should we worry about trace pesticides on fruits and vegetables?
An anti-GMO funded study promoted by Vani Hari--Food Babe--that found parts per billion trace residues of the herbicide glyphosate in ...
USDA data confirm organic yields significantly lower than with conventional farming
Government data comparing yields of organic vs. conventional farms finds a sharp yield edge for conventional on more than 84 ...
Myth busting: Do farmers ‘drench, douse or slather’ crops in pesticides?
One common belief about modern farming is that farmers use pesticides in excess on their crops. A plant scientist explains ...
Viewpoint: No, Big Ag doesn’t ‘control’ the world’s food supply
Is there truth to a common anti-GMO narrative that large multi-national companies seek to “control the food supply” through patents ...
Wine grapes case study: How modern crop management has led to dramatic reductions in pesticide use
[Editor's note: Steve Savage is a plant pathologist who has been working in agricultural technology for over 35 years.] Grapes grown ...
Smoking and health: Genetic revolution transforming medical marijuana and tobacco
Our increased understanding of plant genetics has potential to help smokers quit and provide patients with the medicinal benefits of ...
Why one scientist refuses to buy organic foods
Many consumers opt for organic food thinking it is healthier and is grown more sustainably. One plant scientist challenges the ...
GMO corn that resists cancer-causing aflatoxin showcases biotech’s life-saving potential
The creation of GM corn that neutralizes a cancer-causing toxin is a game-changer for human health. The method could be ...
EPA deserves some respect: Environmental regulations should be refined, not dismantled
Primarily in Europe, but increasingly in the US, junk science and activist manipulation diminish the scientific integrity of the regulatory ...