Tag Archives: climate

Hillary Clinton loves biotech and she doesn’t love climate change denial

Posted on June 28, 2014 by argylesock

Here’s a report about Hillary Clinton’s opinions on biotechnology and climate change. Mrs Clinton may, or may not, aim to become President of the United States. She makes clear in this report that she loves crop biotech. ‘[A]s U.S. Secretary … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, food, weather and climate | Tagged Africa, America, biotechnology, climate, genetic modification, politics | 2 Comments

What is biodiverse food?

Posted on June 13, 2014 by argylesock

Ann Tutwiler of Bioversity International tells us why in the 21st century, we need biodiverse food. And she tells us what that could mean. Ms Tutwiler doesn’t mince her words, saying that a need for dramatically increased food production is … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, food, horticulture, knowledge transfer | Tagged amaranth, banana, barley, biodiversity, biotechnology, cacao, cassava, climate, commodity, corn, crop, development, fertiliser, food, food security, food sovereignty, fossil fuel, foxtail millet, genetic diversity, grain, grass, Green Revolution, grocery, knowledge, maize, neglected crop, oats, pearl millet, plantain, plant_dicot, plant_monocot, politics, pollution, potato, poverty, prosperity, public_private partnership, quinoa, research, rice, rye, small millet, smallholder, soil, sorghum, staple food, supermarket, sustainable, teff, trade, water, wheat, wild rice | 3 Comments

Mapping the evolution of climate change ‘scepticism’ in British newspapers since 1990

Posted on June 1, 2014 by argylesock

argylesock says… I wish you every success with your PhD, Martin. Your quote from James Hoggan is brilliant. ‘In promoting climate change denial… industry has done more than endanger the environment. It has undermined democracy.’

Posted in knowledge transfer, weather and climate | Tagged academia, climate, Europe, knowledge, politics, trade | 2 Comments

Scuba rice: biotech crop on a fast track towards release

Posted on May 25, 2014 by argylesock

A new biotech rice variety called Scuba or Swarna-Sub1 is going through field trials in India. It’s a long-grained rice (Oryza sativa L. ssp. indica) designed to be ‘climate-ready’ or ‘climate-smart’. That is, it’s designed to grow well as climates … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, food, knowledge transfer, weather and climate | Tagged Africa, Asia, backcrossing, biotechnology, breeding, climate, climate-ready crop, crop diversity, crop variety, Department for International Development, development, farmer, field trial, flood, gene, grain, International Rice Research Institute, marker assisted backcrossing, marker assisted selection, paddy field, plant_monocot, research, rice, rice Swarna, Scuba rice, seed, selective breeding, staple food, trade, weather | 6 Comments

Rising levels of CO2 could exacerbate malnutrition

Posted on May 16, 2014 by argylesock

argylesock says… Climate change is happening. We humans caused it. Here’s yet another way that climate change threatens people, especially poor people. [Edit] I looked up the original paper (behind a paywall, but my University library has a subscription) and … Continue reading →

Posted in food, human health, weather and climate | Tagged America, Asia, biofortification, carbon dioxide, child, climate, corn, crop variety, field pea, food quality, grain, iron, legume, maize, nutrition, plant_dicot, plant_monocot, poverty, research, rice, selective breeding, sorghum, soya, staple food, vegetable, wheat, zinc | 2 Comments

The homogenisation and globalisation of diets

Posted on April 25, 2014 by argylesock

Originally posted on One Billion Hungry: Can We Feed the World?:
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization has estimated that some 75% of the diversity of cultivated crops was lost during the 20th Century and, by 2050, we could lose…

Posted in agriculture, food, horticulture, human health, money and trade | Tagged Africa, America, Asia, cassava, city, climate, conservation, crop, crop diversity, crop variety, development, disease, Europe, Food and Agriculture Organization, food safety, genetic diversity, grain, human, iodine, iron, law, micronutrient, millet, neglected crop, nutrition, pest, plant_dicot, plant_monocot, population, potato, prosperity, research, rice, rye, seedbank, staple food, sugar beet, sugar cane, sweet potato, trade, tuber, Vitamin A, wheat | 6 Comments

Food security and biofuels

Posted on April 15, 2014 by argylesock

Biofuels are renewable because they’re made from plants or animals, which grow. But sometimes biofuels are produced in ways that are not sustainable. Hungry people sometimes pay the cost. Can food security and biofuels go hand in hand? Today Léna … Continue reading →

Posted in food, knowledge transfer, money and trade, weather and climate | Tagged access to land, algae, biodiversity, biofuel, climate, development, export, farmer, fire, food security, knowledge, land grab, land use, law, livestock, plant_dicot, plant_gymnosperm, plant_monocot, politics, poverty, prosperity, tillage, trade, tradition, waste, water | 7 Comments

What’s happening as the world gets warmer

Posted on March 31, 2014 by argylesock

If you don’t believe in climate change, you might as well not bother reading what I’m about to say. You might live long enough to find out the hard way. In fact, the evidence is sure already. We know climates … Continue reading →

Posted in weather and climate | Tagged climate, data, Met Office | Leave a comment

Knowing what’s on the land

Posted on March 30, 2014 by argylesock

The Global Land Cover Network (GLCN) exists to bring together all that’s known about what’s covering the land, everywhere there is land to be covered. This very ambitious project involves the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and others. … Continue reading →

Posted in knowledge transfer | Tagged climate, data, development, Food and Agriculture Organization, food security, land use, map, planning, sustainable, vegetation | Leave a comment

Fertilisers destabilise grasslands

Posted on March 21, 2014 by argylesock

Here’s new evidence that fertilising grasslands can make them less stable. Therefore, fertilised grasslands might become more vulnerable to climate change. This is a serious matter in our hungry world. Here’s the science. This research was led by Andy Hector … Continue reading →

Posted in ecology, food | Tagged academia, biodiversity, climate, ecosystem, eutrophic, fertiliser, food security, grassland, plant_dicot, plant_monocot, research, soil | Leave a comment