Tag Archives: legume

A GM soya for Europe?

Posted on June 3, 2014 by argylesock

A new soya (soybean, Glycine max) has been approved for growing in Europe. It’s a genetically modified (GM, genetically engineered) crop called MON87769 from the chemical and biotech giant Monsanto. This new crop has been engineered to adjust the fatty … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, knowledge transfer | Tagged BASF, Bayer, biotechnology, commodity crop, Dow, DuPont, Europe, European Food Safety Authority, fatty acid, feed, food, genetic modification, law, legume, Monsanto, plant_dicot, potato, potato Amflora, soya, soya DAS-44406-6, soya MON87769, Syngenta | 2 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

Green Rush to carve up Africa

Posted on December 19, 2013 by argylesock

‘There is a gold rush happening in Ethiopia, but it’s not a hunt for the yellow metal. It’s a quest for the green gold of fertile farmland.’ So says Richard Schiffman at Farmland Grab. ‘A nation more associated with periodic … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, knowledge transfer, money and trade | Tagged access to food, access to land, agroecology, banana, biofuel, cacao, coffee, crop, development, export, farmer, food security, fruit, grain, history, knowledge, land grab, legume, palm, palm oil, pastoral, plant_dicot, plant_monocot, politics, rice, smallholder, soya, staple food, sustainable, trade, wheat | 2 Comments

Agricultural biodiversity and climate change

Posted on November 22, 2013 by argylesock

Smallholders around the world favour diversity as they face changing, unpredictable climates. Bioversity International tells us how smallholders use biodiversity to adapt. ‘Given the prevalence and effectiveness of planting new crops and varieties as a coping mechanism, ensuring access to … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, food, knowledge transfer, weather and climate | Tagged agroforestry, America, Asia, barley, biodiversity, biotechnology, breeding, cañahua, climate, climate-ready crop, conservation, crop, crop diversity, crop variety, disease, drought, farmer, finger millet, food, fruit, genetic modification, grain, isaño, kodo millet, late blight, legume, local variety, lychee, millet, neglected crop, nut, oca, papalisa, plant_dicot, plant_monocot, potato, potato Double H, potato Luki, pseudocereal, quinoa, rice, rice 1442, selective breeding, small millet, smallholder, spice, staple food, temperature, tradition, tuber, vegetable, water, weather, wheat, wheat NL297 | 9 Comments

Monsanto completes acquisition of The Climate Corporation

Posted on November 3, 2013 by argylesock

Monsanto announced this week that it has acquired The Climate Corporation. Here’s Monsanto’s press release. Both of these companies are based in the United States but operate worldwide. Monsanto is about seeds, traits (genes and characteristics) and herbicides (weedkillers). You … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, money and trade, weather and climate | Tagged biotechnology, corn, crop, crop variety, data, farmer, finance, gene, grain, herbicide, legume, maize, Monsanto, plant_dicot, plant_monocot, seed, soya, sustainable, technology, trade, weather, wheat | 3 Comments

Making grass greener: CIAT breeds tropical pasture that suppresses greenhouse gas emissions

Posted on September 29, 2013 by argylesock

Originally posted on ILRI Clippings:
Guillermo Sotelo of CIAT’s entomology team, working with brachiaria grass in a greenhouse at the institution’s headquarters in Colombia (picture credit: CIAT/Neil Palmer). ‘. . . On 13 September, researchers announced that they have bred…

Posted in agriculture, knowledge transfer | Tagged air, biotechnology, brachialactone, breeding, crop rotation, fertiliser, genetic modification, grass, grassland, knowledge, legume, nitrogen, nitrous oxide, plant_dicot, plant_monocot, research, selective breeding, soil | Leave a comment

“No seed, no green revolution”

Posted on August 9, 2013 by argylesock

Originally posted on ECO-opia:
Written by Abraham Dereje “We are witnessing a faster pace of public and private investments in agriculture, in part because of improving national policies and regulatory measures. These include significant investment by AGRA and its…

Posted in food, knowledge transfer, money and trade | Tagged Africa, biotechnology, breeding, broad bean, corn, crop, development, faba bean, farmer, fava bean, finance, food, food sovereignty, genetic modification, grain, Green Revolution, knowledge, legume, maize, neglected crop, plant_dicot, plant_monocot, politics, population, seed, selective breeding, smallholder, sorghum, soya, staple food, teff, woman | 2 Comments

GM in Britain: NIMBY or red tape?

Posted on August 6, 2013 by argylesock

Here in Britain, farmers aren’t growing GM crops. Those are genetically modified crops, also called genetically engineered (GE) crops or biotech crops. One GM crop, a Bt (insecticidal) maize (corn, Zea mays) called MON810 sold by Monsanto, is grown commercially … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, food, knowledge transfer, money and trade | Tagged biotechnology, Bt crop, corn, crop, Europe, feed, food, food processing, food safety, genetic modification, grain, law, legume, livestock, maize, maize MON810, Monsanto, plant_dicot, plant_monocot, politics, research, soya, trade, Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership | 1 Comment

How Monsanto Is Terrifying the Farming World

Posted on July 29, 2013 by argylesock

argylesock says… Here are strong words against the biotech giant Monsanto, ‘a pesticide company that’s bought up seed firms.’ I can’t vouch for the accuracy of this article, but it’s well worth reading. I notice one error. The two GM … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, knowledge transfer, money and trade | Tagged America, BASF, biotechnology, brassica, canola, corn, cotton, crop, crop variety, Europe, feed, food, genetic modification, grain, history, knowledge, legume, maize, maize MON810, Monsanto, oilseed, pesticide, plant_dicot, plant_monocot, politics, potato, potato Amflora, rapeseed, soya, textile, trade, wheat | 3 Comments

Agricultural biotech against poverty and hunger

Posted on July 11, 2013 by argylesock

Too many people are hungry. Many of the hungry people are African. Biotechnology might help. The International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA) tells us how biotech can help to feed people. ‘A successful strategy should have MULTIPLE … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, food, knowledge transfer, money and trade | Tagged Africa, biotechnology, breeding, cassava, corn, crop variety, development, feed, food, fruit, fuel, genetic modification, grain, International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications, knowledge, legume, maize, marker assisted selection, melon, millet, pearl millet, plant_dicot, plant_monocot, potato, research, seed, selective breeding, sorghum, soya, staple food, sugar cane, sweet potato, textile, tissue culture, tomato, trade, transport, tuber, wheat | 3 Comments