Tag Archives: sustainable

Owen Paterson wants Roundup Ready crops in England

Posted on July 2, 2014 by argylesock

Helen Wallace at GeneWatch UK tells us that a committee within our UK Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA, headed by Owen Paterson), hopes to see Roundup Ready crops on English farms. Those are genetically modified (GM, genetically … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, food | Tagged biotechnology, corn, Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs, development, Europe, feed, food loss, food security, fruit, genetic modification, glyphosate, grain, grocery, herbicide, herbicide resistance, law, livestock, local food, maize, maize GA21, maize NK603, Paterson_Owen, pesticide, pesticide resistance, plant_dicot, plant_monocot, politics, precision farming, Roundup, Roundup Ready crop, soya, supermarket, sustainable, technology, trade, vegetable, weather, yield | 6 Comments

Green light for GM?

Posted on June 21, 2014 by argylesock

Steve Connor at the Independent told us, three months ago, of advice to our UK Government about genetically modified (GM, genetically engineered) crops. Our Government’s Chief Scientific Advisor, Prof Sir Mark Walport, led a team advising that Britain, and the … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, food, knowledge transfer | Tagged Africa, biotechnology, breeding, crop, development, Europe, farmer, food security, genetic modification, law, plant_dicot, plant_monocot, population, research, selective breeding, smallholder, sustainable, trade, Walport_Mark | 3 Comments

Revisiting the “eat local” Idea

Posted on June 15, 2014 by argylesock

Originally posted on Thought + Food:
I just came across this review of a book called “The Locavore’s Delusion”, and yes, it is a nod to that other book, in case you were wondering! The authors of the book tried to…

Posted in food, knowledge transfer | Tagged access to food, biotechnology, climate-ready crop, flood, food, food availability, food quality, food safety, food security, food sovereignty, genetic modification, grain, grocery, local breed, local community, local variety, marker assisted selection, plant_monocot, Scuba rice, selective breeding, staple food, sustainable, trade, transport | 3 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

GM foods neither safe nor needed, say genetic engineers

Posted on May 19, 2014 by argylesock

Today Earth Open Source (‘Collaborative approaches for sustainable food’) promotes the second edition of GMO Myths and Truths. Here’s the press release. Genetic engineers Dr John Fagan and Dr Michael Antoniou, and researcher Claire Robinson, talk good sense in my … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, food, human health, knowledge transfer, money and trade | Tagged America, biotechnology, Europe, farmer, food safety, food security, food sovereignty, genetic modification, glyphosate, knowledge, Monsanto, research, Roundup, Roundup Ready crop, Séralini_Gilles-Eric, scientist, seed, sustainable, trade, tumour | 4 Comments

TTIP: Syngenta calls for harmonized safety standards

Posted on May 15, 2014 by argylesock

John Atkin is the Chief Operating Officer at the chemical and biotech giant Syngenta. Here’s a report showing an interview with Mr Atkin, in which he tells us how the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) is great news. One … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, food, knowledge transfer, miniculture | Tagged America, arthropod, Bayer, development, Europe, farmer, food, food safety, honeybee, hymenopteran, insect, insecticide, law, neonicotinoid, pesticide, pollination, research, seed, sustainable, Syngenta, thiamethoxam, trade, Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, wild bee, yield | 3 Comments

The Value of Soil

Posted on April 23, 2014 by argylesock

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=403sT9CGRl0 A clever little film from the ELD Initiative (http://eld-initiative.org/) on the value of soil and the reasons why we should be pursuing sustainable land management systems.

Posted in agriculture, ecology, food, horticulture, knowledge transfer, money and trade | Tagged conservation, land grab, land use, soil, sustainable | Leave a comment

Genetic engineering in agriculture

Posted on April 10, 2014 by argylesock

As the European Union and the United States approach agreement on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), now’s a good time for us Europeans to approach understanding of USian farming. And vice versa. Today I’m looking at the Union … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, money and trade | Tagged agroecology, America, biodiversity, biotechnology, crop, crop diversity, ecosystem, Europe, genetic modification, plant_dicot, plant_monocot, politics, seed, selective breeding, sustainable, trade, Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership | 9 Comments

Putting a price on nature

Posted on April 7, 2014 by argylesock

Lourdes Gomez at Future Challenges (‘Thinking global, living local: Voices in a globalized world’) asks whether it’s a good idea to add a monetary value to nature. ‘The Global Economic Symposium has proposed the concept of a New Economy of … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, ecology, food, money and trade | Tagged conservation, finance, law, politics, sustainable, trade | 1 Comment

Can BIG be beautiful too?

Posted on April 5, 2014 by argylesock

Three leading figures from science and farming consider the role large-scale farming can play in British agriculture.

Posted in agriculture, knowledge transfer | Tagged farmer, food security, knowledge, land use, livestock, pollution, population, scientist, sustainable, veterinary, welfare | 2 Comments