News

Monsanto’s herbicide glyphosate is now the most widely used weed-killer in history both in the U.S. and worldwide. According to new research to be published in the February edition of the journal “Environmental Sciences Europe”, there has been a dramatic increase in the total volume of glyphosate applied to crops across the globe. The paper, […]

The genetic diversity of livestock can help feeding the world in the face of climate change, yet a substantial proportion of the world’s animal breeds remain at risk of extinction, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has warned. According to the agency’s second report on the State of the World’s Animal Genetic Resources, increased

Childhood obesity has reached alarming levels including in developing countries, the World Health Organisation (WHO) warned on Monday. According to figures released by the health agency’s Commission on Ending Childhood Obesity, the number of children under five who are overweight or obese reached 41 million in 2014, up from 31 million in 1990. If current

The European Patent Office will hold a public hearing on Monsanto’s patent on a melon derived from conventional breeding. On 20 January, public oral proceedings in opposition will take place at the European Patent Office (EPO) in Munich for European patent EP1962578, which covers virus-resistant melon plants. The melons have a natural resistance to the

Global inequality is reaching new extremes with the world’s richest 62 people owning as much as the planet’s poorest half put together, new research shows. The report “An Economy for the 1%”, published by Oxfam ahead of the annual gathering of the world’s financial and political elite at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland,

Thousands of protesters in Argentina took to the streets of Buenos Aires last Friday to protest against agrochemical giant Monsanto and the construction of a new corn processing plant in the rural town of Malvinas Argentinas close to Córdoba. Protesters marched in support of an activists’ camp which is blocking the property following news that

Drought and extreme heat waves dramatically reduced crop yields during the second half of the 20th century and will likely pose a serious threat in the coming decades, according to new research published in the journal Nature. The scientists found that drought and extreme heat slashed cereal harvests by 10% and 9% respectively between 1964

Venezuela has passed a new seed law, imposing a strict ban on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). On December 23th, the National Assembly of Venezuela approved the “Ley de Semillas” in its final session before the new opposition coalition took over on January 5th . The law was promptly signed by Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro. It

Global soil degradation costs up to 10.6 trillion US dollars a year and poses a long-term threat to food security and the environment, according to a report published by the Sustainable Food Trust (SFT) in December. The report argues that soil degradation should be recognised alongside climate change as one of the most pressing problems

Wild bees are on the decline in many important agricultural regions of the United States, a trend that will increase costs for US farmers and may even destabilise crop production over time, a new study warns. According to the first national map of bee populations, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of