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Farmers and civil society organisations united in the Stop Golden Rice Alliance have reiterated their opposition to genetically modified (GM) rice, denouncing a campaign tour of a Canada-based advocacy group which is currently in the Philippines promoting the adoption of Golden Rice. According to the alliance, Golden Rice is a covert attempt to win wider […]

Europe remains far from reaching the objective of living well within the limits of the planet by 2050, according to the European Environment Agency’s latest assessment. Its key message is that Europe still faces a range of persistent and growing environmental challenges. Addressing them will require fundamental changes in the systems of production and consumption

A Ghanaian civil society group has won a High Court ruling temporarily halting the commercialisation of genetically modified (GM) cowpeas and rice in the West African country. In February, agricultural advocacy group Food Sovereignty Ghana (FSG) filed a case against the country’s National Biosafety Committee (NBC) and the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), arguing

US agencies, donors such as the Gates Foundation and agribusiness giant Monsanto are collectively attempting to force African countries to accept expensive and insufficiently tested genetically modified (GM) foods and crops, according to a new Friends of the Earth International report released today. The report takes a closer look at who actually benefits from GM

Global fertiliser use is likely to surpass 200 million tonnes in 2018, an increase of 25% compared to 2008 levels, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) reported this week. World demand for total fertiliser nutrients is estimated to grow at 1.8% per year from 2014 to 2018. In the coming years, fertiliser use will vary

Across the globe, a total of 43.1 million hectares of agricultural land were organic at the end of 2013, with the global market for organic products reaching US$72 billion. This is the result of the latest edition of “The World of Organic Agriculture”, which was presented by the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM)

People who eat organic foods may have significantly lower pesticide levels in their bodies than those consuming conventionally grown produce, according to a new study published on Wednesday in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives. The study is among the first to predict a person’s pesticide exposure based on information about their usual diet. The scientists

Dedicating crops and land to biofuel production will undermine efforts to combat climate change and feed the planet, according to a new report published Thursday by the U.S.-based think tank World Resources Institute. Firstly, turning plants into liquid fuel or electricity is inefficient. Providing just 10% of global transportation fuel from biofuels in 2050 would

World food security and the goal of changing course in global agriculture must become top priorities in the post 2015 development agenda. This is the key message of a new discussion paper published by Biovision – Foundation for Ecological Development, in cooperation with various other NGOs and institutions. The document outlines key concerns for the

Human activity has pushed the planet across four out of nine environmental boundaries, according to a new study published in the journal Science. An international team of 18 researchers warns that the planetary boundaries that have been crossed are: climate change, loss of biosphere integrity, land-system change and altered biogeochemical flows (phosphorus and nitrogen cycles).