The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced $19m in funding for organic agricultural research across the country as part of a drive toward a more sustainable supply of organic ingredients.
Everybody wants food to be safe - but the recent slugging match over how best to protect US consumers from E.coli-tainted meat highlights whether legislation or self-regulation is the answer to mending the country's flawed safety system.
US companies have made significant progress over the past decade in making meat safer but should not be obliged to publish inspection test results, said the head of a leading trade body this week.
Food industry leaders met last week to develop ways to address food safety, childhood obesity, hunger, and agriculture in an interactive forum designed to boost economic opportunities and food safety in Michigan.
Food prices could more than triple by 2050 as the climate changes, according to a new report from the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
Monsanto’s CEO has said that the agricultural giant is on the verge of a technology explosion that it hopes will double yields in corn, soybeans and cotton by 2030, helping to meet increased demand for the crops.
With the global population expected to reach nine billion by 2050, investment in both GM crops and organic farming could help to ensure a reliable food supply, says a new report from Deutsche Bank.
Prices for key commodities used by food manufacturers may have eased since their peaks last year, but the cost of cereals and vegetable oils in the near term will remain far higher than pre-2008, projects the OECD.
The Food Safety Enhancement Act has been broadly welcomed by industry but a group of organizations has issued a letter to the relevant committee voicing strong opposition to several of the bill’s provisions.
Participants in the Round Table on Responsible Soy unanimously agreed a set of voluntary production standards on Thursday to reduce the negative environmental and social impacts of soy production.
A study is underway is in the US to offer what researchers claim will be the most comprehensive insight yet into the impacts of organic farming on the health of livestock in attempts to ensure better practices for suppliers.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced that the US Department of Agriculture will conduct its first ever large-scale survey of organic farming in the US this spring.
The rice shortages of last year look to be at an end, as farmers upped production this year to ease the tight supply situation, according to the latest market data from the Food and Agriculture Organization.
Who likes pesticides? Misunderstood by consumers and misrepresented by pressure groups, pesticides are a soft target for legislators. The latest blow to that soft target could have hard consequences for the European food industry and for developing countries.
The World Cocoa Foundation is offering a guide to the cocoa industry on sustainability principles that focus on equitable profit, labour standards and environmental issues.
The US remains the global leader in the production of genetically modified crops but questions remain over their ability to address promises of enhanced yields and nutrition, according to a new report.
“Four legs good, two legs bad.” When the pigs take over the land in George Orwell’s Animal Farm, they have no hesitation; any creature with four legs is beyond reproach and any human is bad, mad and dangerous to know.
A deal has been signed between research centers in Canada and China to join forces and work on projects that could increase the yield of canola, as demand for healthy oils increases.
Last month's devastating earthquake in China has severely damaged
the country's agricultural supply, resulting in $6bn (€3.8bn) worth
of damage in the Sichuan province.
Genetically modified (GM) crops could help address spiralling prices, said UK ministers, sparking yet another European debate on their role in the global food arena.
Stepping up food production and ending trade restrictions could
lift millions out of poverty while helping bring down soaring
prices, said UN secretary-general Ban Ki-Moon.
A three-pronged approach including stepping up scientific research
and embracing innovative technology will help combat new food
challenges, says US secretary of agriculture, Ed Schafer.
Growing regular tomatoes in a mulch of hairy vetch activates the
same flavour and nutrition-boosting genes and metabolic pathways as
in transgenic tomatoes, report ARS scientists.
The application of modern horticultural techniques could revive
cultivation of traditional fruits in Africa like baobab,
butterfruit and tamarind, according to a new report.
The German ruling coalition has agreed to allow foods containing
certain GM additives or using GM processing aids to still be
labelled as non-GM if there is no alternative, in a bid to
encourage use of non-GM labels.
Ingredient innovators looking for inspiration from exotic fruits
may be able to cash in on an Agricultural Research Service project
which is looking into ways to bring even more tropical fruits to
the US.
A leading organic dairy processor in the US has announced a new
research initiative for reducing its carbon footprint, as part of a
new funding program designed to improve efficiency in sustainable
production.
A snack bar which can stay moist and chewy for up to 24 months
without the need for artificial preservatives has been developed by
scientists in California.
Organically grown tomatoes contain higher levels of beneficial
flavonoids, says a new study from the US that fans the flames of
the debate between conventional and organic foods.
Biotech behemoth Monsanto has joined forces with gene technology
expert Chromatin to develop ways of increasing the
number of modified genes that can be inserted into crops such as
soybeans and corn.
Syngenta is to acquire a 49 per cent take in Chinese seed company
Sanbei with a view to jointly developing corn seed products to meet
growing demand driven by changing food patterns and agronomic
trends.
A scientist in Thailand has reported success in a decades-long
quest to produce an odourless variety of the infamous durian fruit
- but aficionados claim this amounts to removal of fruit's most
appealing quality.
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has been accused of failing
to protect the nation's food supply, following last week's
withdrawal of a long-grain rice seed after possible contamination
with genetically modified material.
EFSA has met with the four member states currently involved in GM
environmental risk assessments in order to discuss the development
of an EU-wide approach.
New UK government proposals to allow up to 0.9 per cent GM in
organic food without it being labelled threatens a highly lucrative
industry, claim campaigners.
In a show of institutional support for the nutraceutical industry,
the Canadian government has announced a $2m Cdn plug for research
into identifying plant, animal and marine compounds that can
benefit health.
Three projects drawing on the expertise of researchers in both the
UK and France could translate into practical improvements in crop
and agronomic science.
The distribution of rice, the main staple of more than half the
world's population, will be the focus of debate at the upcoming
International Rice Commission meeting in Peru.
Two groups representing organic farmers are at loggerheads over the
release of a new report that claims to rate the nation's organic
dairy brands and products.
