Scientific Studies
Worsening land degradation caused by human activities is undermining the well-being of two fifths of humanity, driving species extinctions and intensifying climate change. It is also a major contributor to mass human migration and increased conflict, according to the world’s first comprehensive evidence-based assessment of land degradation and restoration.
In this paper, we assess whether or not organic agriculture has a positive impact on local economies. We first identify organic agriculture hotspots (clusters of counties with positively correlated high numbers of organic operations) using spatial statistics. Then, we estimate a treatment effects model that classifies a county's membership in an organic hotspot as an endogenous treatment variable.
Researchers have found that cows fed a 100 percent organic grass and legume-based diet produce milk with elevated levels of omega-3 and CLA, and thus provides a markedly healthier balance of fatty acids. The improved fatty acid profile in grass-fed organic milk and dairy products (hereafter, 'grassmilk') brings the omega-6/omega-3 ratio to a near 1 to 1, compared to 5.7 to 1 in conventional whole milk.
Farming crops with crushed rocks could help to improve global food security and reduce the amount of CO2 entering the atmosphere, a new study has found.
The CRISPR-Cas9 system has proven to be a powerful tool for genome editing allowing for the precise modification of specific DNA sequences within a cell. Many efforts are currently underway to use the CRISPR-Cas9 system for the therapeutic correction of human genetic diseases. The most widely used homologs of the Cas9 protein are derived from the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Streptococcus pyogenes (S. pyogenes).
Data on occurrence and levels of glyphosate residues in EU soils is very limited. Glyphosate and its metabolite AMPA were tested in 317 EU agricultural topsoils. 21% of the tested EU topsoils contained glyphosate, and 42% contained AMPA. Both glyphosate and AMPA had a maximum concentration in soil of 2 mg kg− 1. Some contaminated soils are in areas highly susceptible to water and wind erosion.
Food contact articles (FCAs) are manufactured from food contact materials (FCMs) that include plastics, paper, metal, glass, and printing inks. Chemicals can migrate from FCAs into food during storage, processing, and transportation. Food contact materials’ safety is evaluated using chemical risk assessment (RA). Several challenges to the RA of FCAs exist.
Glyphosate [N (phosphonomethyl)glycine], the active ingredient of formulated herbicides including Roundup and others, is the most widely used herbicide compound in the world for vegetation management in agricultural, urban/suburban, aquatic, publically-held, and recreational ecosystems. The herbicide became very popular for non-selective weed management used in burndown or knockdown applications in field preparation prior to implementing conservation tillage systems, including no- or zero-tillage practices, that were initiated as alternatives to intensive tillage methods of moldboard plowing and disking in the late 1970’s.
Since the Agricultural Act of 2014, the federal crop insurance program (FCIP) has been the cornerstone agricultural policy in the United States, and is the largest such program globally, with about $100 billion in coverage annually.
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