Dr. Hugo Melgar-Quiñonez has a background in medical sciences and is a physician by trade. After moving to the United States to work at the University of California, Davis and at The Ohio State University getting involved in public health and nutrition, he began his work on food security, improved seed varieties, and the health consequences of not having enough food.
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For many consumers around the world, where their food comes from and how it is made are important measurements of safety and quality. The demand for transparency is further propelled by concerns over food-borne health threats, the growing global trade of counterfeit and illegal pesticides, and the globalization of the food system.
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The Sustainable Development Goals are central to global efforts to tackle hunger, poverty, waste, pollution, and climate change. Giulia Di Tommaso, CropLife International’s President and CEO discusses how the private sector – notably the plant science industry – can play an important role in helping society achieve these Global Goals.
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“When we connect more, we can do more.”
That is the message that YPARD (Young Professionals in Agricultural Development) director Yemi Adeyeye wants young people in agriculture to realize. We spoke with him about the organization and the importance of connecting young plant scientists and other agricultural professionals around the world.
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Dr. Martin Bloem is the Director of the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future at the Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, Maryland. Learn about his take on food systems and how, within the context of global nutrition and food security, we can feed the world through 2050 and beyond.
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Dr. Leena Tripathi is the Principal Scientist in Plant Biotechnology at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Kenya. She is Deputy Director of East Africa Hub and Country Representative of IITA-Kenya. Learn more about her research that has the potential to prevent billions of dollars in crop losses every year for family farmers in Africa.
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Biodiversity is declining globally at rates “unprecedented in human history” and the rate of species extinctions is accelerating, with “grave impacts on people around the world now likely”, according to a new report from United Nations Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). Howard Minigh, CEO of CropLife International, tells us more.
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Hugh Possingham, Chief Scientist at The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and fellow of the US National Academy of Sciences, has more than 600 peer reviewed papers and coordinates around 300 scientists across the world to ensure they deliver the science The Nature Conservancy needs to create better outcomes for the planet. We talked to him to find out more.
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Mark Haub is a professor at Kansas State University. He is known for the 2010 Twinkie Challenge, where he went on a 10-week diet of Twinkies and other sugary American junk food and lost 27 lbs. He says the point of the diet was to test the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Dietary Guidelines for Americans and to question our assumption that weight-loss is the epitome of health.
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Pesticides are a critical tool to help farmers around the world protect their crops, ensure their livelihoods and provide food to a growing population. If left uncontrolled, pests would significantly reduce the quantity and quality of food production. In fact, global crop losses could reach 50 to 80 percent without effective integrated pest management (IPM) strategies, including the use of pesticides, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
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A high level of investment from the crop protection industry to research and develop new products has led to a continual improvement in both the effectiveness and safety profile of pesticides, according to a new report. Here the report author, Jonathan Shoham, explains more.
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A new report shows how regulation on biotechnology and pesticides has left EU farmers at a competitive disadvantage, while the world’s major farm markets continue to thrive. The report’s main author John McDougall, from Market Analysts, Agbioinvestor, explains.
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Like many mothers, Alison Bernstein was overwhelmed with the information about what makes food safe. So overwhelmed, in fact, she thought “everything was killing us, and everything was destroying her.” However, that all changed when she started working at a toxicology lab, where the science around biotechnology cannot be misconstrued by the internet or the organic industry.
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Last year we featured Dr. Mfegue Crescence Virginie, an agronomist from Cameroon, in our #FoodHeroes campaign. Working as the Cocoa Swollen Shoot Virus Program Manager for the World Cocoa Foundation in West Africa, she explained how this viral disease can be damaging for farmers, resulting in more than 15% of global cocoa losses. One year on we followed-up with her to find out the facts behind the recent story that chocolate is on track to go extinct in 40 years.
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Derived from nature, biologicals offer farmers an effective, environmentally friendly and socially acceptable way to protect crops. Used by both conventional and organic farmers alike, they can be used alone or combined with synthetic products. Dr Pamela Marrone, CEO and founder of Marrone Bio Innovations (MBI), tells us more.
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