Even Republicans Worry Climate Change Could Impact Their Favorite Foods by Mike Hoffmann, Danielle L. Eiseman, Jonathon P. Schuldt
August 17, 2022
Introduction:
(Bulletin of Atomic Scientists) Many people take for granted that cup of coffee first thing in the morning. Or maybe you’re a tea drinker. Unfortunately, we have some bad news for you, too.
When it comes to the climate crisis, stories about melting glaciers, rising seas, and extreme heat dominate headlines. But climate change is also threatening the foods people need and love. For example, the acreage suitable for global coffee production will shrink by half as temperatures continue to rise. Coffee prices will increase, and choices decline. The flavors of teas and wines are already changing and the “angel’s share”—the millions of gallons of whisky lost to evaporation each year—will likely increase. Sushi rice, almost all of which comes from California, has been hit hard by the ongoing western megadrought. Globally, the nutritional quality of staple crops like wheat and rice are declining as atmospheric carbon dioxide levels increase. A recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report predicts that climate crisis will exacerbate food insecurity for millions of people as droughts, floods, and heatwaves increase in frequency and intensity, leading to widespread hunger and famine.
How does the public feel about this? Our new research shows that Americans are highly concerned about the impacts of climate change on food. This is true even of Republicans, a group that is typically viewed as relatively unconcerned or dismissive about climate change.
Conclusion:
By weaving climate change into conversations about food that Americans are already having, it could become an everyday topic of discussion for millions more and inspire the actions that scientists warn are necessary to avert the most dire consequences of climate change.
Sulfur Shortage: a Potential Resource Crisis Looming as the World Decarbonises August 21, 2022
Introduction:
(EurekAlert) A projected shortage of sulfuric acid, a crucial chemical in our modern industrial society, could stifle green technology advancement and threaten global food security, according to a new study led by UCL researchers.
The study, published in the Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers) journal The Geographical Journal, highlights that global demand for sulfuric acid is set to rise significantly from ‘246 to 400 million tonnes’ by 2040 - a result of more intensive agriculture and the world moving away from fossil fuels.
The researchers estimate that this will result in a shortfall in annual supply of between 100 and 320 million tonnes - between 40% and 130% of current supply - depending on how quickly decarbonisation occurs.
A vital part of modern manufacturing, sulfuric acid is required for the production of phosphorus fertilisers that help feed the world, and for extracting rare metals from ores essential to the rapidly required green economy transition, like cobalt and nickel used in high-performance Li-ion batteries.
Conclusion:
However, they conclude that by recognising the sulfur crisis now, national and international policies can be developed to manage future demand, increase resource recycling, and develop alternative cheap supplies.
Urban Crops Can Have Higher Yields Than Conventional Farming
August 23, 2022
Introduction:
(AGU)WASHINGTON — As urban populations boom, urban agriculture is increasingly looked to as a local food source and a way to help combat inequitable food access. But little is known about how productive urban agriculture is compared to conventional, rural farming. A new study digs in, finding urban gardeners and hydroponics can meet and sometimes exceed the yields of rural farms.
“Despite its growing popularity, there’s still quite a lot we don’t know about urban agriculture, like whether the yields are similar to conventional agriculture, or even what crops are commonly grown,” says Florian Payen, an environmental scientist at Lancaster University and lead author of the study, published today in AGU’s journal Earth’s Future.
The new study compiles studies on urban agriculture from 53 countries to find out which crops grow well in cities, what growing methods are most effective, and what spaces can be utilized for growing. The researchers find that urban yields for some crops, like cucumbers, tubers and lettuces, are two to four times higher than conventional farming. Many other urban crops studied are produced at similar or higher rates than in rural settings. Cost efficiency remains an open but important question.
Most studies on urban agriculture have focused on green spaces, such as private and community gardens, parks and field growing operations. Payen’s work includes “gray” spaces — places in cities that are already built but could be used for growing, such as rooftops and building facades. In both green and gray spaces, the study examines a suite of crops grown in soils versus hydroponics, horizontal versus vertical farming, and natural versus controlled conditions.
“Surprisingly, there were few differences between overall yields in indoor spaces and outdoor green spaces, but there were clear differences in the suitability of crop types to different gray spaces,” Payen says. Certain crops like lettuces, kale and broccoli are more naturally suited to be grown vertically in indoor spaces than others. “You can’t exactly stack up apple trees in a five- or ten-layer high growth chamber,” he says, “though we did find one study that managed to grow wheat stacked up like that.”
Ethanol Treatment Shown to Bring Drought Relief to Crops
by Candace Cheung
August 24, 2022
Introduction:
(Courthouse News) — Increased temperatures and water scarcity due to climate change have raised fears of food shortages as droughts affect crop production worldwide. One way scientists have been looking to sustain crop yield is to develop more robust plants to withstand prolonged drought.
Although some have focused on genetic modification to accomplish this, researchers with Japan’s RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science have developed a simple, cost-effective ethanol soil treatment that could help crops thrive even throughout periods of drought. They published their findings Wednesday in the journal Plant and Cell Physiology.
“The discovery came from the process of searching for compounds that make plants resistant to stress,” said Motoaki Seki, co-author of the study and leader of RIKEN’s Plant Genomic Research Team, in an email interview. “In general, experiments on compounds use organic solvents such as ethanol, acetone and methanol to dissolve insoluble substances. Our experiment used several kinds of organic solvents and obtained data that made us suspect that the organic solvents, not the compounds, could have a property that makes plants stress resistant.”
Researchers emphasize their method is merely an extension of the plants’ naturally occurring processes. This technique of ethanol application does not rely on controversial genetic modification and is both economically and environmentally friendly. As a naturally occurring compound, ethanol can eliminate fears of dangerous chemically treated food. But although safe for consumption, researchers have other concerns.
“Higher concentration of ethanol inhibits plant growth,” Seki acknowledged. “So, optimization of ethanol treatment (concentration and treatment period etc.) is important.”
Newman’s Own Foundation Sued by Late Actor’s Daughters: It Has ‘Lost Its Way’
by Daniel Jackson
August 23, 2022
Introduction:
(Courthouse News) — Saying their father had long attempted to instill his “benevolent charitable sensibilities” in his children, two daughters of Paul Newman said the Newman’s Own Foundation has disregarded the late actor’s wishes regarding his children.
The foundation uses the name and images of the blue-eyed actor known for The Color of Money and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid to sell salad dressing, salsa, lemonade and tomato sauce, donating the profits to charity.
As part of the arrangement, Susan and Elinor Newman said their father conditioned the use of his image on the foundation giving their foundations each $400,000 a year so they could direct where that money went.
But in a suit filed Tuesday in a Connecticut Superior Court, Newman’s daughters said the Newman’s Own Foundation halved the money that was allocated to them, and they worry their father’s foundation will eventually cut them out of the philanthropic process.
“Over the years, however, Newman’s Own Foundation lost its way and strayed from its mission to preserve and honor Paul Newman’s legacy,” the 34-page complaint says. “The years since Mr. Newman’s death consist of a long and consistent pattern of disregard, by those in control, of Mr. Newman’s specific intentions and direction, coupled with mismanagement, scandal, and questionable practices.”
Climate Change is Increasing Frequency of Fish Mass Die-offs
August 2 , 2022
Introduction:
(EurekAlert) As the planet’s climate has gotten warmer, so has the prevalence of fish die-offs, or mass mortality events. These die-offs can have severe impacts on the function of ecosystems, imperil existing fish populations and reduce the global food supply. And the frequency of these events appears to be accelerating, with potentially dire consequences for the world if global carbon emissions are not substantially reduced over the 21st century.
Those are the findings of a recent paper co-authored by two members of the University of Arkansas Department of Biological Sciences: doctoral student Simon Tye and associate professor Adam Siepielski, along with several of their colleagues.
Storing Cattle Feed Can Improve Milk and Meat Yields: Why African Farmers Aren’t Doing It by Mulubrhan Gebremikael
August 25, 2022
Introduction:
(The Conversation) Africa’s cattle feed production is a boom-and-bust cycle. Most of the continent’s grazing lands are lush and green in the rainy season, only to wither into dry scrublands in the dry season.
For instance, while Burkina Faso produces an excess of six million tons of forage a year, its Sahel livestock producing regions have a deficit of two million tons annually.
The quantity of food for cattle isn’t the only issue: another is its quality. Studies have shown that in Tanzania the quality of forage from pasturelands declines by a fifth during the dry season. In Ethiopia it declines by 28%. The result is a 40% decrease in milk yield.
Across many other countries in Africa, for example Sudan, Algeria, and South Africa, studies have shown that quality livestock feed swings from excess during rainy seasons to abrupt declines, with subsequent reduction in meat and milk and even mass death of cattle.
This cycle poses the question of why African herders are not preserving forage for dry season use.
Lithuanians Developed a Takeaway Food Package That Does Not Contain a Single Gram of Plastic August 29, 2022
Introduction:
(EurekAlert) Takeaway food became an integral part of our lives. However, despite the convenience of such a service, frequent users have to face its drawbacks: the contents of the food can accidentally leak, the meal cools down, and the package does not always suit the size of the portion. Kaunas University of Technology researchers together with business and citizens created a takeaway food box, which solves all these issues and is entirely plastic-free.
“Kaunas citizens, with the help of professionals in their field and guided by scientists, are starting a real revolution in the world of takeaway food. Everyone can create innovations,” says Aelita Zabulionė, a junior researcher at the Food Institute of Kaunas University of Technology (KTU), Lithuania.
During the laboratory session organised by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology Food community (EIT FOOD), ordinary citizens tried to discover the shortcomings of the currently used takeaway food packaging.
In the workshop, they were working together with packaging experts from the “Spaudos departamentas” and the representatives of a restaurant “Daugirdas” located in Kaunas, Lithuania.
During this session, the idea was born – to co-create solutions that would eliminate the shortcomings of ordinary takeaway packaging.
How Do Quality Seed Systems Impact Food and Nutrition Security? August 30, 2022
Introduction:
( EurekAlert) Food and nutrition security is a key development indicator for children’s health. However, decades of global efforts to combat hunger are proving to be insufficient in the face of growing challenges (i.e., conflict, climate extremes, and economic shocks) that have been further aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Currently, about 1 in 10 people face hunger and 2.37 billion people face moderate or severe food insecurity, with the majority in Asia and Africa.
Seed systems are a collection of various interacting actors and tools like technologies, formal and informal groups, market and non-market institutions that allow the use and exchange of seeds. Unfortunately, in low and middle-income countries where smallholder farms are most vulnerable to shocks and stresses and where there is widespread malnutrition, timely and sufficient access to quality and preferred seeds remains challenging. To address this issue, seed system interventions are being developed and implemented, including breeding for improved varieties, capacity strengthening across the seed value chains, and enhancing access to finance to support farmer access to seeds.
In a review published in the journal Global Food Security, researchers led by the Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT mapped evidence of the impact of seed system-oriented interventions on nutrition, identifying themes from 43 studies as direct seed supply, improving seed access, and adopting improved seed. The study provides insight for the pathways to improve nutrition from the perspective of access to and use of quality seeds. There is vast potential in strengthening seed system research in the context of improving diets, nutrition, and food security as part of agriculture and food system resilience.
The results showed more studies with positive than those with mixed or negative impacts on food security, household resilience, dietary quality and diversity, and nutrition status. Studies with positive impact emphasized the importance of seed system- and farmer context- specific approaches and use of multi-component interventions.
New Study Suggests Global Fish Stocks Cannot Rebuild If Nothing is Done to Halt Climate Change and Overfishing September 1, 2022
Introduction:
(EurekAlert) Global fish stocks will not be able to recover to sustainable levels without strong actions to mitigate climate change, a new study has projected.
Researchers at UBC, the Stanford Center for Ocean Solutions and University of Bern projected the impact that different global temperature increases and ranges of fishing activity would have on biomass, or the amount of fish by weight in a given area, from 1950 to 2100. Their simulations suggest that climate change has reduced fish stocks in 103 of 226 marine regions studied, including Canada, from their historical levels. These stocks will struggle to rebuild their numbers under projected global warming levels in the 21st century.
“More conservation-oriented fisheries management is essential to rebuild over-exploited fish stocks under climate change. However, that alone is not enough,” says lead author Dr. William Cheung, professor in the Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries (IOF). “Climate mitigation is important for our fish stock rebuilding plans to be effective”
Chinese Taikonauts Just Grew One of the Most Important Staple Crops in Space by Andy Tomaswick
September 10, 2022
Introduction:
(Inverse) RICE IS one of the world’s staple crops. It is regularly eaten by more than half the world’s population. And now, it’s been grown in microgravity, on board the newly launched Chinese Wentian space laboratory.
Wentian launched in July and joined up with the Tianhe module of China’s new space station. Its original complement of eight experiments included one that attempted to grow rice in microgravity.
Rice typically grows to three to four feet over four months, and the stalks on Wentian have not been able to complete their entire maturation cycle since the experiment started in July. However, they seem to be on track compared to their Earth-bound counterparts.
There were actually two types of rice launched as part of the experiment. A tall shoot variety reached almost 30 centimeters in the first month of growth, and a dwarf variety reached around 5 centimeters. Both of these growth amounts are on par for these particular rice varieties on Earth.
Rice isn’t the only thing in the experiment, though. Scientists added Arabidopsis thaliana, or thale cress. It’s a common flowering plant typically used to study genetic mutations, which can be especially helpful when carrying out an experiment in space.
Introducing the Carbon Cycle Institute (CCI) Homepage
Introduction:
(The Carbon Cycle Institute) The Carbon Cycle Institute (CCI) advances the carbon cycle as the fundamental organizing process underlying land management and on-farm conservation in our efforts to mitigate and adapt to the global climate crisis.
…
Addressing the climate emergency will require not only dramatic reductions in greenhouse gas emissions but also the large-scale removal of CO2 from the atmosphere. Agricultural and natural lands are our most valuable tools in massively scaling up rates of CO2 sequestration across the globe while also building climate resilience and ecological health.
Carbon Farming
A multitude of agricultural practices present the opportunity to significantly increase the amount of carbon stored in long-term carbon pools including soil organic matter and plant biomass, while supporting food production, rural economies, and ecological health.
… Engaging Agriculture
CCI provides education, training, and mentoring to conservation partners, producer groups, and individual farmers and ranchers. Our carbon farming framework builds on and supports existing conservation programs provided by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, local Resource Conservation Districts, and extension services. CCI is committed to ensuring agricultural producers have access to technical assistance and funding support.
… Policy
Scaling agricultural climate solutions relies on strong policy support at regional, state, and national levels.
New Study Cracks the Code to Increasing Grain Size and Reducing Chalkiness in Rice September 14, 2022
Introduction:
(EurekAlert) Rice is a staple food for millions of people around the world. Advances in genetics and breeding science have modernized rice cultivation, leading to improvements in grain weight, an important determinant of both grain yield and appearance quality in rice. Studies focusing on quantitative trait loci (QTL) — small regions of DNA that control factors like grain size, length, and shape — have been at the forefront of these advances. By identifying favorable QTL (i.e., traits) and incorporating them into different rice varieties, scientists have been able to increase grain yield, contributing to greater food security. However, the potential of favorable QTL from wild rice varieties, which are not usually consumed, has been largely untapped.
A species of wild rice called Oryza glumaepatula has received some attention because it is an important source of genetic diversity for rice cultivar improvement. Therefore, a group of researchers from the South China Agricultural University and Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture developed a series of germplasm resources by breeding O. glumaepatula with HJX74, an elite regular rice variety. Their findings, made available online on 19 July 2022 and published in The Crop Journal, demonstrate that gl9, a particular variant of the GS9 gene from O. glumaepatula, contributes to a high grain yield and good quality in cultivated rice. Prof. Shaokui Wang, the lead investigator on the study, explains “Several wild rice varieties have good genetic resources that would be beneficial in the rice varieties we consume. But these can often not be incorporated because wild rice species are quite different from the cultivated ones. One aim of our study was essentially to bridge this gap and reap the benefits of favorable traits from wild rice.”
Changes to Animal Feed Could Supply Food for One Billion People September 19, 2022
Introduction:
(EurekAlert) While millions around the world face the threat of famine or malnutrition, the production of feed for livestock and fish is tying up limited natural resources that could be used to produce food for people. New research from Aalto University, published in Nature Food, shows how adjustment to the feeding of livestock and fish could maintain production while making more food available for people. These relatively simple changes would increase the global food supply significantly, providing calories for up to 13% more people without requiring any increase in natural resource use or major dietary changes.
Currently, roughly a third of cereal crop production is used as animal feed, and about a quarter of captured fish aren’t used to feed people. Matti Kummu, an associate professor of global water and food issues at Aalto, led a team that investigated the potential of using crop residues and food by-products in livestock and aquaculture production, freeing up the human-usable material to feed people.
‘This was the first time anyone has collected the food and feed flows in this detail globally, from both terrestrial and aquatic systems, and combined them together. That let us understand how much of the food by-products and residues is already in use, which was the first step to determining the untapped potential,’ explains Kummu.
The team analysed the flow of food and feed, as well as their by-products and residues, through the global food production system. They then identified ways to shift these flows to produce a better outcome. For example, livestock and farmed fish could be fed food system by-products, such as sugar beet or citrus pulp, fish and livestock by-products or even crop residues, instead of materials that are fit for human use.
With these changes, up to 10-26% of total cereal production and 17 million tons of fish (~11% of the current seafood supply) could be redirected from animal feed to human use. Depending on the precise scenario, the gains in food supply would be 6-13% in terms of caloric content and 9-15% in terms of protein content. ‘That may not sound like a lot, but that’s food for up to about one billion people,’ says Aalto’s Vilma Sandström, the first author of the study.
A Better Understanding of Crop Yields Under Climate Change September 19, 2022
Introduction:
(EurekAlert) You don’t need a PhD in agriculture to know that water is critical to crop production. But for years, people like Jonathan Proctor, who has a PhD in Agriculture and Resource Economics from the University of California Berkeley, have been trying to explain why the importance of water isn’t showing up in statistical models of crop yield.
“Studies analyzing how crop yields respond to temperature and rainfall tend to find that temperature matters much more than water, even though we understand from plant physiology that temperature and water supply are both really important for crops,” said Proctor, a postdoctoral fellow in Prof. Peter Huybers’ group at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS). “Solving this puzzle is critical for quantifying how climate change will affect global crop yields.”
The research team had a hypothesis: What if the models were measuring the wrong type of water? Rather than measuring precipitation, as previous studies had done, the Harvard team used satellites to measure soil moisture around the root zone for maize, soybeans, millet, and sorghum growing around the world.
The team found that models using soil moisture explain 30% to 120% more of the year-to-year variation in yield across crops than models that rely on rainfall.
“Rainfall and soil moisture can differ pretty dramatically due to evaporation, infiltration and runoff,” said Proctor. “What falls from the sky is not necessarily what’s in the soil for the crops to drink — and we find that what’s in the soil for the crops to drink is what actually matters for their yield.”
Heated Plot Experiments Reveal Link Between Warmer Early Winters and Lower Crop Yields September 19, 2022
Introduction:
(EurekAlert) Innovative experiments using temperature-controlled field plots have helped to explain the link between early winter temperatures and yield in some of our most marketable arable crops.
Laboratory and in-field technology enabled the team of researchers from the John Innes Centre to simulate full growing seasons and establish that chilling is important in late November/early December because it promotes growth during early floral development of the crop.
They showed that oilseed rape plants can undergo a developmental phase known as flower bud dormancy if the winter temperature is too warm. This physiological process occurs as the microscopic, newly formed buds lie inactive waiting for low temperatures to signal growth and is well understood in perennial plants which grow year after year.
This development stage was not known to exist in annual crops; those that complete their life cycle in one growing season.
Oilseed rape plants that were chilled at this key developmental stage developed faster and were higher yielding, producing more seeds per pod. Conversely plants grown in warmer conditions grew slowly and were lower yielding.
Ninth Circuit Finds Hydroponic Crops Can be Labeled Organic
by Maria Dinzeo
September 22, 2022
Introduction:
SAN FRANCISCO (Courthouse News) — Hydroponically grown crops can be considered organic, a Ninth Circuit panel ruled Thursday, upholding a federal judge’s refusal to bar hydroponic growers from using the label.
The Organic Foods Production Act, on the books since 1990, specifies that farmers must submit an organic plan showing that their practices foster “soil fertility” through techniques like proper tillage, crop rotation and manuring.
Along with the Center for Food Safety, some of the nation’s oldest organic farms sued the U.S. Department of Agriculture after the agency denied their petition requesting a rule that would make hydroponic crops ineligible for organic certification in 2020.
Northern California farmers argue that it took decades to build the farming practices that earned them the right to call their produce organic only to be undercut by hydroponic producers who piggyback on the label without putting in the work. In hydroponic farming, plants grow in sand, gravel or liquid with added nutrients but no soil.
In a March 2021 ruling, U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg wrote that he does not read the law as categorically banning all non-soil-grown crops from being labeled “organic.”
Press Release: Advanced.farm Receives Grant Funding to Support R&D for Robotic Apple Harvest July 12, 2022
Introduction:
(Advanced.farm) The Washington Tree Fruit Research Commission has awarded a grant to advanced.farm to support its development of a robotic apple harvesting machine. Building on its position as the leader in robotic strawberry harvesting, advanced.farm will now pursue apples as part of its mission to automate ag’s impossible tasks. “Our machines are picking twice as many berries per hour as they were at this time last year”, said Director of Business Development at advanced.farm, Peter Ferguson. advanced.farm currently has several fleets of robotic strawberry harvest machines deployed with leading growers throughout California. The company, which closed a $25M Series B round last year, has developed its own custom robots, soft grippers, camera, and autonomous driving chassis. “Most of our technology stack will be able to be applied to apples and other crops. The apple growers we have worked with in Washington are excited about the future of automation in agriculture and have been very supportive of our work.”
advanced.farm plans to use the grant funds to build its first prototype robotic apple harvest machine and hire for key positions, including software and mechanical engineers, as well as field operators.
Harvest automation has been a key focus of innovation in agriculture in recent years. Ines Hanrahan, executive director of the Washington Tree Fruit Research Commission said “We urgently need new solutions to ensure our crops can be picked in the future to secure the national food supply chain. The WA Tree Fruit Research Commission is pleased to be working with advanced.farm for the coming three years, since this company has a proven track record of getting harvest automation solutions all the way into the field and in grower hands.”
New Genetic Variation from Old and Exotic Varieties for Environmentally Friendly Wheat Cultivation
October 4, 2022
Introduction:
(EurekAlert) Thanks to the continuous funding of the work over six years so far by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, it was possible to test the IPK Leibniz Institute's extensive collection of old wheat varieties for their yield performance and resistance to yellow rust in the laboratory, but also in field trials. "This required a logistical masterstroke from all project participants and many innovative approaches to evaluate the potential of the old varieties without disruptive effects," says Dr. Albert Schulthess, first author of the study. To determine the yield potential, the old varieties were crossed with adapted elite varieties, for example. Only then became the yield potential of the old varieties clearly visible.
And that's not all: the researchers used the results to develop bridging lines for wheat breeding from promising old varieties by crossing them with current varieties. The performance of the resulting progeny surprised the researchers: "We observed higher yields in some bridging lines as compared to important current elite varieties," says Dr. Albert Schulthess, scientist in the research group "Quantitative Genetics". Prof. Dr. Jochen Reif, coordinator of the consortium and head of the research group, is convinced that thanks to the involvement of the two breeding companies, the biodiversity of the elite pool can be increased by using new valuable genetic variation of the bridge lines: "This is of great importance to tackle the huge problems that climate change poses to agriculture."
But that was not all. The results of the study enable a big step towards farming with less or no pesticide use. "Through the comprehensive sequencing of old and new varieties in combination with the valuable field data, we were able to identify possible new gene variants for resistance to yellow rust infestation," says Dr. Albert Schulthess. This would not have been possible without the decoding of the wheat genome, in which the IPK Leibniz Institute played a leading role. "With the new genome regions we discovered in a few old varieties, we can diversify the immune system of wheat," explains Prof. Dr. Jochen Reif.
