Food & Agriculture Stories
How do we feed a growing and more affluent population without the environmental collateral damage? The Anthropocene’s coverage of food and agriculture digs deep into innovations in farming, aquaculture, filling the global protein gap, reducing the carbon footprint of supply chains, and more.
The veiny structure of a spinach leaf could be the perfect scaffold for lab-grown meat
Decellularized spinach leaves are also a greener alternative to many current scaffolds for cultured beef
Leaving crop residues to rot could be an unexpected boon for climate mitigation
Crop residue left on the ground locked up carbon in the soil four times longer than if they were cleared away
Food-related emissions beyond the farm gate are now almost as large as those from farming itself
Researchers find that emissions resulting from transport, energy use, and food waste have increased swiftly over the last 40 years - and are almost equivalent to the emissions from farming, itself
Loading soil with biochar allows farmers to cut way back on irrigation
At high applications levels, researchers found that biochar can not only soak up a lot of carbon, but also reduce the need for irrigation by almost 40%.
A vicious cycle of cows, disease, and climate change
Livestock welfare will be key in helping us reign in emissions
A new type of soil irrigates itself
Adding super-moisture-absorbent gels to arid soils could liberate farming from expensive irrigation and power systems
What Food Should Go Nude?
As consumers, we should worry less about the Styrofoam and plastic wrap encasing the ground beef—and take a pass on the shrink-wrapped broccoli.
First-of-its-kind study shows that diverse landscapes could boost US crop yields by 20%
The team found that landscapes with increased diversity produced ~17 to 18 bushels more per acre, of corn and wheat
On a mere 1% of farmland, solar panels could provide 20% of US electricity
Agrivoltaics could also provide jobs and boost rural livelihoods, while cutting carbon emissions
The fertilizer solution has become a major climate problem
Study reveals that anthropogenic N2O emissions have leapt by 30% over the past four decades
