Agriculture & Food
We eat to live. Humans use approximately 11% of Earth’s land for the cultivation of crops for food, but also for clothing, medicine and biofuels. Globally, major crops include sugarcane, pumpkin, maize (corn), wheat, rice, cassava, soybeans, hay, potatoes and cotton.
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‘Weird food’? Testicle- and brain-eating, supplement-gulping MAHA health food enthusiasts defend their ‘natural’ diets
Raw buffalo brains, bull testicles and roadkill are on the menu for a growing community of diet contrarians who insist ...
Viewpoint: Activists hype ‘dangerous level’ of pesticide residues in Driscoll berries: Separating health concerns from fear-mongering
I had several people ask me if I have second thoughts about my berry consumption in light of a swarm ...
RFK Jr.’s anti-vaccine obsession and fear of MAHA derailed bird flu containment plan
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s anti-vaccine views helped push the Agriculture Department to shelve its plan for vaccinating poultry against avian ...
As Europe inches forward in its embrace of gene-edited crops, hopes abound that opposition to GMOs might fade
Europe's recent deal to loosen rules on gene-edited crops could be the first crack in the continent's decades-long resistance to ...
100% raw milk, 100% misguided: As MAHA-fueled demand for unpasteurized milk soars, American Academy of Pediatrics renews call for a ban on its sale and distribution
This story was originally published by ProPublica. The nation’s largest professional group of pediatricians has renewed its call for a ...
Viewpoint: Why taxes, regulations, and scare tactics won’t convert people into eating healthier
Decades of gentle nudging haven’t slowed the global obesity epidemic, so governments are getting pushier — slapping warning labels on ...
Viewpoint: Latest attack on renewable energy and farmers, new USDA rules could put solar grants out of reach for small producers
Farmers hoping to tap the US Department of Agriculture's Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) must now build their solar ...
‘Blatant slap in the face’: MAHA activists turn on RFK Jr. and Trump administration
A group of “Make America Healthy Again” activists, including former members of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s 2024 presidential campaign, says ...
PFAS in Agriculture: Science, Uncertainty, and Risk Communication
Summary PFAS contamination raises legitimate health and environmental concerns, but this diverse family of thousands of chemicals should not be ...
Viewpoint: The price Americans pay for science denialism
Science denialism is quietly undoing centuries of hard-won progress against disease, and Americans are already paying for it with their ...
MAHA moms divided over RFK Jr.’s food‑safety efforts, as recall alerts grow and outbreaks spread
The “crunchy moms” who helped power Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Make America Healthy Again movement are splintering, as a year ...
Viewpoint: ‘Bureaucratic and economic obstacles’ to agricultural biotechnology: Europe creeps into the 21st century, but blocks remain
Genetically modified crops won’t single-handedly rescue harvests from worsening droughts, but Europe’s rulebook is making sure they barely get the ...
Viewpoint: How ‘MAHA men’ hijacked the female-built food and wellness movement
Women built the Make America Healthy Again movement, with Instagram-savvy “MAHA moms” railing against food dyes, pesticides and ultraprocessed snacks ...
Should we be afraid of our food?
America's food-safety system hasn't kept pace with an increasingly industrial, globe-spanning food supply, and recent staffing and budget cuts are ...
Tearful onions? CRISPR has a solution for that
Chopping onions may one day be a dry-eyed affair. Researchers at Japan’s Chiba University and food company House Foods have ...
Scaremongering or legitimate safety concerns? The political dogfight over America’s food safety system
The run-up to the midterm elections is turning into a food fight — literally. The summer was marred by a ...
GAHA: The corporate-created “healthier America” movement challenging what it claims is MAHA misinformation about modern farming, chemicals, and food
Some of America’s biggest food and farm interests have decided the best way to answer the Make America Healthy Again ...
9 wellness myths busted
Spas and wellness gurus are still peddling ideas that science left behind, as The Times’ Susan d’Arcy reports in her ...
RFK Jr.’s plan to curb America’s appetite for ultra-processed foods and artificial dyes blocked by the White House
RFK Jr.’s push to rein in ultraprocessed foods and artificial dyes has hit its biggest roadblock yet: the White House ...
‘Forever chemical’ concerns: Separating hysteria from reasonable concern in the debate over PFAS danger
PFAS have become a flashpoint in the debate over public health, environmental protection, and chemical regulation—but are millions of very ...
Is organic farming really more sustainable? 100 recent studies say ‘no’
Organic produce may wear a green halo, but it doesn’t earn a clear climate advantage. Organic and conventional farming come ...
No, GMO foods do not “damage genes, natural disposition and hormones, or decrease physical health and intelligence”
Social media posts spreading in Indonesia claim that genetically modified food can rewrite your DNA, and the science says otherwise ...
Non-browning CRISPR gene-edited bananas move one step closer to British markets
Bananas that stay yellow long after their peers have turned to mush are edging closer to British supermarket shelves. A ...
Viewpoint: Food cults: Online ‘nutrition communities’ can pose unique dangers
Nutrition advice used to tell us what to eat. Social media increasingly tells us who we are based on what ...
Here are all the ways CRISPR gene editing is transforming Africa’s staple crops—and there’s a lot more innovation to come
CRISPR gene editing is already reshaping Africa’s most important food crops, from disease-resistant bananas to less toxic cassava, and a ...
Viewpoint: Even lousy scientific articles can shield authors when they hype dubious health claims and products
Peer review in reputable journals gives scientific claims an authority that commercial speech rarely enjoys. But what happens when scientists ...
Social media influencers are driving food misinformation across Europe
Scroll long enough and someone will promise that a supplement, superfood or detox tea can fix whatever ails you. Those ...
