The Organic & Non-GMO Report Newsletter

Chasing future biotech solutions to climate change risks delaying action in the present—it may even make things worse

By Tessa Hiscox, Microbiology PhD Candidate, University of Canterbury and Jack Heinemann, Professor of Molecular Biology and Genetics, University of Canterbury The world is under growing pressure to find sustainable options to cut emissions or lessen the impacts of climate change. Technology entrepreneurs from around the globe claim to have the solutions—not just yet, but […]

Ancient farming strategy holds promise for climate resilience

Nikoloz Lomsadze, senior pastor of a church in Dedoflis Tskaro, in eastern Republic of Georgia, looks over his field of mixed barley and wheat. He uses the mixture to make holy sacrament and church feasts. Credit: Alex McAlvay/New York Botanical Garden by Susan Kelley, Cornell University Morgan Ruelle was living in the remote mountains of Ethiopia […]

California unveils bold plan to sustainably manage pests and eliminate high-risk pesticides by 2050

Leaders representing diverse interests reach consensus on a path to move the state to sustainable practices in urban and agricultural settings The State of California recently joined leaders from a diverse range of backgrounds to unveil a roadmap of ambitious goals and actions to accelerate California’s systemwide transition to sustainable pest management and eliminate prioritized […]

Move over synbio stevia; there are new GMO sweeteners in town

The stevia plant (Stevia rebaudiana) features leaves that contain sweetness compounds known as rebaudiosides, or Rebs for short. Each Reb has a slightly different flavor profile. When extracted from the stevia leaf, they combine to create a sweetener that has a slightly bitter, and often unpopular, aftertaste. Various brands of synthetic biology (synbio) stevia have been […]

Reviving agroforestry for soil health, weather protection, and water quality

A “forest garden,” with rows of trees and shrubs interplanted with crops? Faced with climate change’s deleterious impact on growing food, sustainability experts are looking to agroforestry. This co-existence of trees and crops on farmland was common in earlier times. “The whole Eastern U.S. in pre-European eras had a lot of agroforestry. That was how […]