Artificial intelligence developed optimal crops Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) stagger the minds regarding what is capable today. This spring, a demonstration of Google Assistant, witnessed Google’s AI phoning a hair salon to book an appointment, all without the salon being aware they were talking with a computer. The computer …
Farmers finding alternate methods of reducing the risks of yield failure Farming has changed dramatically in the near 50 years that I’ve been involved with it. At age 4 I started driving the tractor, idled right down in first gear, hauling a wagon while my father loaded straw bales by …
Or, be sure to regulate the process, rather than the product In 2002, Europe establishing a new regulatory agency, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) to resolve its regulation problems regarding GM crops and other food safety challenges. This new agency assesses the risk of the process used to create …
Could insect resistant trees mitigate forest fires? One of the most significant results from climate change in the forestry sector has been the migration of insects, like the spruce wood budworm and mountain pine beetle. Warmer winters have allowed both of these insects to spread into areas where they previously …
Moving from random, untargeted mutagenesis to specific, targeted mutagenesis Humans have been breeding plants for millennia. Our ancestors began to domesticate plants (and animals) at least 10,000 years ago, allowing nomadic tribes to become stationary and form communities as they no longer had to pursue their food. Only in the …
Who holds the future of agriculture, farmers or the courts? What a summer! I’m not talking about a whirlwind vacation, a summer full of events or even this weather in which our forecasters have given up on science for accurate reports and turned to consulting a Ouija board in a vain …
☀️Summer is here! For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, it is now time for us to kick back, spark up the BBQ and enjoy a glass (or two or three) of our favourite beverage. Savannah and I fully plan to do this over the coming weeks and we …
How foreign governments & eNGOs are playing politics over a handful of GM wheat kernels In mid-June 2018, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) reported that a few GM wheat plants had been detected in southern Alberta, amounting to no more than a handful of seeds. Using Canada’s science-based risk …
How Science is Winning Consumers Back For those that live near the oceans, they know that the tide can only go in one direction for so long, before making the turn back. The same can be said for many things in society, as is witnessed by certain crazes such as …
What risks are assessed before a GM crop or food is approved? Any time a new crop or food product is approved in Canada it means it has already been assessed for risks and compared to similar approved crops or foods. Science-based risk assessment determines if the risks are equal …
