GM Agriculture and Food Security: Fears and Facts Have you found yourself questioning something you’ve seen in the mainstream or social media about our food production? I suspect most of us have at some point been uncertain by what the media presents us with. I personally see ‘information’ that isn’t Read more…
Agricultural biotech may still be relatively small globally, but it is mighty Biotech, we hear about it frequently, but what really is it? The Webster Dictionary defines biotechnology as the manipulation of living organisms (or component one) to produce a new product (often for commercial uses). There are different streams Read more…
This blog is based on the ‘Governance of Digital Sequence Information and Impacts for Access and Benefit Sharing’ technical report which you can find here. Digital Sequence Information (DSI) How do you design an access and benefit sharing (ABS) system that benefits both providers and users of plant genetic resources Read more…
Establishing DivSeek to drive innovation collaborations Problems with the provision of food are an annual occurrence, at multiple locations across the globe. On any given day, it’s estimated that 800 million individuals are food insecure. Fortunately, many scientists have been working hard to find new ways of increasing food security, Read more…
Being indoors doesn’t mean you’re safe from air pollution. Canadian’s spending 90% of their time indoor, which means indoor air quality should be a growing concern for us Canadian. Being indoors so much exposes ourselves to volatile organic carcinogens (VOCs) like chloroform and benzene, which can have negative effects on our health. Research has recently genetically modified an ivy plant to help reduce such VOC exposure, yet its a long way from being your future houseplant.
The conflict for eNGOs The production of food has environmental impacts, there is no way around this. For food crops, like grains, vegetables or fruits, one has to disturb the natural environment in order to get from planting to harvest. One simply can’t walk into a naturally grassy area, stick Read more…
Five takeaways for better nutrition in South Asia—and beyond By: Felipe F. Dizon & Anna Leigh Josephson This content was originally published on the World Bank End Poverty in South Asia Blog. Together with more than 1,500 academics, scientists, and policymakers, we participated last week in the Rice Olympics. The event—formally Read more…
But how does it measure up on paper? If you haven’t noticed, SAIFood often focuses on GMOs, which may come across as opposition to organic. This isn’t the intent. Like GM production, organics are a system of increasingly sustainable agricultural practices, they’re just grown under different measures. Similarly to conventional Read more…
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 Read more…
Over the course of this week, September 10th-14th, Stuart has the great pleasure of being in the beautiful country of Australia with the opportunity to speak at various events. To kick off his week, he will be presenting on Sept 11th to officials from the Office of the Gene Technology Read more…