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Essay: GM wheat trial fails … but science wins

About five years ago, a team of scientists at Rothamsted Research (located in England) “began breeding wheat that could be grown using fewer pesticides.” Their ultimate goal? To engineer “the wheat …

Bird flu raises concerns

Deadly avian influenza viruses have affected 48 million turkeys, chickens and ducks in more than a dozen states since December … a large percentage of the nation’s commercial poultry stock …

Field Recordings

This episode of Gastropd explores the “soundtrack” of farming. Co-hosts Cynthia Graber (@cagraber) and Nicola Twilley (@nicollatwilley) help us decode the meaning behind each sound…and teach us how we can …

An urban farming renaissance in Washington, D.C.

Rhea Kennedy (@RheaYKennedy) is a Washington, D.C.-based teacher and writer. She has written about sustainable food and local culture for The Washington City Paper and Grist. This piece appears in …

Norway is building a “highway” for bees

Erin Blakemore (@heroinebook) is an author and historian. Her work has appeared in a variety of publications including mental_floss, NPR’s This I Believe, The Onion, Popular Science, Modern Farmer and …

A road map for eradicating world hunger

Beth Gardiner (@Gardiner_Beth) is an environmental writer whose work appears regularly in a number of prominent publications, including The Guardian. This piece appeared in the New York Times. Hundreds of …

Friday Wrap: 6/26/15

The UC Food Observer chooses a handful of important stories for you to read as you finish your work week. On the menu, in no particular order: Could buying smaller …