Food and Agriculture

Join our newsletter

The best of EcoWatch, right in your inbox. Sign up for our email newsletter!

    New Low-Cost Beehive Sensors Could Help Save Honeybee Colonies

    New Low-Cost Beehive Sensors Could Help Save Honeybee Colonies

    Increased pesticide use, habitat loss and climate change have been contributing to a decades-long decline in global honeybee numbers. Now, a computer science team from University of California, Riverside (UCR), has come up with an innovative way to help. They developed a sensor-based technology with the potential to revolutionize commercial beekeeping, reduce colony losses and […]

    Antioxidants in Fruits, Veggies and Nuts May Counteract Harmful Reproductive Impacts of Microplastics, Scientists Find

    Antioxidants in Fruits, Veggies and Nuts May Counteract Harmful Reproductive Impacts of Microplastics, Scientists Find

    The antioxidants that make fruits and vegetables so colorful have been found to potentially counteract some of the worst effects of microplastics on the reproductive system. The powerful antioxidants could even be used to develop future treatments, according to new research. “The accumulation of [microplastics/nanoplastics] contaminants across ecosystems raises significant concerns for human health due […]

    Gap Between Water Supply and Demand to Widen as Climate Warms: Study

    Gap Between Water Supply and Demand to Widen as Climate Warms: Study

    Stronger water management efforts will be essential to overcoming the gap between supply and demand as the planet continues to warm, according to a new analysis by Lorenzo Rosa, principal investigator at Carnegie Science, and Matteo Sangiorgio, a researcher at the Polytechnic University of Milan. For the study, the pair of researchers quantified issues of […]

    World’s Richest Nations Are ‘Exporting Extinction’ With Demand for Agricultural and Forestry Imports: Study

    World’s Richest Nations Are ‘Exporting Extinction’ With Demand for Agricultural and Forestry Imports: Study

    The richest countries in the world are “exporting extinction” by destroying 15 times more biodiversity globally than they do within their own borders, according to a new Princeton University study. The researchers found that 13.3 percent of biodiversity loss worldwide came from the consumption of high-income countries, a press release from Princeton said. “Biodiversity loss […]

    Climate Crisis Is Causing a Chocolate Market Meltdown: Study

    Climate Crisis Is Causing a Chocolate Market Meltdown: Study

    According to a new report by independent research group Climate Central, the climate crisis has driven weeks of hot temperatures in West Africa’s “cocoa belt,” where roughly 70% of the cocoa in the world is produced, impacting harvests and likely causing record chocolate prices. Between July of 2022 and February of last year, cocoa prices […]

    First Pet Treats Made With Lab-Grown Meat Could ‘Feed Pets Forever’ Without Harming Animals

    First Pet Treats Made With Lab-Grown Meat Could ‘Feed Pets Forever’ Without Harming Animals

    Pets at Home, a pet supplies retailer in the United Kingdom, has launched what it says are the first-ever dog treats made with lab-grown meat. Chick Bites, a combination of cultivated chicken and plant-based ingredients, were produced by growing cells without the raising or slaughtering of animals. “We’re incredibly excited to introduce cultivated meat to […]