expert reaction to the Defra plant biosecurity strategy for Great Britain (2023 to 2028)
A policy paper has been published by Defra detailing the plan to protect plant biosecurity in Great Britain. Prof … read more
A policy paper has been published by Defra detailing the plan to protect plant biosecurity in Great Britain. Prof … read more
A study published in Nature looks at agriculture, climate change and insect biodiversity. Prof Jane Hill, Professor of Ecology, … read more
A modelling study, published in PLOS Climate, has looked at animal agriculture and greenhouse gas emissions. Dr Jem Woods, … read more
A study, published in Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology, reports on the use of genetically engineered moths for crop protection. … read more
Research, published in the journal eLife, reports on the transmission of Tuberculosis (TB) between cattle and badgers in Gloucestershire using … read more
A Wellcome Trust, BBSRC and Defra funded analysis of bovine Tuberculosis in cattle and badgers has exploited over fifteen years … read more
Over the last year the finger has been pointed at meat production and dairy farming as major causes of global … read more
Experts agree that what the world eats and the way we produce food is unsustainable and has to change, particularly … read more
Experts reacted to The future for food, farming and the environment which was published by the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee. read more
The environment secretary, Michael Gove has addressed the National Farmers’ Union 2018 conference about the future of farming post-Brexit. read more
A new study on strategies for feeding the world more sustainable with organic agriculture has been published in Nature Communications. read more
New research and technologies are providing unique opportunities that have the potential to transform many farming practices. read more
Scientists from Rothamsted Research, the University of Essex and Lancaster University provided an update on a new research project with GM wheat plants that have been engineered to carry out photosynthesis more efficiently. This trait has the potential for increased yields. read more
The Guardian newspaper has reported that their investigations have shown a number of supermarket pork products to be contaminated with a strain of MRSA bacteria. read more
The effect of climate change on grasses such as wheat and rice is examined in a paper published in Biology Letters with the authors reporting that climate change is expected to outpace rate of adaptation. read more
Neonicotinoid insecticides have been implicated in the decline of bees, yet the evidence is derived from short-term laboratory studies on honeybees and bumblebees. Publishing in the journal Nature Communications scientists from the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology have investigated the long term, large scale impact of neonicotinoids on 62 wild bee species across England. read more
Neonicotinoid insecticides have been implicated in the decline of bees, yet the evidence is derived from short-term laboratory studies on honeybees and bumblebees. Scientists from the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology have investigated the long term, large scale impact of neonicotinoids on 62 wild bee species across England and are publishing in Nature Communications on August 16th. read more
As the government prepares to announce the widespread rollout of badger culling, intended to protect cattle from bovine tuberculosis (TB), new research, carried out by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and Imperial College London and published in Ecology Letters, has looked into how often badgers and cattle meet. Badgers clearly contribute to the cattle TB problem, but how the disease transmits between the two species has remained a mystery. Using cutting-edge technology to track large numbers of badgers and cattle simultaneously, the team looked into whether and how often badgers came close enough to cattle to transmit TB directly, and whether there may be other means of transmission through contamination of the environment. read more
The EU failed to reach agreement during a vote on whether to reauthorise the use of glyphosate. read more
The House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee has released a report examining soil health which includes aspects of agricultural production, climate change mitigation and adaptation, urban development, and flood risk management. read more