The impact of agriculture on GhG emission

The impact of agriculture on GhG emission

It is widely acknowledged that climate change through emission of greenhouse gasses (GHG)  in the atmosphere is causing one of the biggest environmental threats  worldwide. Since the 1990s  the international community has been faced with  the challenge of global warming and its consequence for the environment and economy . The...
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TomTato – The plant that is half tomato and half potato

 A British company, Thomson and Morgan, made the news last month when they announced a new botanical creation, the “Tomtato”, a Frakenstein plant that produces both tomatoes and potatoes.  The company affirms that it is not a product of genetic Engineering as one might think at first hand but the result of a natural grafting...

Global warming report: Humans “dominant cause”

The earth will not be able to keep its temperature below 2°C   and it will probably increase by a further 4,8°C by the end of this century if greenhouse emissions are not tackled aggressively according to the IPCC report published this friday.  The earth is getting irreversibly hotter and more evidence is mounting confirming...

Sustainable agriculture in China

The economic growth that China has experienced during the past 40 years has in more recent years raised public’s attention on resource conservation and environmental protection, food security as well as employment and income generation. The concept of sustainable development has been formulated in an international context and has been recognized by most countries around the...

Tomatoes that will change the economy

Normally we associate tomatoes with sauces, ketchup, pizza, ragout and so on, the applicable uses of tomato in gastronomy are almost infinite. Others however are beginning to see other applicable uses for tomatoes such as Bioplastics, or biodegradable plastics.  The road to a sustainable agriculture is beginning to engage chemistry at as new agricultural practices  are...

Argentina tomato shortages

Last week the Domestic Trade Secretary has asked the Argentines to “reduce tomato consumption” because of a projected fall in production caused by poor weather conditions. Moreno recommends consumer to look for alternative vegetable crops for the next two months. Prices of tomatoes have risen sharply and this is affecting Argentines diet by and large influenced by...

Organic V conventional tomatoes

Organic tomatoes contain more vitamin C and oxidative components  according to a study “the impact of  Organic Farming on  Quality of Tomatoes is Associated to Increased Oxidative Stress during fruit development” . produced by Federal University of Ceara in Brazil and published on PloS One.  Biological agriculture exposes the tomato plant to more stress during its...

How oxidative stress impacts on quality of tomatoes

  Organic tomatoes contain more vitamin C and oxidative components than conventional tomatoes. This is what a study carried out by the Federal University of Ceara in Brazil has recently published on on PloS One “the impact of  Organic Farming on  Quality of Tomatoes is Associated to Increased Oxidative Stress during fruit development” .   Organic agriculture exposes...

The Water footprint

We are all aware of the importance of water in everyday life. We see water as an unlimited resource and most of all it is free. Or is it?  The majority of us use water for washing, cooking and drinking and general household use but we are not aware that this is only a small...

Land Grabbing in developing countries

 The lack of secure access to natural resources (land and water) by the rural population is one of the main causes of poverty in developing countries. The dispossession and marginalization of the rural poor has drawn media attention in recent years as the phenomenon of land grabbing  reached  unprecedented levels in the past decade and causing...

Food security in China

The medical  journal Lancet published an extensive article on  food security in China. Rapid industrialization and social transformation is affecting food supply as well as food safety. And the picture that emerges from this is that in spite of progress made since 2006 to reach acceptable standards of food security the situation is still unclear....

Fao and Ocse : ”Environment and low production may cause an agricultural price bubble”

The OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2013-2022 reveals that the agricultural economy is growing too slowly and that it is not in line with global population growth. This may cause increase in prices in developed economies and food shortages in poorer countries.  In the next decade global agricultural production is expected to grow by 1,5% a year...

Tomato: Fruit or Vegetable

On the 10th of May 1893,  in the case of Nix.C Hedden, the United states supreme court ruled that tomatoes are vegetables and not fruits. The dispute began 10 years previously when American congress approved a new law on tariffs  according to which imported vegetables were subjected to higher taxes. Fruits on the other hand...