Thomson Reuters Foundation – Unless countries urgently boost their flood defences, millions more people will be at risk from river flooding in the next 20 years. Scientists say as global warming increases, so will the likelihood of severe rainfall. In Asia, the numbers at risk will more than double to 156 million, up from 70
Warming will put millions more at flood risk
The risks are greatest where governments lack the funds to improve infrastructure
A yeast by any other name…
Science promises yeast as a source for sweet smells, but farmers may wrinkle their noses
Scientists are predicting that the familiar taste of vanilla or smell of roses, along with thousands of other scents and flavours, will increasingly come from a very unfamiliar source — yeast — a trend that is worrying some farming experts. A revolution in science means the DNA of plants can be transferred into yeast, bacteria
Lentils, chickpeas can help reverse soil erosion trend, U.N. says
Rome | Thomson Reuters Foundation — Planting more lentils, chickpeas and other pulses will improve the health of the world’s soils that have reached critical levels, threatening to worsen hunger and poverty levels, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said on Monday. About a third of the world’s soils are degraded because of soil
Eat your package
Edible packaging could reduce waste and improve food storability
Scientists are developing an edible form of packaging which they hope will preserve food more effectively and more sustainably than plastic film, helping to cut both food and plastic waste. The packaging film is made of a milk protein called casein, scientists from the U.S. Department of Agriculture said at a meeting of the American
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
