news 2024

In contrast to annual plants, perennial wheat offers a more diverse microbiome and has a significantly lower impact on soil and environment - as has just been proven by researchers at TU Graz's Institute of Environmental Biotechnology. From an ecological point of view, the cultivation of annual cereal crops is a burden on nature.

Researchers at Göttingen University find climate traffic light system prevents consumer deception A research team led by the University of Göttingen found that the label 'climate neutral' makes food appear significantly more climate-friendly than it actually is. Even when information about how the damage to the climate is being offset was explained, this did not stop consumers having the wrong perception about the product.

Take some carbon dioxide, hydrogen, and oxygen plus electricity from renewable sources - a bacterium and baker's yeast need little more to produce proteins for human nourishment and the essential vitamin B9 in a conventional laboratory bioreactor system. This was the result achieved by a research team led by Professor Lars Angenent from Environmental Biotechnology at the University of Tübingen during the further development of his power-to-protein system.

L'alimentation serait responsable d'environ 30% des décès dus aux maladies cardiovasculaires. Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of mortality in Western Europe, accounting for 1/3 of deaths in 2019. Diet is thought to be responsible for around 30% of such deaths. Nutrition-related prevention policies therefore constitute a major public health challenge for these diseases.

Study: Rethinking livestock encroachment at a protected area boundary (DOI: 10.1073/pnas. Bilal Butt knows how it sounds. The associate professor of sustainability and development at the University of Michigan understands that arguing to let cattle graze in a national park offends the sensibilities.

Climate change will move and reduce the land suitable for growing food and timber, putting the production of these two vital resources into direct competition, a new study has found. The sight of vineyards in Britain is becoming more common as hotter summers create increasingly suitable conditions for growing grapes.

Planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions from global food supply chains could fall by 17% if people change their food choices towards more plant-based diets, a new study reveals. More than half of the global population (56.9%) are currently over-consuming and would save nearly a third (32.4%) of global dietary emissions by switching to the plant-forward planetary health diet proposed by the EAT-Lancet Commission, according to the research.

Researchers confirm positive effects of organic farming and flower strips for bee colonies   Honey bees are valued both for their honey and their ability to pollinate crops. However, populations are suffering from the loss of areas of wild flowers in intensive farming, pesticide applications and from the influence of pathogens, so it is all the more important to understand what keeps them healthy.

Food, feed, fiber, and bioenergy: The demand for agricultural raw materials is rising. How can additional cultivation areas be reconciled with nature conservation? Researchers at the University of Basel have developed a land-use model that provides answers. By 2030, global cultivation areas are expected to expand by 3.6 percent, increasing global agricultural production by two percent.

Further action needed according to a University of Bonn study on child and adolescent nutrition A high-sugar diet is seen as a risk factor for obesity and chronic illness. University of Bonn researchers have analyzed data on sugar intake among children and adolescents in a long-term study, finding that intake has been declining steadily since 2010-but is still above the level recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).

In France, 46 regional cheeses possess protected designation of origin (PDO) status. France's rich regional landscapes, terroirs, shape the microbial diversity of PDO cheeses, giving rise to their unique flavours. Researchers from INRAE, CEA, CNAOL, and CNIEL made this remarkable discovery after analysing the bacteria, yeasts, and moulds found in over 2,000 samples of French PDO cheeses and in nearly 400 milk sources.

Farm saved seed is seed that comes from farmers' own harvests, which they then sow in their fields the following crop year. This practice, which is common for certain field crops, sometimes involves royalty payments to finance seed research. A team from INRAE studied existing systems in Europe and Australia and showed that royalties on farm saved seed generally increases profits for all the economic players involved, from farmers to breeders of protected varieties.

A research team at the University of Tübingen has found that most glyphosate that ends up in European rivers likely does not come from herbicides, as previously assumed; instead, it may be the result of additives to detergents. For the study, Professor Carolin Huhn of the Institute of Physical and Theoretical Chemistry and colleagues from the Geoand Environmental Center conducted a large meta-analysis on data from European and US water protection authorities.

Researchers at the University of Göttingen investigate consumer acceptance   Companies and institutes are currently working on biotechnological processes for the production of dairy products without the use of cows: In so-called precision fermentation, egg and milk proteins are produced with the help of bacteria, yeasts or other fungi.

Managing the water quality  of farm dams is critical to the health of livestock as well as boosting crop production, according to new research from the Sustainable Farms group at The Australian National University (ANU). According to the ANU researchers, "enhancing" dams by erecting fencing would help mitigate the impacts of livestock and significantly improve water quality, while also allowing vegetation to flourish, which is good for biodiversity.

Study examined effect of rising temperatures on California's crop  Strawberries could be fewer and more expensive because of higher temperatures caused by climate change, according to research from the University of Waterloo. Using a new method of analysis, the researchers found that a rise in temperature of 3 degrees Fahrenheit could reduce strawberry yields by up to 40 per cent.

Since January 1, 2023, the Egalim law has required public establishments to offer a vegetarian option every day. In line with this, the Crous are aiming for 30% vegetarian meals by 2025. One of the main obstacles to be overcome to reach this objective is the acceptability of such a measure by students.

A chemical-free method of controlling flystrike in sheep is a step closer, according to University of Queensland research. Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation Research Fellow Dr Karishma Mody and PhD candidate Yunjia Yang are using the innovative RNA technology to combat sheep blowfly, a major disease and welfare issue for sheep.

Jannis Brandt Unsplash The intestinal immune system is an indispensable intermediary in the complex association between diet and metabolism: without it, the dietary fibers present in fruit and vegetables cannot play a proper part in regulating blood sugar levels in the body. Researchers at Inserm and Sorbonne University have now demonstrated that a certain type of immune cell is essential for the beneficial effect of dietary fibre on carbohydrate metabolism.

Comprising billions of microorganisms, the gut microbiota progressively matures after birth in humans and other animals. While environmental factors, and especially diet, are known to have a major influence on microbiota development and composition, the role of genetics remains a topic of debate. In a groundbreaking study recently published in Microbiome, INRAE researchers used pigs to experimentally demonstrate that gut microbiota composition is partly heritable.