What we’ve been reading this week

This week’s summary on the news stories, reports and blogs that have grabbed our attention. We welcome your thoughts and comments on these articles.

Smarter Food: Does big farming mean bad farming?, The Washington Post

Are Engineered Foods Evil?, Scientific American

FAO study profiles benefits of school feeding programmes linked to family farms, FAO

Golden Rice: Lifesaver?, The New York Times

Solutions for Micronutrient Deficiency, Scientific American

Spread of crop pests threatens global food security as Earth warms, University of Exeter

Global food prices continue to drop, FAO

Study estimates cost for new conservation practice, Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture

Farming and knowledge monocultures are misconceived, SciDev.Net

Brazil faces drop in crops, The Guardian

As millions go hungry, Asia battles food waste, Thomson Reuters Foundation

Brazil and China scramble for agricultural influence in Africa, The Guardian

Biofuel project funded by UK ‘leaves Africans without food’, The Independent

Zimbabwe: Hunger Looms As Zimbabwe Faces Highest Levels of Food Insecurity in Years, Africa Agriculture News – World Food Programme

Science and the post-2015 development agenda, UKCDS

Pesticidemakers Challenge E.U. Neonicotinoid Ban in Court, Science

New Genetically Engineered (GE) Crop Will Sharply Increase Use of Toxic Pesticide, a “Probable Human Carcinogen”, Center for Food Safety

Queensland science reveals genetic treasures in Africa’s most versatile crop, The University of Queensland

Climate change sends Africa’s agricultural extension officers back to school, Thomson Reuters Foundation

Scientists Discover Protein that Helps Plants Tolerate Drought, Flooding, and Other Stresses, ISAAA

The True Story About Who Destroyed a Genetically Modified Rice Crop, Slate

A Dialogue on Sharing Food, Share the World’s Resources