How to Feed the World, with a Little Kelp from Our Friends (the Oceans)
There is a farm that needs no inputs — no fertilizer, no pesticides, no water. Oh, and it doesn’t use any land either. This farm increases wildlife habitat simply by existing. It causes no erosion, cleans up pollution, and it captures more carbon than it releases. That may sound more sci-fi than vertical-farm skyscrapers, or vat-grown meat, but it’s not. Farms like this are operating profitably around the world, producing tons of highly nutritious food. There’s just one catch: That food is kelp.
 
How Will We Fill 9 Billion Bowls by 2050?
On paper, we produce enough food to feed our current population of 7 billion. Yet an estimated 805 million people go to bed hungry each night, and hidden hunger – or micronutrient deficiency – affects an additional 2 billion. Poverty, political instability, income inequity and overconsumption in some regions of the world all play pivotal roles. But a specific link in the global chain – the production and delivery of food – is where the greatest challenges and brightest opportunities for feeding our planet lie.
 
There's a New Sustainable Ag Technique in Town, and It's Cleaning Up
The farming technique known as push-pull — which involves planting grasses with special properties to protect crops — started out as a rudimentary defense against stem borer insects. But it just keeps getting more sophisticated. It has evolved to fight off parasitic weeds, while also providing animal fodder and fertilizing the soil. Now, in a new paper, scientists have described ways to use it in areas without regular rainfall or irrigation.
 
General Mills Sets Ambitious Goal for Greenhouse Gas Cuts from Farm to Fork to Landfill
General Mills has set an ambitious goal of reducing its greenhouse gas emissions 28 percent by 2025 — not just within its own operations but from farm to fork to landfill. General Mills will invest more than $100 million in energy efficiency and clean energy within its own facilities worldwide, and partner with suppliers to foster more sustainable agricultural practices, including sourcing products from an additional 250,000 acres of organic production globally by 2020.