Indoor farms could fine-tune the flavours of our food

In the future, produce could be grown directly in supermarkets or restaurants.

A new way to farm indoors using different wavelengths of light could boost the taste of fruits, salads and herbs, while also increasing food supply and nutritional value. Growing food inside brings many benefits to farmers by reducing the amount of land, fertilisers, energy and water needed to cultivate the plants. But it can come … Read more

Decoding the honeybee dance could lead to healthier hives

Understanding the way bees and ants communicate might make it easier to protect them in the future.

Unravelling one of the most elaborate forms of non-human communication – the honeybee’s waggle dance – could help researchers better understand insect brains and make farming more environmentally friendly. It’s part of a field of work looking at insect neurology which is helping to unravel the complexity of their brains. Bees have evolved a unique, … Read more

Forensic accounting can predict future food fraud

Researchers are working on methods that are faster than laboratory tests to determine if food has been tampered with.

Food fraud, where different or low-quality food is deliberately mislabelled and sold as high-quality goods, risks the health of consumers as well as the economic viability of producers and manufacturers. To combat this, researchers have figured out that analysing the past and present behaviour of criminal activity could predict what they might target in the … Read more

Smart beehives and heat treatments could protect bees from decline

New technologies are being developed to protect beehives from theft, parasites and illnesses without the use of chemicals.

Since the mid-1980s, the number of bees in Europe has been in decline. Threatened by pesticides, insecticides and climate change, they are also being struck by infestations of mites and a crippling virus that deforms their wings. But new technology aims to take the sting out of the situation. The number of Varroa mites, a bee parasite, … Read more

Turning food waste into animal feed could take a chunk out of livestock emissions

Recycling food waste to use as animal feed and turning manure into green fertilizers can lead to lower environmental impacts from food production.

Using European plant and dairy waste as an alternative to soy-based animal feed could see a big drop in agricultural emissions and prevent deforestation. Every year around a third of all food produced for human consumption is wasted, according to the United Nations. That equates to 1.3 billion tonnes of food down the drain and huge … Read more

Cultural cross-fertilisation to rescue soils

As more food than ever is being grown, it is important to find ways to promote and maintain soil quality.

Sharing best practice farming techniques with farmers from different cultures and traditions could help increase the quality of our soils – a vital step in ensuring that we can grow enough food for people in the coming decades. At Wageningen University in the Netherlands, scientists are coding an app that will allow farmers in countries … Read more