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Food, Bioeconomy, Environment
Elena Mozhvilo by Unsplash
“Reinventing the wheel” in the struggle to cut global waste: the food upcycling challenge
The fact that Finland has staged an annual herring festival ever since 1743 tells you something about the historical and cultural significance of the country’s most populous fish.
Reuse or let die. Crucial for life but threatening if in excess: the nutrient challenge
Reuse or let die. Crucial for life but threatening if in excess: the nutrient challenge
Nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium are  a double-edged sword . As key components of fertilizers, they are  essential for life on Earth, but become a threat to human health and the environment when they are in excess and run off into water courses and wastewater.
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Recovering nutrients to save the planet: the fertilizer challenge
The Earth is a sick patient, struggling to survive and feed its inhabitants.
Climate change threatens some of the world’s best wines
Climate change threatens some of the world’s best wines
Millions of people across Europe have enjoyed soaring temperatures in the summer of 2017 , with sizzling barbeques, good food, and fine wine.
Levelling food price volatility, while supporting the poor
Levelling food price volatility, while supporting the poor
The worst food crisis in 30 years looms for 50 million people across southern Africa from Mozambique to Angola. Two years without rain has destroyed harvests. Food prices have skyrocketed.
Resilient seeds - Nurturing the future of agriculture
Resilient seeds - Nurturing the future of agriculture
For the first time in its history, the Global Seed Vault on the Svalbard Islands, Norway, has authorised a withdrawal. It was requested in 2015 by Syria, a country where the war is endangering the local agricultural seed collections.
Eating Insects - New Proteins for Farm Animals
Eating Insects - New Proteins for Farm Animals
When on April 7 th World Health Day is celebrated, most experts will be blaming insects for the rising problem of vector-borne diseases. In some parts of the world, however, these little bugs are considered a healthy and tasty source of food .
Geert Bruggeman – Maggots: the perfect protein source
Geert Bruggeman – Maggots: the perfect protein source
Proteins fed to livestock are typically soya-based. But growing soya takes up valuable land that could be used for human food production. And it has a heavy carbon footprint, being imported mostly from South America.
Crops watering by phone
Crops watering by phone
In Europe, irrigated agriculture is the chief water consumer for food production. Yet water resources are in limited supply.  One way out of this problem is to take more care with the water we use , and reduce the estimated 60% water waste.
More Crops per Drop!
More Crops per Drop!
A solution is much needed to fight droughts and preserve crops. Researchers have now developed a device capable of checking the humidity in the soil, and releasing irrigation water as needed – just enough without wasting it .
Making ice-cream more nutritious with meat left-overs
Making ice-cream more nutritious with meat left-overs
Most of the animal proteins found in the meat industry waste have, until now, been underutilised. The challenge is to transform such waste into food of higher functionality and added value .
Sustainability in the brewery
Sustainability in the brewery
Making food and drink production for more than 500 million people more eco-friendly is a key policy in Europe. About 99% of all agro-food companies in the European Union are small and medium size enterprises (SME).
Greener milk: how to make cow’s nitrogen intake efficient
Greener milk: how to make cow’s nitrogen intake efficient
The amount of nitrogen that is excreted by livestock is directly proportional to the amount it is fed . This is according to Chris Reynolds a researcher in nutritional physiology of ruminants  at  the University of Reading , UK.
Funky food from fruit by-products
Funky food from fruit by-products
Food processing of cereal and fruits creates a rather voluminous amount of by-products . The London, UK-based Institution of Mechanical Engineers recently estimated that anywhere between 35% and 50%--or 1.
Daniel Ribera: turning food-soiled packaging into safe compost
Daniel Ribera: turning food-soiled packaging into safe compost
Designing environment-friendly compostable food packaging is the challenge that Daniel Ribera, the coordinator of the EC-funded Ecopack , tells youris.com about.
Aquaculture: helping blue turn green
Aquaculture: helping blue turn green
Sea bass or sea bream, by far the most consumed fish species around the Mediterranean area, increasingly originate from aquaculture.
Ridding our diet of noxious substances
Ridding our diet of noxious substances
British porridge, Dutch pea soup snert, Italian risotto or Spanish paella are only a small sample of the diversity of diets across Europe .