Materials and Methods The Neely-Kinyon Long-term Agroecological Research (LTAR) site was established in 1998 to study the long-term effects of organic production in Iowa. Treatments at the LTAR site, replicated four times in a completely randomized design, include the following rotations: conventional corn-soybean (C-S), organic corn-soybean-oats/alfalfa (C-S-O/A), organic corn-soybean-oats/alf...

Materials and Methods The Neely-Kinyon Long-term Agroecological Research (LTAR) site was established in 1998 to study the long-term effects of organic production in Iowa. Treatments at the LTAR site, replicated four times in a completely randomized design, include the following rotations: conventional Corn-Soybean (C-S), organic Corn-Soybean-Oats/Alfalfa (C-SO/A), organic Corn-Soybean-Oats/Alfa...

Aflatoxins are potent poisons that contaminate crops in warm regions worldwide and reduce health and economic welfare in several portions of Africa. Crops are contaminated in two phases: First, Aspergillus species infect crops during development; and second, after maturation contamination builds during exposure to warm humid conditions. Identification of the exact fungi causing contamination ca...

4 See http://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/diet/acrylamide-fact-sheet.

In recent years, consumer interest in local specialty crops (fruits, vegetables and ornamentals) has increased sharply. Consumers want to know how and where food is produced and are seeking a closer relationship with farmers. Although sales of locally grown food still account for only a small share of total domestic food sales, this is believed to be one of the fastest growing segments of U.S. ...

Doug Gurian-Sherman is a senior scientist in the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) Food and Environment Program. UCS is the leading science-based nonprofit working for a healthy environment and a safer world. The goal of the UCS Food and Environment Program is a food system that encourages innovative and environmentally sustainable ways to produce high-quality, safe, and affordable food, whil...

Does economic development depend on geographic endowments like temperate instead of tropical location, the ecological conditions shaping diseases, or an environment good for grains or certain cash crops? Or do these endowments of tropics, germs, and crops affect economic development only through institutions or policies? We test the endowment, institution, and policy views against each other us...

We lack both a theoretical framework and solid empirical data to understand domestication impacts on plant chemistry. We hypothesised that domestication increased leaf N and P to support high plant production rates, but biogeographic and climate patterns further influenced the magnitude and direction of changes in specific aspects of chemistry and stoichiometry. To test these hypotheses, we use...