Food & Agriculture Content

Could Easing Restrictions on Street-Food Vending Improve Public Health and Economy?

Karen Michele Nikos — December 13, 2021 - 10:08am

Many cities and counties across the state continue to have ordinances that block street food vending. The Safe Sidewalk Vending Act states that municipalities cannot dictate where vendors can operate unless there is a public health concern.

Increasing Temperatures Led to Better-Tasting Wine Grapes, but for How Long?

Amy M Quinton — October 04, 2021 - 11:45am

Increasing temperatures from climate change have led to better tasting wine grapes, but a new ��Ƶ study suggests we may be at a tipping point.

What’s a GMO Dinner?

Amy M Quinton — September 08, 2021 - 2:02pm

Rainbow papayas, non-bruising potatoes, pink pineapples, salmon and beer were just some of the GMO (genetically modified organism) foods served at an all-GMO dinner in Davis. The dinner was a prelude to the ��Ƶ-hosted international Transgenic Animal Research Conference, which focuses on new developments in genetic engineering of animals.

Backyard Chickens Need More Regulation

Karen Michele Nikos — March 01, 2018 - 4:29pm

Historically, keeping backyard chickens was a response to economic hardship — whether it was in the Depression or during wartime food rationing.

Earth BioGenome Project to Sequence All Life

Andy Fell — January 23, 2018 - 10:12am

In an effort to protect and preserve the Earth’s biodiversity and kick-start an inclusive bio-economy, the World Economic Forum today announced a landmark partnership between the Earth BioGenome Project, chaired by Harris Lewin, distinguished professor at ��Ƶ, and the Earth Bank of Codes to map the DNA of all life on Earth.

Newly Identified Enzyme May Be the Culprit in Pierce’s Disease Grapevine Damage

Patricia Bailey — January 12, 2016 - 12:00am

��Ƶ plant scientists have identified an enzyme that appears to play a key role in the insect-transmitted bacterial infection of grapevines with Pierce’s disease, which annually costs California’s grape and wine industries more than $100 million.

The researchers hope that the discovery, which runs counter to existing theories, will lead to new diagnostics and potential treatments for Pierce’s disease. Their findings are reported in Scientific Reports, an online journal of the Nature Publishing Group.

Paris climate talk experts

IET WebDev — November 23, 2015 - 10:40am

The ��Ƶ scientists below can provide expert comment on the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP21), held Nov. 30-Dec. 11 in Paris. They can present a localized view of the global talks. Except where noted, these experts will be in California during the conference.

Pumpkin science at ��Ƶ

IET WebDev — October 28, 2015 - 9:46am

Pumpkins are more than big orange fruits — those long, fat vines are of great interest to biologists, too. William Lucas, professor in the ��Ƶ Department of Plant Biology, uses pumpkin and related plants such as watermelon, cucumber and melon — known as the cucurbits — to study how the different parts of a plant communicate with each other.

Voracious bats scary to pests

IET WebDev — October 28, 2015 - 9:46am

Bats are causing some farmers to shriek ... with glee. One of nature’s “insecticides,” bats can gobble up as much as two-thirds of their body weight in insects in one night. ��Ƶ doctoral student Katherine Ingram has spent the past three years examining bat droppings to see to what degree bats could replace synthetic pesticides in walnut growers’ battle against codling moths.

Map identifies farmland with greatest potential for groundwater recharge

IET WebDev — October 22, 2015 - 9:25am

Growers, researchers, policymakers and others can now pinpoint California’s most promising parcels of farmland to help replenish the state’s dwindling groundwater supplies, thanks to a new interactive map developed by the California Soil Resource Lab at the ��Ƶ, Davis.

The Soil Agricultural Groundwater Banking Index provides site-specific information on millions of acres of California farmland based on previous research led by Toby O’Geen, a UC Cooperative Extension specialist with the ��Ƶ Department of Land, Air and Water Resources.