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Food, feed, fiber, and bioenergy: The demand for agricultural raw materials is rising. How can additional cultivation areas be reconciled with nature conservation? Researchers at the University of Basel have developed a land-use model that provides answers. By 2030, global cultivation areas are expected to expand by 3.6 percent, increasing global agricultural production by two percent.

In wealthier countries with greater gender equality, men are more likely to eat meat more frequently than women, a new study reveals. The research team, led by the University of Zurich, examined the meat consumption patterns of more than 20,000 people from 23 countries. The findings could inform strategies for promoting plant-based and cultured meat as viable alternatives to traditional meat consumption.

Researchers at ETH Zurich have teamed up with the food industry to produce a whole-fruit variety of chocolate. This helps increase the value creation of cocoa farming - and is healthier. For many people, chocolate is a sweet delight: its main components are cocoa mass and cocoa butter, which are extracted from the cocoa fruit.

Like forests, grassland provides numerous ecological, economic and social benefits. Researchers in the Swiss canton of Solothurn have investigated ways to maintain and improve these benefits. Grass, clover and herbs are the foundation of Swiss agriculture: two-thirds of Switzerland's agricultural land is grassland, much of which is barely suitable for arable farming.

When crops grow in arsenic-contaminated soil, this toxic element accumulates in the food chain. A study involving the University of Basel has now discovered a mechanism used by corn plants to reduce arsenic uptake: the key factor is a special substance released into the soil by the roots. Arsenic is a toxic metalloid of natural origin.

Agroscope has been granted approval by the Federal Office for the Environment for a field trial with spring barley. The focus is on a barley gene that has been disabled by new breeding techniques. The trial, which will be launched in spring 2024 on the Protected Site in Zurich-Reckenholz and will run for three years, aims to determine whether yields can be increased in this manner.

A team of researchers has revealed how to find the exact origin of a wine based solely on its chemical components. Does every wine carry its own chemical signature and, if so, can this be used to identify its origin? Many specialists have tried to solve this mystery, without fully succeeding.

Plant Biology Farmland often harbors a multitude of pathogens which attack plants and reduce yields. A Swiss research team has now shown that inoculating the soil with mycorrhizal fungi can help maintain or even improve yields without the use of additional fertilizers or pesticides. In a large-scale field trial, plant yield increased by up to 40 percent.

When it comes to feeding a growing population at a time of conflict and climate change, Mother Earth has a lot on her plate. To build a sustainable future we'll need to return to a farm-to-table model, and that's opening up vast and exciting avenues of research for scientists in an array of fields. In this special report , we explore some of the developments taking place in research labs and out on the farm.

The invasive spotted-wing drosophila (SWD) is a devastating pest in berry, stone fruit and grape crops. A natural antagonist from the fruit fly-s area of origin in East Asia is now due to be released in Switzerland for the first time by Agroscope and CABI. The experimental releases in the Cantons of Jura and Ticino aim to clarify whether this parasitic wasp can become established in Switzerland to regulate the SWD population and reduce production losses.

Corn roots secrete certain substances that affect the quality of the soil. In certain fields, this effect increases the yield of wheat planted after corn in the same soil by more than 4%. This has been demonstrated by researchers at the University of Bern. Although the findings from several field experiments show that such effects are highly variable, they could nevertheless contribute in the long term to making the cultivation of cereals more sustainable without additional fertilizers or pesticides.

The European Patent Office has granted Agroscope a patent for its new cheese maturing process. This patent was published - and thus became effective - on January 25, 2023 in the European Patent Bulletin. It will now be registered in some countries. In 2020, Agroscope applied for a patent for its new maturing process, which works as follows: after leaving the salt bath, the cheeses are wrapped in a biodegradable cloth.

Researchers at ETH Zurich and the Carnegie Institution for Science have shown how nitrogen fertiliser could be produced more sustainably. This is necessary not only to protect the climate, but also to reduce dependence on imported natural gas and to increase food security. Intensive agriculture is possible only if the soil is fertilised with nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.

Motivation is affected by oxidative stress in the brain, a study by EPFL and Nestlé shows. The findings also suggest motivation can be improved through nutritional interventions. In life, motivation can be the difference between success and failure, goal-setting and aimlessness, well-being and unhappiness.

How much of the proteins present in foods can the human body absorb and how high is the quality of these proteins? These are the key questions in discussions about a healthy and sustainable diet. Agroscope has developed a method that can reliably measure the protein digestibility of different foods in the laboratory.

Agriculture practices that preserve resources? Enough food to make sure that everyone can enjoy a healthy and balanced diet? We still are a long way from that, finds Robert Finger - and outlines the most important fields of action to make the food system more sustainable. Today, the global system that supplies us with food is facing major challenges.

A team of scientists makes the case for reevaluating maligned non-native species. Awareness of non-native species - often called ''invasive'' - has vastly increased over the past fifty years, to the point where anyone with green conscience has heard of them and their negative effects, whether it is the zebra mussel or ragweed.

Since Darwin, we have known that evolutionary adaptation is reflected in the appearance and function of species' bodies under environmental changes. One of the questions commonly asked by evolutionary biologists is how body shape relates to a specific ecological feature, such as diet. In a recent study published in the journal Evolution , Guilherme Hermanson and his team at the University of Freiburg looked at the environmental factors that affect the shape of turtle skulls.

Climate change, environmental and animal welfare policies, ageing farmers: Europe's agriculture is facing enormous challenges, which vary diametrically depending on the region. Where will farming soon become unprofitable? Where are laws forcing them to change their practices? A study co-led by the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL has now investigated this for all of Europe.

As early as the Neolithic period, pests posed a threat to agricultural yields, as shown by the remains of mice and insects found in prehistoric wells by a Basel-led archaeological research team. However, there are also indications that people knew how to defend against these pests - for example, by switching to less vulnerable kinds of grain.