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Sep 20, 2024 | 
thebreakthrough.org | Dan Blaustein-Rejto
As Americans increasingly turn to electric vehicles, corn and soy farmers have grown understandably worried: will demand tank for ethanol and soy-based biodiesel? Many are hoping to sell their crops to producers of so-called Sustainable Aviation Fuel, an alternative to conventional jet fuel. Corn ethanol and soy biodiesel generally have too large a carbon footprint to qualify for tax credits that support sustainable aviation fuel.
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Aug 2, 2024 | 
geneticliteracyproject.org | Dan Blaustein-Rejto
Cover cropping, the practice of planting secondary crops during the off-season to improve soil health, has roots stretching back to antiquity. Ancient Romans used crops like lupines to enhance soil fertility without the use of manure, and figures like George Washington recommended “crops grown to replenish the soil.” The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) later promoted cover cropping to combat the severe soil erosion witnessed during the Dust Bowl.
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Aug 1, 2024 | 
thebreakthrough.org | Dan Blaustein-Rejto
Cover cropping, the practice of planting secondary crops during the off-season to improve soil health, has roots stretching back to antiquity. Ancient Romans used crops like lupines to enhance soil fertility without the use of manure, and figures like George Washington recommended “crops grown to replenish the soil.” The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) later promoted cover cropping to combat the severe soil erosion witnessed during the Dust Bowl.
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Apr 30, 2024 | 
thebreakthrough.org | Dan Blaustein-Rejto |Guido Núñez-Mujica
Apr 30, 2024 Share Share via Twitter Share via Facebook Share via Email Key TakeawaysFunding for agricultural climate mitigation from R&D agencies and programs has nearly doubled since 2017 to $421 million in 2023. Yet, funding is low relative to agriculture’s share of emissions.
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Apr 16, 2024 | 
thebreakthrough.org | Dan Blaustein-Rejto
Apr 16, 2024 Share Share via Twitter Share via Facebook Share via Email The latest estimates of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, for 2022, are in. Though published just in time for Earth Day, they’re not exactly cause for celebration, at least not for agriculture.
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Jan 11, 2024 | 
thebreakthrough.org | Dan Blaustein-Rejto
Doubling government funding for agricultural research and development (R&D) would have tremendous environmental and economic benefits, according to a new BTI-commissioned paper in the Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics. A substantial increase in R&D funding is needed now more than ever to manage extreme weather and new pest pressures, to help U.S. farmers better compete with producers internationally, and to reduce the food system’s large environmental footprint.
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Dec 12, 2023 | 
thebreakthrough.org | Dan Blaustein-Rejto
Berkeley, CA, December 13 – A research paper published in PLOS ONE, conducted by Daniel Blaustein-Rejto, the Breakthrough Institute’s Director of Food and Agriculture, and Linus Blomqvist, a PhD student in Environmental Economics and Science at UC Santa Barbara and former director of the Breakthrough Institute’s Conservation and Food & Agriculture programs, unveils key findings about the environmental impact of beef production and challenges long held assumptions about the carbon footprint of...
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Dec 12, 2023 | 
thebreakthrough.org | Dan Blaustein-Rejto |Linus Blomqvist
What type of beef has the lowest carbon footprint? A new study we and Nicole Soltis published in PLOS ONE finds that while nearly all beef has a very high carbon footprint, the lowest-carbon beef typically comes from the most productive operations; that is, those that produce the most beef per acre of land.
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Oct 24, 2023 | 
thebreakthrough.org | Emma Kovak |Mark Lynas |Dan Blaustein-Rejto |Chris Gambino
Executive summaryThe bioeconomy revolution is taking off around the world, driven by new genomic techniques (NGTs) which enable the precise gene editing of plants, animals and micro-organisms. This is delivering better crops, pharmaceuticals, plant-based proteins and much more, and yielding substantial added value to the global economy. The EU is already getting left behind.
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Jun 1, 2023 | 
thebreakthrough.org | Dan Blaustein-Rejto
In many ways, 2022 was a bad year for U.S. agricultural trade. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine cut off exports of wheat, sunflower, and other products from both countries. Mexico proposed banning imports of GMO corn from the United States. And the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) were both left trying to operate without anyone in charge of agricultural trade until late December when the Senate finally confirmed two highly qualified nominees.
