The diet of the future was the theme of the National Agricultural Science Research Institute (INRA) at the International Agricultural Show in Paris last February. The goal was to present the way in which our eating habits will change in the coming decades given the current environmental challenges. INRA’s researchers have been working on products […]
An international consortium of over 30 research institutes -among which are three French research centers – has succeeded in sequencing the entire genome of Brassica napus L, more commonly known as rapeseed. Rapeseed – the plant from which we derive canola oil – is the most important oilseed crop in Europe, Canada, and Australia and […]
A team of scientists from the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA) has just made headway in the discovery of a source of nitrous oxide reduction, and it’s in our soil! Nitrous oxide (N2O) is one of the principal greenhouse gases responsible for the deterioration of the ozone layer, alongside carbon (CO2) and methane […]
Wine connoisseurs around the world owe a great deal in quality assurance to the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA).Their labors directed at decoding the French oak tree genome are bearing a very practical fruit: fraud detection. A holistic sequencing and mapping of this genome allows scientists to identify poorer quality barrels that are […]
Culinary fads come and go throughout the years, but few have gained clout as steadily as Organic foods have. Almost everyone can agree that producing and treating our food as naturally as possible is a desirable goal that will lead to healthier consumers, but surprisingly little has been done to scientifically evaluate this albeit intuitive […]
Transhumance produces natural flavours and guarantees biodiversity, providing high quality products (meat, wool, milk, cheese) paced by the natural cycles of grass and animals. These cattle receive natural and balanced food, mainly based on maternal milk. Because transhumant cattle maintain an excellent balance of grease and fiber, they produced meat with an excellent aroma and […]
Civil society has new expectations on agricultural practices. Consumers have grown increasingly conscious of agricultural practices, and want to know if changes are underway. The Environmental Certification process is an efficient way in which France can communicate its sustainable agriculture policies and practices to the public and allow consumers to easily identify farms engaged in […]
For the past thirty years, the company Savéol Nature – based in Guivapas, Brittany – has been growing select species of insects alongside their crops. The types and number of insects to be bred depend on reproduction cycles as well as on the plant varieties grown in the greenhouses. Such farming has equipped Savéol Nature […]
Agreenium, a French consortium of the elite agronomic research and training institutions in France, unveiled their first online course during the 2015 International Agricultural Exhibition (SIA) in Paris last February 24th. The course is on Agro-ecology and it is already open for registration for the 2015-2016 academic year. This marks the first step in a […]
Seven billion people and in just a few decades 9 billion people, global warming, biodiversity, obesity, malnutrition… Food, agriculture and forestry are at the heart of these major challenges of our time. Their role is essential if we are to meet the growing and changing demand for food, to preserve the environment and contribute to […]