Articles tagged as Agriculture | Smithsonian Magazine

Cool Finds

Blueberries: A Biography

The world’s commercial blueberries all have their roots in New Jersey

August 6, 2015

Giovanni Stanchi (Rome c. 1645-1672). Oil on canvas, 38 5/8 x 52½ in.

Cool Finds

This Renaissance Painting of Fruit Holds a Modern-Day Science Lesson

Hint: it’s in the watermelon

August 6, 2015

New Research

By Keeping Cows From Burping, This Drug Could Slow Down Climate Change

That cheeseburger may soon be less harmful to the environment

August 5, 2015

Dried fruit powder will keep for up to two years.

Swedish Designers Are Turning Fruits and Veggies Into a Nonperishable Powder

The dried and powdered produce, called FoPo, could become a staple in disaster relief

August 4, 2015

Egg prices are hitting record highs, raising demand for substitutes

July 24, 2015

Michael Fraley, a Vice President with Yulex Corporation, cuts a guayule plant that can be used to make natural rubber, in 2008

Cool Finds

Could This Shrub Overthrow the Mighty Rubber Tree?

Researchers are working to make a shrub found in southwestern U.S. and northern Mexico a viable natural rubber alternative

July 15, 2015

Through genetic engineering, researchers are trying to give high-producing black Angus cows cooler white coats to face the changing climate.

Researchers Are Trying to Genetically Engineer Cows to Stay Cool

As the planet warms, researchers are trying to engineer a cow that can beat the heat

July 6, 2015

A genetically modified lamb from a research lab in France was accidentally sent to market in November. It's unclear who might have eaten her.

A Genetically Modified Sheep was Sent to a Slaughter House and Sold for Meat

The lamb came from a agricultural research lab and was equipped with a jellyfish gene

June 24, 2015

The Cavendish banana is succumbing to a disease that wiped out its predecessor

June 5, 2015

French supermarkets are now required to donate food that might normally be thrown away around its sell-by date.

French Government Plans to Fine Grocery Stores That Throw Away Food

New regulations require that markets donate extra food or face fines

June 5, 2015

Migrating Monarch Butterflies Might Actually Take to the Highway

Threatened pollinators get a trans-continental right of way

June 1, 2015

Cool Finds

Alaska is Growing a Plant the Soviet Military Used in Secret Experiments

Golden root, or Rhodiola rosea, is also popular in Siberian folk medicine

May 14, 2015

Cool Finds

You Can See South Korea’s Seaweed Farms From Space

Seaweed farms offer a sustainable source of vegetable protein

May 5, 2015

With Semios, Farmers Can Monitor Their Fields Remotely and Keep Pests Away

Paired with wireless sensors and cameras, aerosol pheromone pesticides have entered a new era of effectiveness and affordability

April 30, 2015

How Farms Became the New Hot Suburb

A new real estate trend has developments planted around working farms. But are these communities sustainable?

May 2015

Cool Finds

Here’s How Cinnamon is Harvested in Indonesia

Watch as the inner bark from cinnamon trees is cut and stripped down to create the spice

April 22, 2015

When civil war broke out in Syria, scientists saved more than 80 percent of a priceless trove of seeds

April 17, 2015

From beef to beer, here’s how the numbers stack up

April 10, 2015

Trending Today

Most Plastic Trash Comes From Farms

Here’s what they’re trying to do about it

April 3, 2015

This dizzying crowd of Douglas fir trees gives off a refreshing scent.

How to Travel by Scent

We tend to privilege our sense of sight, but why not be led by your nose?

April 2, 2015