Although fossil oils are dwindling, they are still our main energy source and continue to dominate the global chemical industry. However, the European Union (EU)-funded research project ICON helped breed crops to produce high-value plant oils that are expected to break the chemical sector’s dependence on petroleum.
EU researchers have developed new techniques to boost antioxidant levels in raspberries. Their work will help farmers grow healthier raspberries, for your table, your picnic basket and for markets worldwide.
You may have heard of the bioeconomy and wondered what it is all about. Discover it now!
It is only two centuries since the concept of selective breeding was applied scientifically to farm animals, helping produce cows, sheep and goats with traits such as lean muscles, disease resistance and efficient reproduction.
The Greek Presidency of the Council of the EU together with the Directorate General for Research and Innovation of the European Commission (DG RTD) is organising a conference on the main drivers for research and innovation in European food chains. The European Technology Platform “Food for Life”, the Hellenic Technology Platform “Food for Life” & the Federation of Hellenic Food Industries (SEVT) are also supporting the conference.
Ethanol is relatively easy to produce and can be used in existing engines. However, the so-called first-generation technology currently used to produce ethanol is energy-inefficient, offering slim carbon savings over gasoline, and it relies on edible crops such as maize and sugar beet, which some scientists argue could drive up global food prices.
An EU-funded project investigating how oxygen in the air millions of years ago might have affected the evolution of plants is making important discoveries that could inform our approach to climate change, space exploration and ensuring future food supplies.
Good crop growth depends mainly on nitrogen. Plants need nitrogen to make proteins, grow and produce good yields. However, not all nitrogen present in the soil is absorbed by the crops, especially when fertiliser or manure are added, resulting in the leaching of nitrates into groundwater, with environmental and health risk.
Many efforts are being made at a governmental and global level to reduce deforestation and other major contributors to climate change. The REDD-ALERT project focused on how such international and national policy initiatives – for example, the discussions taking place under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) – could be translated into ideas for action on the ground.
Today, we are faced with the challenge of providing safe, nutritious and affordable food for the world's ever increasing population.
WISER project offering advice to make our water systems cleaner, safer and more sustainable.
Current production processes do not maximise olive oil yield and, at the same time, energy use is high. However an EU-funded project introduced a new technology known as pulsed electric field (PEF) in all existing and new mill equipment that will result in higher yields and health benefits to consumers.
As much as 25% of the world’s agricultural production today becomes contaminated resulting in risks to human health and to a loss of crops. The main culprits are toxins and particularly those of the poisonous mycotoxin family, which can be a potential threat to both humans and animals.
It is a quiet, modest process which rarely grabs the headlines, but the pollination of plants, trees and crops is a function which is vital both for human wellbeing and for the environment. While some pollination occurs as a result of the wind, the vast majority - especially that which matters most to humans - is carried out by insects.
One third of Europe’s land area - more than 2 million km2 - is covered by forests, which support the timber industry. However, growing fluctuations in temperature and rainfall due to climate change may have a severe economic impact on timber production.
This conclusion emerged from the European Union (EU)-funded MOTIVE project which set out to improve forest management and policymaking in the face of rapidly changing climatic conditions.
The benefits of producing biofuel from perennial grasses make them a very attractive alternative source of energy. An EU-funded project is working to create improved varieties and identify the optimal environments for production of different grass species to make perennial grasses even more sought after.
What impact did the introduction of milk to our diets have on our early society? By examining Neolithic artefacts and bones, an EU-funded project has contributed to our understanding of how Europeans began to abandon their hunter-gathering lifestyle in favour of farming.
As part of its work, the LeCHe research network found milk residues trapped in mud-made cheese-strainers dating from around 7 000 years ago. The pottery, hidden in archaeological sites in Poland, hosts the earliest prehistoric evidence for cheese-making.
What’s in Horizon 2020 for you? What are the new calls and how to apply for funding?
We invite you to the Info Day 2014 in Brussels, on 17 January, to get first-hand information on the new EU funding instrument and to find the answer to these and many other questions.
A new method for dealing with soil pollution has been developed which promises better environmental protection, reduced remediation costs and other economic benefits such as enhancing tourism prospects. Developed through the EU’s FP7 programme, the SORBENT project will also contribute to national and EU environmental policy objectives.
The packaging industry is under pressure to improve its environmental performance and become more competitive. In addition, food packaging safety has come under more scrutiny.
An innovative EU-funded project has addressed all three of these objectives at once, with a straightforward yet potentially revolutionary solution using tomato skins.
