BACKUP.VAVILOV in Amsterdam July @ Arti et Amicitiae: a first announcement of the project between art & plant biology in honor of the hero of my historical novel Nicolai Vavilov with sections from my visit to his botanical garden curated by Natalia Sukova arti.nl/en/agenda/21-0…

✨ Speaker Spotlight: #GFPR2025 ✨ Ruben Echeverria, Senior Advisor, Agriculture Development, @GatesFoundation, will be speaking at the launch of the 2025 Global Food Policy Report—a special edition marking IFPRI’s 50th anniversary. 🔗 bit.ly/GFPR2025 #IFPRI50 CGIAR

A foundation model for the Earth system: a step in modeling weather &climate with real potential for the global south. In my view, its widespread role-out would ideally be accompanied by a training program for meteorologists but also for applied scientists nature.com/articles/s4158…

EU animal welfare rules: A backward step on transport? [Advocacy Lab Content]: As part of the revision of the EU’s animal welfare legislation, the European Commission presented in December 2023 a proposal for new rules on the protection of animals during… dlvr.it/TKxQYP

Ik ben oprecht vereerd met het artikel over mijn (literaire) werk in het tijdschrift de lage landen van Geerdt Machiels…

Experts have tested over 140,000 food samples across Europe to check for pesticide residues. 🔹 Over 98% of tested foods met legal standards 🔹 Most had no trace of pesticides at all 🔹 The overall risk to our health is very low

Inspiring & delicious vegan diner for the “Inhabitants of Planet Earth” in the Amsterdam Zoo, Artis, showing how aesthetics & reflection on sustainability can go hand in hand thanks to Chef Emile van der Staak ⁦De Nieuwe Winkel⁩

Cell paper in which we argue that as the EU is reviewing its legislation, accepting NGT also in organic agriculture helps to meet the EU goal of 25% organic acreage in 2030. NGT’s targeted mutagenesis is far more precise, but further work on farmer & consumer acceptance is needed

For those who have missed it: Anselm Kiefer’s magnificent work ⁦Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam⁩ and ⁦Van Gogh Museum⁩ Amsterdam: overwhelming landscapes to remind us of our human scale & fragility, always the echo of death & decay, painstakingly put together from natural materials

Juist nu zijn briljante dromers nodig met grootse plannen. In het verleden waren ze er ook, zoals Henri Beunders fraai beschrijft in zijn boek. Voor nu: waar zijn de fanatieke denkers over geoengineering, nieuwe eiwitten of organische batterijen, om maar iets te noemen?

This week FAO holds it 1st global biotechnology conference to debate harnessing science for food security, creating better access esp for poor countries & farmers, clear regulation & the convergence of biotech with advanced tech (AI, robotics). The key: where do we go from here?

Overall pessimism is not supported by evidence, since statistically the world is doing so much than 100 y ago, but techno-optimism is also shortsighted. What gives us hope is our human capacity to learn from our mistakes, to develop & correct new ideas…(in Dutch)

A new call for the Food History fellowship I am sponsoring at the Allard Pierson Museum of the UvA Library: a chance to do research on a unique collection in a wonderful environment in central Amsterdam. allardpierson.nl/fellowships/20…

BACKUP.VAVILOV, Arti et Amicitiae in Amsterdam: exhibition, performances & discussion about the Soviet botanist Nicolai Vavilov, the hero of my book &documentary. I will discuss his work, resistance to Stalin & political significance on July 4. In English arti.nl/agenda/21-06-2…

I will speak in English about Vavilov on 5 July at 3 pm about the scientist everyone should know about, esp today. Not just because he laid the foundation for agricultural diversity, tried to save Ukraine from Stalin’s imposed food scarcity but also because he stood for the truth

Just avoid any confusion: the talk at Arti is on 5 July at 3 pm about Vavilov, the scientist everyone should know about: because he laid the foundations for agricultural diversity, tried to save Ukraine from Stalin’s imposed food scarcity & because he stood for telling the truth

See also our paper in Cell Reports Sustainability Molitorisova et al, arguing for new gene editing techniques in #organic agriculture in Europe. Esp groups that want to exclude chemicals need to use best genetic techniques to increase disease, pest tolerance & nutrient uptake

With sadness we learn of the passing away of Simon Groot after a long life of dedication to provide vegetable seeds to small farmers in developing countries esp in Asia &creating his successful East-West Seed company. May his work continue to flourish & his memory be a blessing!

cell.com/cell-reports-s…