Süddeutsche Zeitung

Kann der Ökolandbau die Welt satt machen? Eine neue Studie bescheinigt der Biolandwirtschaft, effektiver zu sein als gedacht. Dennoch dürfte das Fazit der Forscher echten Bioverfechtern nicht sehr schmecken.

2012-04-26

The Canadian Business Journal

On Friday March 10th, the Globe and Mail released an article featuring an interview with Dr. Verena Seufert, the lead author of a new study on organic agriculture from the University of British Columbia. This paper, co-authored by Dr. Navin Ramankutty, sought to ‘assess organic agriculture’s performance and identify how we can improve it’, exploring the nuances of organic agriculture that make it complex to evaluate its environmental, livelihood and health benefits.

2017-03-13

Radio New Zealand, Sunday Morning Show

Dr Verena Seufert explains why she thinks buying organic food may not always be a better choice for your health or for the environment.

2017-03-26

Roundhouse Radio, Vancouver

Organics - Are we better off with organics? A new study co-authored by Verena Seufert, UBC geographer-ecologist says Organics is not automatically better. In fact, it could be damaging the environment. She joins Kirk to talk about the impact of organics on the environment.

2017-03-14

The Link, Radio Canada International

Many people pay a premium to make sure the food they eat is grown organically. But a new study by scientists at Montreal's McGill University suggests that feeding the world without destroying the planet is going to take a combination of both organic and conventional agriculture. Marc Montgomery speaks with a co-author of the study, which is published in the journal Nature.

2012-05-01

The Atlantic

Earlier this week, like any insufferable Brooklynite, I found myself in need of some baby spinach. A little pressed for time, I chose to forgo a run to my normal grocery store for a quick trip to my neighborhood bodega.

2015-06-13

CKNW, The Jill Bennett Show

Many people choose organic thinking it’s better for humans and the planet, but a new UBC study published today in Science Advances finds that might not always be the case. GUEST: Verena Seufert - researcher at the Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability

2017-03-27

Manitoba Co-Operator

Organic agriculture has benefits but it is not a silver bullet for global food security, a new study says. Too much scientific uncertainty exists for organic agriculture to be considered a better alternative to conventional farming, says the study by two University of British Columbia researchers.

2017-03-23

Vancouver Sun

Whether organic food delivers health and environmental benefits depends a great deal on who you are and where it is grown, according to a new study from the University of British Columbia.

2017-03-11

Fusion

It’s easy to think that buying organic food helps to support local communities and protect the environment from the heavy hand of big agriculture. But the reality is not so clear cut. A detailed new analysis finds that organic farming is not always more upstanding than its conventional counterpart.

2017-03-17

CNN

Is organic agriculture the solution to our global food system challenges? That's been the premise and promise of the organic movement since its origins in the 1920s: farming that's healthy, ecological, and socially just.

2017-03-22

The Conversation

Is organic agriculture the solution to our global food system challenges? That’s been the premise and promise of the organic movement since its origins in the 1920s: farming that’s healthy, ecological, and socially just.

2017-03-10

Globe and Mail

Organic foods, often touted as the more sustainable option for consumers, are no “Holy Grail” for the global food system, according to a new study. The paper, written by University of British Columbia researchers, challenges the widely held assumption that organic food products are automatically healthier or more sustainable than their conventional counterparts. Once lower yields are taken into account, the study finds that organic production can in some ways be considered less sustainable.

2017-03-10

Business in Vancouver

Hewing to a strict organic food diet can increase your grocery bill by up to 50% and might have only marginal increased health benefits, according to a new study published in Science Advances by two researchers at the University of British Columbia (UBC).

2017-03-17

Le Devoir

Alors que l'agriculture biologique a la réputation d'être moins productive que l'agriculture traditionnelle, une nouvelle étude publiée dans la revue Nature démontre qu'elle rivalise plutôt bien quand il s'agit de plantes vivaces et de légumineuses cultivées selon les règles de l'art et dans certaines conditions agroécologiques particulières.

2012-04-26

The University of Chicago Press

Sarah travelled the globe to research her new book. In Consumed she reports on the efforts of people—in cities and on farms, from New York to rural India—who are putting together a new way of feeding the world that is resilient to the inevitable shocks that climate change will throw our way. Sarah tells the untold stories of this massive but little known global social movement that is changing all aspects of food. With her eye on the year 2050, Sarah lays out the decade by decade targets we must meet so that by mid-century we can feed ourselves in an ever increasingly turbulent world.

2013-04-23

Daily Mail

Organic farming, supported by celebrities such as Gwyneth Paltrow, may not be better for the planet. A major study of organic farms reports that some benefits of cutting out pesticides are being undone because so few crops are produced.

2017-03-10

CBC News

The increasing demand by consumers for organic food may have confused the actual reason the practice was first pioneered in the 1920s. That's one conclusion of the UBC study, Many Shades of Gray: The Context-Dependent Performance of Organic Agriculture. The recent study weighed the costs, benefits and sustainability of organic agriculture.

2017-03-15

The Atlantic

2012-05-14

The Conversation

Food is an emotional topic. Everyone cares about what they eat. Food often has a strong cultural, religious or even political meaning attached to it. Organic food is no different in that respect. People buy organic out of hedonistic values of pleasure and health as well as out of altruistic values of environmental sustainability, social justice and animal welfare.

2012-05-21

CBC, BC Almanac

Tennant advocate Russ Godfrey, and Landlord B.C. CEO David Hutniak discuss loopholes in the residential tenancy act. Also UBC research Verena Seufert on organic foods.

2017-03-13

La Presse

Comment nourrir une population mondiale grandissante tout en réduisant les impacts de l'agriculture sur l'environnement? Des chercheurs des universités McGill et du Minnesota ont comparé les rendements des cultures biologiques et conventionnelles, et ont déterminé que la solution réside dans un mélange des meilleures pratiques.

2012-04-26

The Agenda, TVO

UBC post-doctoral fellow Verena Seufert joins The Agenda to discuss her idea that people need to move past the emotion surrounding the organic food debate and focus on the advantages and limitations of the agricultural practice.

2016-05-02

The Morning News with Bruce Kenyon, News Talk 770, Calgary

Organic Food: Organic food is marketed as healthy, sustainable and environmentally friendly. But that might not be the full story. Guest: Verena Seufert, Researcher at the Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability at UBC

2017-03-14

Scientific American

A new meta-analysis suggests farmers should take a hybrid approach to producing enough food for humans while preserving the environment

2012-04-25

Published by Nature

Published by Global Change Biology

Published by Science Advances

Published by Institute for the Study of International Development, McGill University

Published by Environmental Research Letters

Published by Food Policy