Food & Agriculture

Ice that doesn’t melt. Technology that restores voices. An AI chatbot that can improve your health. Forecasting tools that can protect neighborhoods, people and ecosystems from extreme weather. 

These are just a handful of research advancements supported by federal funding highlighted by UCDavisDelivers, a yearlong online and social media campaign meant to show the impact of research on everyday lives.

Ordering a hamburger might soon come with more than a calorie count. Food systems account for about one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions, and some foods have larger environmental footprints than others. Some restaurants are beginning to display the environmental impact of food items on their menus. A new study led by researchers at the University of California, Davis, shows that climate labels can nudge people toward more environmentally friendly food choices.

The Department of Animal Science is hosting its 33rd Annual Production Sale and showcase later this month to auction off seven horses and two mules bred, birthed and trained by undergraduate interns on the UC Davis campus.

The University of California, Davis, Department of Viticulture and Enology will begin this year’s wine sales June 16 from noon to 4 p.m. The wines are made by students, faculty and staff from grapes they grow on campus and at the Oakville research station in Napa Valley. Six new student-made wines will be released as well as three new UC Davis wines. 

The U.S Department of Agriculture has confirmed a case of New World screwworm in Zavala County, Texas in a three-week old calf. New World screwworm is a serious parasitic fly that can affect livestock, pets, wildlife, and less commonly, people and birds. Adult screwworm flies are about the size of a common housefly or slightly larger. Their larvae feed on the living tissue of warm-blooded animals.

As California lawmakers consider legislation that would require “high sugar” warning labels on restaurant menus, a University of California, Davis, study shows that the labels are effective in dissuading diners from ordering sugary items.

The aroma of a glass of chardonnay. The crunch of a potato chip. Taste, smell, touch, sound and sight all influence what people enjoy, buy and trust. For decades, the University of California, Davis, has helped researchers and industry better understand those experiences through sensory science, the study of how people perceive the world through their senses.

Crisp, clean, bright — all words that come to mind when thinking about white wine. Hazy? Not so much. 

White and rosé wines can become cloudy when transported in shipping containers or stored on supermarket shelves due to protein denaturation. While they are perfectly safe to drink, those murky wines tend to turn off consumers. 

The University of California, Davis, celebrated the grand opening of the Resnick Center for Agricultural Innovation, a state-of-the-art facility designed to transform agricultural research, teaching and outreach while accelerating solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges in food systems and sustainability.

After the sun sets and darkness falls over the vineyards near Lodi, American barn owls start to glide above the grapevines in search of rodents below. As the birds hunt, researchers at the University of California, Davis, and California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt, and San Luis Obispo, are paying attention to how noises echoing through the fields influence these nocturnal raptors.