The United States generates more food waste than all but two countries. To address this, the federal government set a goal to cut food waste in half by 2030 compared to 2016 levels, to about 164 pounds per person annually. But a new study published in Nature Food and led by University of California, Davis, reveals that current state policies are falling short. Since 2016, per capita food waste has increased instead of decreasing.

The genetics behind the alternating sexes of walnut trees has been revealed by biologists at the University of California, Davis.

The Nigerian government has enacted a new industrial standard for bouillon which includes a provision for adding vital micronutrients. The new standard specifies the inclusion of iron, zinc, folic acid and vitamin B12 on a voluntary basis in nationally produced and imported bouillon cubes to reduce malnutrition and child mortality.

Researchers at University of California, Davis, are developing a chatbot powered by Artificial Intelligence to help growers, backyard gardeners, landowners and others identify and treat weeds. 

WeedChat will have access to and train itself on a broad array of papers, books, journals and other data that allow it to provide real-time accurate, comprehensive information about weeds and invasive plants, said Mohsen Mesgaran, an assistant professor in the Department of Plant Sciences.  

At least one-quarter of all nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions in California’s Salton Sea air basin come from soil, according to a study from the University of California, Davis.

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Seaweed is once again showing promise for making cattle farming more sustainable. A new study by researchers at the University of California, Davis, found that feeding grazing beef cattle a seaweed supplement in pellet form reduced their methane emissions by almost 40% without affecting their health or weight. The study was published today (Dec. 2) in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

As California faces pressure to grow both food and energy while protecting biodiversity — all on a finite amount of land — a trend is emerging in the field of clean energy: multi-use solar projects, or sustainable voltaics.

A dwindling and aging agricultural workforce, coupled with higher labor costs, have put added pressure on U.S. farms over the past decade. A recent study by University of California agricultural economists Alexandra Hill and James Sayre explores these changing trends in U.S. and Mexican farmworker demographics and the potential implications for U.S. farms.

The University of California, Davis, is one of four institutions nationwide selected by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to establish Animal and Veterinary Innovation centers to help spur innovation and advance regulatory decisions. 

The UC Davis Intentional Genomic Alteration Innovation Center will focus on genome editing of livestock like pigs, sheep and cattle to support science-based regulations that demonstrate the safety of the technology and pave the way for human consumption of edited animals.