Precise harvest forecasts from space

27-Sep-2024 - The ETH spin-off Terensis uses satellites to predict crop yields and climate risks such as drought or frost. This not only helps farmers with their planning. Authorities and insurance companies can also better assess damage and treat it more cost-effectively. "There's no question that farmers ...

Chocolate that harnesses the full potential of the cocoa fruit

ETH researchers and start-up Koa develop more sustainable and nutrient-rich chocolate

28-May-2024 - Researchers at ETH Zurich have teamed up with the food industry to produce a whole-​fruit variety of chocolate. This helps increase the value creation of cocoa farming – and is healthier. For many people, chocolate is a sweet delight: its main components are cocoa mass and cocoa butter, which are ...

New gel breaks down alcohol in the body

15-May-2024 - ETH researchers have developed a gel made from whey protein fibers that converts alcohol in the stomach into harmless acetic acid with the help of individual iron atoms before it enters the bloodstream. They showed in mice that the gel reduces blood alcohol levels by up to fifty percent and ...

What previous bird flu outbreaks teach us

“Our findings highlight the importance of not waiting until bird flu cases are discovered, because then the virus has probably already been circulating for quite some time”

25-Apr-2023 - Researchers at ETH Zurich have analysed the bird flu epidemic caused by the H7N9 strain that affected China from 2013 to 2017. New phylogenetic trees will help to improve monitoring of future bird flu epidemics. There are many different bird flu viruses. Besides the subtype H5N1, which has been ...

A comprehensive view of the world food system

Zukunftsblog ETH zürich

01-Nov-2022 - Agriculture practices that preserve resources? Enough food to make sure that everyone can enjoy a healthy and balanced diet? We still are a long way from that, finds Robert Finger – and outlines the most important fields of action to make the food system more sustainable. Today, the global system ...

Airtight corn sacks help fight hunger during the COVID-19 pandemic

14-Jan-2021 - Optimised on-​farm grain storage boosts food security in sub-​Saharan Africa, as an ETH study in Kenya during the COVID-​19 pandemic shows. As the end of the lean season approaches, things get tricky for many smallholder farmers in sub-​Saharan Africa. It’s the time of year between harvests – the ...

Researching a sustainable “superfood”

31-Jan-2020 - Pioneer Fellows Cyrill Hess and Melanie Binggeli want to market duckweed as a healthy food that’s good for the environment. Best described as light green, with a taste reminiscent of bean sprouts and a pleasantly grainy texture, Wolffia is one of five genera of a plant commonly known as duckweed ...

Making chocolate colourful

20-Dec-2019 - ETH researchers are making chocolates shimmer in rainbow colours without the addition of colourants. They have found a way to imprint a special structure on the surface of the chocolate to create a targeted colour effect. The chocolate shimmers in dynamically changing rainbow colours. It seems to ...

Advanced breeding paves the way for disease-resistant beans

11-Sep-2019 - ETH researchers are involved in the development and implementation of a method to efficiently breed for disease-resistant beans in different regions of the world. Their work will help to improve the livelihood and food security of smallholders in developing countries. For many people in Africa ...

Banning oil palm blocks good practices

16-Oct-2017 - Palm oil is not equal to palm oil: Since plantations differ massively in environmental and social criteria, a general ban of palm oil in biofuels, as recently discussed by the European Union, would punish the wrong producers while having little impact on reducing deforestation. Biofuels, ...