EurekAlert! News by Subject: Policy & Ethics - News by Subject: Policy & Ethics

Policy & Ethics

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 14-Jan-2026 13:11 ET (14-Jan-2026 18:11 GMT/UTC)

Persistent “forever chemicals” threaten agriculture and food safety, new study warns

Biochar Editorial Office, Shenyang Agricultural University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), often called “forever chemicals,” are silently infiltrating farms and food supplies, posing growing risks to human and environmental health, according to a new perspective article published in New Contaminants.

Study reveals roadmap for carbon-free California by 2045

Stanford University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new study shows California can go carbon-free mostly using current and emerging solutions – but to get there, it must overcome regulatory challenges and scale technologies at an unprecedented pace.

Journal: Energy Policy
Funder: California Business Roundtable, California Cattlemen's Association, California Chamber of Commerce, California Manufacturers & Technology Association, California State Building and Construction Trades Council, International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Western States Petroleum Association, Stanford Center for Carbon Storage

Vietnam’s food environment is changing fast. Policy needs to catch up

The Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture
Reports and Proceedings

In Vietnam, like many countries around the world, modern food retail is expanding, food is becoming more processed and packaged, and unhealthy food marketing is pervasive across physical and digital spaces. These shifts deliver convenience and (in some cases) safer handling, but they also make less healthy options easier to find and harder to avoid. A new study by the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, along with their colleagues, maps these changes and the policy responses and proposes a more robust framework for a faster response.

Wealthier countries waste more food per person, but urbanization is narrowing this gap

Cell Press
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Globally, the average person wastes around 132 kg of food per year, and this number is rising. Wealthy countries waste more food per person, but in an opinion paper publishing September 26 in the Cell Press journal Cell Reports Sustainability, agricultural economists highlight how urbanization and economic expansion are driving increases in food waste in lower- and middle-income countries. Curbing food waste will require policy and structural initiatives, they argue, such as incentivizing supermarkets and restaurants to donate food and educating consumers to promote smarter purchasing and better food storage practices.

Journal: Cell Reports Sustainability

Despite increase in U.S. cases, worry about West Nile virus remains low

Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania
Reports and Proceedings

Despite this season’s growing number of cases, relatively few Americans worry about becoming infected by West Nile or by dengue fever, an Annenberg Public Policy Center survey finds. The survey also finds that many people do not know the CDC-recommended way to apply insect repellent.

Parents want to act on climate change but struggle to model low-carbon lifestyles

University of Bath
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Parents worry for their children’s future but many struggle to live low-carbon lives. A new study finds barriers stopping parents from going green.

Journal: Population and Environment

How could AI help (and hurt) forestry?

Northern Arizona University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers recently interviewed 20 forestry professionals in the Southwest to understand what the field has to gain—and lose—with artificial intelligence. While the forestry professionals agree AI could help them save time on monotonous tasks, they worry it could also use inaccurate data to influence policy decisions.

Journal: Forest Policy and Economics

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