David Zilberman

CAST papers are developed by interdisciplinary task forces composed of volunteer authors, chairs, reviewers, liaisons, and translators from academia, industry, and government. This index recognizes those contributors and highlights the breadth of expertise that supports CAST’s work.

Affiliation

University of California, Berkeley

Publications as Task Force Chair

March 18, 2013
Issue Paper

Food, Fuel, and Plant Nutrient Use in the Future

Future food, fiber, and fuel demands cannot be met by expanding cropland; continued advances in nutrient use efficiency will be essential. With a growing population, dwindling arable land, and rising biofuel demand, the world must rely on genetic improvements in crop productivity, soil conservation, and nutrient efficiency rather than expansion of harvested area. This CAST Issue Paper examines the background to current conditions and addresses requirements for world food production over the next 40 years, demonstrating why research in nutrient use, recovery, and recycling is crucial.

Publications as Author

June 29, 2020
CAST Commentary

Economic Impacts of COVID-19 on Food and Agricultural Markets

This paper examines the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the agriculture sector. Topics covered include macroeconomics, trade, supply chain, consumer behavior, food service/grocery, meat processing, forestry and wood products, local food systems, food waste, food insecurity, major commodity crops, agricultural finance, agricultural labor, rural health care, and research and outreach priorities.

December 5, 2007
Issue Paper

Implications of Gene Flow in the Scale-up and Commercial Use of Biotechnology-derived Crops: Economic and Policy Considerations

This Issue Paper identifies the nature of gene flow and discusses the relatively limited situations in which it is likely to cause economic problems in the production of commercial biotech crops. The paper explains how gene flow relates to adventitious presence, describes the biological traits being imparted into biotech crops, summarizes present risk assessment and regulatory mechanisms, and discusses potential economic effects and policy and research ramifications of gene flow of commercial biotech crops.

May 26, 2004
Task Force Report

Climate Change and Greenhouse Gas Mitigation: Challenges and Opportunities for Agriculture

Greenhouse gases (GHGs) are of increasing concern because of their potential role in promoting rapid and undesirable change in climate. Agriculture ironically serves as both a source and a sink for this increase in GHGs. This report analyzes agriculture's complex, pivotal role in this vitally important issue by considering policy options, implementation, and future monitoring and verification of GHG mitigation. The report outlines seven potential methods for agricultural mitigation of GHG concentrations.