Economic Collapse: Tracing Where Venezuela Went Wrong

It seems the international media really started noticing the Venezuelan economic meltdown when the Coca-Cola factory shut its doors because it ran out of sugar. The national beer provider Empresas Polar soon followed, citing barley shortages. So, now Venezuelans are running out of coke, beer, and pretty much any basic commodity. Online videos show people running … Continue reading Economic Collapse: Tracing Where Venezuela Went Wrong

Recent reads

As the year is picking up steam and the dreaded January hangovers are in full force (interestingly, that drop in energy after the first week of ‘I will redo my life!’ also appears in tropical climates), here’s a couple of quick but fascinating reads to keep you from doing what you should be doing. Enjoy! … Continue reading Recent reads

TEEB AgFood: Calculating the Real Price of Food

“In the face of a rapidly overheating climate, collapsing fisheries, degraded soil, depleted water resources, vanishing species, and other challenges directly related to agriculture, we can no longer afford to pursue a flawed accounting system.” What is the real cost of food? Does the price we pay reflect the environmental impacts, the public health implications, … Continue reading TEEB AgFood: Calculating the Real Price of Food

Putting Meat on the Bones of a Climate Agreement

One of the main activities of Mercator alumni is publishing a German-language magazine called adhoc international that treats global public policy challenges from a practitioner’s perspective. Of course, we couldn’t let the climate negotiations go unnoticed. Thus, the newest issue is all about changing climate and humanity (“Klima und Menschen im Wandel”; pdf), and I contributed … Continue reading Putting Meat on the Bones of a Climate Agreement

The Meat-Cancer Link In the Media

I’m sure you’ve heard. On Monday, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), part of the World Health Organization, published a heavy anticipated report categorizing the consumption of processed meat as “carcinogenic to humans” (Group 1) on the basis of sufficient evidence for colorectal cancer. Additionally, the consumption of red meat was classified as “probably carcinogenic to humans” (Group 2A). … Continue reading The Meat-Cancer Link In the Media

Please Don’t Stop the Moo-sic: Is Less Meat Still No Option?

As we are approaching our hottest year yet and historical climate talks, meat-free diets are still a political taboo. Even the official sustainable menu of COP21 has eschewed opening this Pandora’s box. Yet, animal agriculture is one of the greatest contributors to global warming and resource overuse. How long can we keep up the pretense? An … Continue reading Please Don’t Stop the Moo-sic: Is Less Meat Still No Option?