Musings on sustainable food systems, agriculture vs. agroecology, and more!
Do you know the feeling when you just sit and stare at your screen, mesmerized? A friend sent me to the World Food Clock website and I just couldn’t look away. Numbers don’t always impress me (it’s hard to put them into perspective sometimes), but when they are ticking away in front of your eyes … Continue reading Tick, Tock – The World Food Clock
On Wednesday, as anticipated, the House of Representatives passed the Farm Bill after a 2 year impasse with 251 to 166 votes. The Democratic leadership of the Senate has already endorsed it, making it likely that it will pass the Senate floor as well in the coming week and be on President Obama’s desk soon. … Continue reading The USA Have A Farm Bill! Halle … Well … Yeah.
Have you heard of Joseph Stiglitz? The former World Bank economist that turned into one of the major critics of big international organizations such as the IMF and WB, penning books such as “Globalization and Its Discontents“? He was one of the first people I started reading when I got into international economics, and he … Continue reading Stiglitz Does It Again – Great Piece on the Insanity of US Food Policy
Happy Sunday! The sun is actually shining in Sweden right now (novelty!), so I will get ready for a run and leave you with two awesome links to look at over coffee or brunch. The first one is this Upworthy article that highlights the work of Marji Guyler-Alaniz, a photographer that decided to change the … Continue reading Sunday Sights: Of Farm(H)ers and Smart Sesame Street Characters
A lot? A little? Nothing at all? The World Food Programme (WFP) challenges you to test your hunger IQ and help feed a child in the process! For every submitted quiz, a child will receive a warm meal thanks to an anonymous donor. The WFP website also has a ton of additional resources, such as … Continue reading How Much Do You Really Know About Hunger? (+ Help The WFP Provide Relief in the Philippines!)
(click through for a larger pdf version) The FAO has just released a new infographic showcasing some of the facts and numbers its statistics unit, FAOSTAT, regularly collects. Some of the numbers that stand out to me: More than 840 million people worldwide are undernourished. Compare that with the fact that the average annual food … Continue reading The Current State of Agriculture (According to the FAO)
I’m assuming the answer is yes. Which might be why the cut in food stamp benefits in the US – between $11 per month for a one-headed household and $36 for a four-headed one – that came into effect on November 1st may not have been a big-ticket news item, and went unquestioned by policy-makers. … Continue reading Could You Live With $10 Less Grocery Money?
You guys. This is one of these speeches where I just want to yell “hear, hear!” after every single sentence – and it is all the more remarkable where Dr. M Jahi Chappell, the director of agroecology and agricultural policy for the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, made this speech: at the World Food … Continue reading "Science ≠ Production, and Production ≠ Food Security" – A Message to the World Food Prize
Since World Food Day happened recently, I was surprised to learn that the USA celebrate their own Food Day today! Maybe it’s similar to the difference between the Canadian and American Thanksgiving, or between European and North American daylight savings time? I guess globalization has its limits. 🙂 Still, why not celebrate twice? Happy Food Day! … Continue reading US Food Day – How Food Literate Are You?
Hey from Malmö! I am on a whirlwind trip around Southern Sweden and Denmark, so i might check in less frequently, but still wanted to share this NYTimes op-Ed by Mark Bittman on how to feed the world, in which he only requires three pages to roll up the entire debate about quantity vs. distribution … Continue reading How To Feed The World