Musings on sustainable food systems, agriculture vs. agroecology, and more!
Here is a mind-boggling Sunday statistic for you: India is estimated to have more undernourished people than all of Sub-Saharan Africa combined. I had to re-read that sentence three times before really grasping its consequences. I think especially in academia, we are now so used to think of India as an “emerging economy”, a “model … Continue reading India On the Verge to Legally Implement Right to Food
Coffee is a vital crop in Burundi. It accounts for 60-80% of the country’s export revenues, and 55% of the population is dependent on coffee growing for their livelihoods. Thus, a reform of the coffee sector could make a huge difference for this country’s development – it currently ranks as the third-poorest nation in the … Continue reading Coffee Reform in Burundi: Same Old, Same Old SAP?
One of the first writers that got me (as so many others, I presume) interested in food politics was Michael Pollan. His book “In Defense of Food” , along with “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” and “A Botany of Desire”, really flipped the switch in my mind on what kind of politics I wanted to specialize in. Well, today … Continue reading The Biography of a Cow
If you live in the US, you may have heard about the recent proliferation of regulations in around a dozen states that opponents call “ag-gag laws”. These laws make it illegal to covertly videotape livestock farms or to apply for jobs without disclosing ties to animal welfare organizations. Such undercover taping however is often crucial … Continue reading "Ag-Gag" Laws – What Stands Behind Them?
This TED-talk is a great follow-up to the debate on childhood obesity I wrote about a couple of days ago. It gives a compelling argument why children should be, as the presenter puts it, “none of the food marketers’ business.” [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=0bop3D7-dDM#!] I was particularly struck by how ubiquitous food advertisement to children in the US is, … Continue reading "Pester Power" and Oreo Cookie Counting Books
Whenever we think about food security, we think about grain crops, yields, and whatever ends up on your plate. However, as I already discussed in this post about efficient cooking stoves, we tend to forget that most food (specifically grains) has to be cooked before it can be consumed, so that cooking fuel becomes part … Continue reading Can A Bamboo Revolution Increase Food Security in Ethiopia?
Yesterday, I had the nicest surprise waiting for me in a comment: I found that Alen from Food: Digested had nominated me for the Liebster Blog Award! Thanks again, Alen, it’s such an honour to be recognized!
If you find 37 minutes time in the next couple of days, I can only recommend that you listen to one of the latest episodes of the Freakonomics podcast, called “100 Ways to Fight Obesity“. It is an episode built out of the recording of a brainstorming session that features some of the most well-known … Continue reading Unorthodox Solutions to Combat Childhood Obesity – the Freakonomics Brainstorm
One thing that I cherish about academia is the plurality of opinions and the richness of debate on any topic people care about. This is also translated into research, where facts are as quickly uncovered as they are disputed with alternative figures, making things even more complicated (as well as more interesting) with each and … Continue reading MORE Facts About Livestock – Let the Debate Begin!
After Japan was hit by an earthquake, a tsunami and a nuclear meltdown in 2011, it was clear that recovery would take a while. This was particularly true in the agricultural sector of the coastal regions affected by the catastrophe, where rubble- and sea water-soaked soils made planting nearly impossible. Overall, irrigation canals, roads and … Continue reading After the Tsunami – Which Way Forward for Japanese Agriculture?