Musings on sustainable food systems, agriculture vs. agroecology, and more!
Whenever food policy analysts talk about meat consumption in the future and the environmental impact associated with it, the most fearful projections circle around China. While meat consumption is plateauing in many of the developed countries (though at unsustainably high levels), per capita consumption in emerging economies is rising, as it is associated with higher … Continue reading "In China, Every Year is the Year of the Pig"…
I hope you had a jolly Christmas season surrounded by your loved ones! As we segue into normal life again, I am lucky enough to have a continued break until the beginning of January, which makes for a lot of time to read, reflect, and practice Spanish 😉 I have a trifecta of interesting news tidbits … Continue reading From Soils to Plates
As I am sitting in a bare-walled apartment, my bags packed and my train ticket for the trip home tomorrow printed out, I have started to reflect back on my time here in Brussels, and I hope to share some of the thoughts and experiences I had soon. But until that time, I have found … Continue reading Global Pre-Christmas Roundup!
Last week, I turned down the possibility to attend a training on “How to Deal with Lobbyists” (so glamorous) to instead learn about the sustainable food policy agenda in Europe – and I have to say, I have no regrets! The LiveWell for Life conference was really well organized, had interesting panellists and great speakers, … Continue reading Recap: LiveWell for Low-Impact Food In Europe conference!
The last weeks before Christmas, which should be the time to slow down and reflect on the past year, tend to be ever more stressful and frenetic, filled with efforts to just get. everything. done. This is no different in Brussels and in my little corner of the internet. Here, at least, are some interesting insights … Continue reading Bits and Pieces
First of all, ugh, I wasn’t planning to disappear for so long! The longer I am working, the more appreciation I have for the more professional bloggers that do it next to their day job – what a tough call! However, I really miss this little space whenever I quiet down for a while, so … Continue reading What Money Can Buy…
Having gotten my vaccinations today, it dawned on me that it is a bare two months before I’ll be headed toward Central America and expected to work on a project related to climate change and agriculture – all in Spanish! Gulp! I mean, I have brushed up my grammar, but my vocabulary concerning fertilizer methods … Continue reading FAO – Teach Me Something!
When working in international politics, you realize that efforts to improve (or, I daresay, save) the world revolve around buzzwords. Clearcut visions and concepts are required to form alliances, formulate action plans and (most importantly!) pledge political and financial support. In agriculture, it seems we have passed ‘green’ (too reminiscent of the green revolution and its … Continue reading Organic Farming and Climate-Smart Agriculture – A Complicated Relationship
Hey hey, just popping in after two suuuper interesting conference days – of which I will soon share the contents! Until then, and because my eyes are getting all droopy after a long day, let me share the following with you: 1. A video about how (sustainable) mango is made: [vimeo http://vimeo.com/69144449 width=”660″ height=”386″] 2. … Continue reading Of Mangoes and Chocolate…
Hey hey hey! Long time no news, eh? Sorry for that. The last week was pretty intense, but now it’s Friday and I was at a lunch conference again, which means I have interesting thoughts to report 🙂 The talk was titled “Best practices in engaging with the agricultural private sector in ACP [African, Caribbean, and … Continue reading Guess What – The Private Sector Can Help Itself!