Musings on sustainable food systems, agriculture vs. agroecology, and more!
Would you have guessed that Iceland grows bananas? I certainly wouldn’t have, but as I was told by a knowledgeable Icelander on my plane ride back, the geothermal heat allows greenhouses to grow almost anything on the island – including the golden plant. The massive geothermal field at Hveragerði was used in the early 2000s in … Continue reading Iceland – A Banana Republic?
In my agricultural history class, we talked about the vast differences in farming between regions, which is also reflected in the average farm size in different areas. This motivated me to go into more detail about where farm holdings are the smallest or largest, and to do some research on reasons behind it. This is … Continue reading Fun Facts About Farm Size
Wowowow I saw and bookmarked so many articles recently that I wanted to write about in more detail – but first, many of these articles already perfectly describe the issue, and I trust in your ability to read them too, if you want, and second I fear they will be out of date by the … Continue reading April Reads and Thoughts
Can we say, three cheers for learning new things? In recent weeks I’ve felt a little in a rut, writing my thesis and having limited classroom interactions, but I started a new course today on “20th Century Agricultural Economy and Politics” and it’s looking to be oh-so-interesting. One of our textbooks is called “Agriculture in … Continue reading Agriculture – The "Worst Mistake" in Human History?
Do you sometimes feel you are getting overwhelmed by news and don’t know where to start? But going back to old-fashioned print newspapers is not an option because you spend most of your waking hours in front of the computer (hi! join the club!) and, anyhow, you like topic-specific content, but not allllll of the … Continue reading On The Radar: The FAO's Food & Agriculture Spotlight
I know we have talked about this before, but I found this infographic made by Yes! Magazine a great means to dig down into what differences exist between food safety laws on both sides of the Atlantic. Especially since many of these laws could be on the table during international trade negotiations soon. Americans, Europeans, join … Continue reading Food Safety Law Face-Off
Think of “food” and “North Korea” and chances are you will be reminded of the near-yearly news items speaking of hunger, starvation, and malnutrition in the country. However, times might be changing, at least if you believe Andrei Lankov, professor of Korean Studies at Seoul University. In this Al Jazeera piece, he argues that the … Continue reading 10 Facts About Food (Shortages) in North Korea
A new study conducted by the CGIAR in collaboration with a whole number of universities (its title is “Increasing homogeneity in global food supplies and the implications for food security” and was published in the PNAS journal) sheds some light on the realities of whether our diets are converging as much as we think they … Continue reading New Evidence on Erosion of Crop Variety in Food Supply – What Consequences?
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
Every year, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) presents a report on what happened in the previous 12 months in the global food policy arena. Of course, it is nearly impossible to shed light on every development, but the full report, spanning more than 120 pages, does a great job at attempting it! You … Continue reading IFPRI 2013 Global Food Policy Report – What You Need to Know
