Musings on sustainable food systems, agriculture vs. agroecology, and more!
The other day, I was contacted by USC Canada to explore their new knowledge tool called Seedmap.org (developed in collaboration with the ETC Group), and I have to say – I am really impressed. If you want to know more about biodiversity, the importance of seeds, and sustainable agriculture in general, look no further – you … Continue reading Seed Map – An Unfathomable Collection of Knowledge
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
Well, after another couple of hours of editing (why does the final version always take so long to get consistent? And why did we nearly forget to include our most important source in the bibliography? Questions…) I finally sent off our Cost Benefit Analysis project to our teacher and thought that since my friend and … Continue reading Drilling in the Rainforest – Is it Worth It? Our Yasuni CBA
(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)
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
I was going to write this up as well, but saw Noah already did a superb job on it – so, apparently climate change WILL affect food supplies in big ways until 2050. Lots of work cut out for us in the food policy business!
Ok, first watch this video: What’s your first reaction? “Wow, that’s quite a good investment. Just increasing fruit and veg consumption would save $11 trillion? Let’s fund fruit and vegetable growers!” Want to know my first reaction? “How the hell did they come up with those numbers?!” See, I’m all about eating healthier and supporting … Continue reading An Apple A Day Is Worth $11 Trillion? An Economist's Concern about the Union of Concerned Scientists' Math
What does a day in your life look like? Getting up, brushing your teeth, breakfast, off to work, maybe go to the gym on your way home to justify the indulgences at the dinner party this weekend? What do you worry about? I’m sure about important things, but let me hazard a guess that it … Continue reading A Life In the Day of a Ugandan Woman Farmer
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?
Today the recipients of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences were announced – three American professors that did important work on predicting stock and bond market prices. While that all sounds fascinating (I’m only partially being ironic here), it drew my attention to a question – what is the importance of agricultural and environmental … Continue reading On (Alternative) Nobel Prizes