Musings on sustainable food systems, agriculture vs. agroecology, and more!
Again, please bear with me while I only post short links to other interesting sources – exam season is upon us! If you need something to listen to while cooking a leisurely Friday dinner to start this weekend in a relaxed fashion, consider this episode of Greenhorn Radio, where a young farmer interviews Joel Salatin … Continue reading Joel Salatin on the "Regeneration Generation" and Young Farmers
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=6qVKsf0ETdA] The Generation Food Project sounds like a really awesome documentary idea that will highlight grassroots initiatives that are fixing the food system where it matters. They describe their mission as follows: Together, we want to show how ordinary women and men the world over are setting the table for themselves, their communities, and generations to … Continue reading Explore, Follow, Support: The Generation Food Project
With the controversy around the Food Prize, and Food Security Conference after Food Security Conference being sponsored by large seed and food corporations, it is interesting to consider how the market power of some large enterprises can influence the academic debate and shape public policy discourse. Dr Margaret Chan, the Director-General of the World Health … Continue reading Of Market Power, Models and Policy Analysis
I first stumbled over Ensia when it was literally just being established, bookmarked it, and inevitably forgot about it for a couple of months. As I was doing some housekeeping in my overflowing “Blog”-related bookmark category, I decided to check it out again and was delighted by the set-up and the high-quality content. The site is … Continue reading Ensia – A New E-Magazine for Pleasurable Perusing
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=6gUnXpBMfyI] We live in a world with a wealth of information at our fingertips, and more and more frequently even extraordinary ways in which this information can be presented. Case in point is this video: it showcases data gathered by satellites on the “greenness” of our planet from 2012 to 2013. Check it out and … Continue reading Our Green Planet
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yocja_N5s1I&list=PLBDA2E52FB1EF80C9] We are so consumed with our current system and possible improvements that we tend to forget that humans were not always agriculturalists. Why did they turn away from foraging and herding and start to grow crops? This hilarious video might not give all the answers, but definitely asks the right questions and is extremely … Continue reading Why Did Agriculture Even Start?
I am a huge learning addict. Case in point – this blog, which gives me a good reason to go and do hours (sometimes) of research on things such as flood prevention or in vitro meat. Another favorite tool of mine to add to my knowledge and understanding of the world around me are MOOCs. … Continue reading Summer Learnin': Sustainability of Food Systems
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=CLWRclarri0#!] Have you ever wondered how cities today, and in the past, are provided with the immense amounts of food they need to feed their inhabitants? Carolyn Steel gives a fascinating overview on the interrelations of food and urbanity and the possibility of creating a proper ‘sitopia‘, a food place. I particularly like the last … Continue reading The History of How Food Shaped Cities
Yesterday, I participated in a townhall-style event called “KlimaEssen” here at my university in Bonn (which can be loosely translated as ClimateEats) in which we discussed various ways in which we can all eat in a more sustainable fashion. One great aspect of the event was that it was in part organized by the university’s … Continue reading What's for Lunch? Sustainable Dining Hall Practices
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=6UGYcHSB6q4] Whenever I used to hear about ‘urban farming’, I was a little skeptical, and didn’t know whether to place it in the camp of ‘awesome ideas of tomorrow’ or ‘trend fad of today that won’t last through the next summer’. Why not, I thought, concentrate on fixing the big issues (such as land degradation … Continue reading Rethinking Urbanization