Musings on sustainable food systems, agriculture vs. agroecology, and more!
I have to confess that I have been wary of the term “efficiency” in agriculture, since in my mind it is inexorably linked to consolidation, economies of scale leading to factory farming and mono-cultures, and cost-cutting measures that might ignore social and environmental externalities. However, my seminar yesterday made me rethink and re-evaluate – to … Continue reading Does Efficiency Equal Sustainability?
I’m just back from the most inspiring event and am desperate to recap before I forget anything important. I uploaded enough TED talks here that you should be familiar with the format, but for those of you who don’t know, TED conferences are dedicated to “ideas worth spreading” surrounding a particular topic. TEDx events are … Continue reading Recap: TEDxUppsala University (Theme: Resilience)
For some reason the comparison really made apparent to me the immensity of the broiler industry – helped, undoubtedly, by the fact that chickens have much shorter growing cycles than other animals. Still, as this number will only get bigger if demand for meat increases in transition countries such as India and China, should … Continue reading Wait, How Many Chickens?
via The Organic Center (http://www.organic-center.org/), which sounds like a pretty useful resource on organic facts and science in general.
I have not one, but two great links for you today to help you in your consumption decisions. The first one refers to the latest research on fish stocks and gives a (very pretty!) overview of which fish is okay to eat and which stocks we should let recuperate. Click through to get to the … Continue reading New Fish and Meat Guides Help to Choose Responsibly
After it was mentioned in one of my classes, I started wondering… what exactly happened to the much-heralded tax on goods high in saturated fats that Denmark installed at the beginning of 2012? This law was the first time that this relatively drastic step to curb obesity and try to steer healthier eating habits was … Continue reading The Life and Death of the Danish Fat Tax
Last night, this quote popped up on my Facebook feed and got me thinking – first of all, is it valid? There was a vivid discussion in the comments about whether lone action can actually make a difference if the system in which those actions are embedded remains the same. Currently, I am doing research … Continue reading The Most Radical Protest
It seems that my educational experience this summer will never end. Three more exams to go before I move to summer school and get to do more work – yeeha! Thank goodness I am studying a topic that interests me; otherwise, this would be even more of a grueling experience. But for those of you … Continue reading More Edible Education
“The land is there,” he said. “All you need is your hands.” This is how one Greek citizen explained the importance of agriculture in times of crisis. After a year of unemployment, he decided to stop waiting for the government to fix the situation, get his own hands dirty and start following an agronomy course … Continue reading Back to the Roots for Greece?
[ted id=1538] Incredible Edible is an amazing idea that transformed an entire British town. In Todmorden, upon the initiative of two energetic women, the community is coming together and connecting with each other, their food and their environment. In the process, they are teaching each other and the next generation about growing vegetables and herbs, … Continue reading Incredible Edible – An Incredible Story