Musings on sustainable food systems, agriculture vs. agroecology, and more!
Uppsala is setting itself up to be amazing in terms of opportunities to discuss issues of relevance to me both inside and outside of the classroom. I am currently auditing a class called “Environmental and Social Responsibility Marketing”, and the teacher is doing a fantastic job in alerting us to opportunities of events that could … Continue reading Recap: Panel Discussion on "Ethics in Food Consumption"
This question is discussed over at Civil Eats, where Michael R. Dimock advocates for a framing of the ‘good food movement’ that allies itself strongly with public health advocates and puts public health in center stage. His argument? Part of what makes us human is our ability to think ahead to avoid or reduce … Continue reading Can Public Health Be the Unifying Frame for the Food Movement?
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
I’m back! Sorry for the unexpectedly long hiatus – I needed some real unplugged time off after exams, moving, class, exams, and moving again. But now I am here in Sweden for my second year of the Master’s program and so excited to have continuous access to internet again (and of course to study here … Continue reading A Certain Feeling in Your Guts…
Noah’s latest post from Global Food Politics (a fantastic blog, by the way, go check it out!) resonated so strongly with me that I wanted to share the story of Mexican fishermen in the Sea of Cortez here as well. The Sea of Cortez (or Gulf of California) has been, as many once-upon-a-time rich fishing grounds, overfished … Continue reading What Happens After The Fish Are Gone?
Mark Bittman wrote a really interesting column in the New York Times yesterday about labor protests in the fast food industry. Apparently, recently workers have started organizing themselves in earnest to protest the pitiful wages and social benefits paid to them.
“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?
I just discovered a new website called, short and simple, Resilience.org, which has really great and well-researched stories as well as resources and groups that help build community resilience. Over the weekend, I read a story called “The Impact of Transnational ‘Big Food’ Companies on The South: A View From Brazil“. Following up on the … Continue reading Can "Big Food" Replace Tradition? A Brazilian Testimonial
Remember the failure of the Farm Bill in the U.S. House of Representatives? And the uncertainty of the way forward? Two weeks ago, I wrote: “Fiscal conservatives are suggesting to split the bill in two, thereby divorcing the historically-married issues of farm support and food stamp programs. However, the combination of these two in one bill has … Continue reading The Food Bill Divorce