Musings on sustainable food systems, agriculture vs. agroecology, and more!
“Let me be clear: The use of starvation as a weapon of war is a war crime. All sides — including the Syrian government, which has the primary responsibility to protect Syrians — are committing this and other atrocious acts prohibited under international humanitarian law.” This stark statement by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon on January … Continue reading The Forgotten War Crime: Starvation in Syria
I peek around the corner of the grocery store. Well, I guess ‘store’ is a misnomer – distribution point, maybe? I am shy at first because I am wary of being an obnoxious foreigner, treating Havana as an open-air museum full of entertaining quirks that actually make up Cubans’ reality. But the clerk waves me … Continue reading State-Sponsored Food Security: The Cuban Case. Does It Work?
I can’t forget the wistful stares. “How lucky you are to come and visit us! We’d like to travel as well and see the world.” Legally, there is no problem anymore since the exit visa requirement was abolished in 2013. Yet, economically it is impossible for the vast majority of Cuban citizens. Average public-sector … Continue reading Cuba: Lessons to be Learned for Sustainable Living?
I am back from Cuba and have a long list of posts in my mind, both from the conference I attended and from talking to Cubans on the street. Coming soon. However, these days I can’t stop thinking about a topic closer to home, at least mentally – the Greek/European tragedy unrolling over the last … Continue reading Greece: Food Insecurity At Europe's Doorstep
The cool thing about being in Brussels? Showing up at a lunch meeting across the street from your office and have the chief statistician of the FAO and the director of the WFP Brussels office explain how they arrived at estimating the state of food insecurity in the world. I will talk more about the … Continue reading World Food Day: The Numbers #WFD2014
Today, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food Olivier de Schutter delivered his last report to the Human Rights Council in Geneva. He held the post from 2008 until 2014, and has during that time published a number of important reports and observations on the necessity of switching over to a sustainable global … Continue reading SR on the Right to Food Delivers His Final Report to the Human Rights Council
Have you heard of agroecology? This is a holistic agricultural production system that is similar to organic methods, but yet not exactly the same. The Christensen Fund has made a great infographic that compares and contrasts the agroecological with the conventional system from sky to soil: As this handy policy brief explains, “based on a … Continue reading Agroecology: The Alternative of the Future?
On Wednesday, as anticipated, the House of Representatives passed the Farm Bill after a 2 year impasse with 251 to 166 votes. The Democratic leadership of the Senate has already endorsed it, making it likely that it will pass the Senate floor as well in the coming week and be on President Obama’s desk soon. … Continue reading The USA Have A Farm Bill! Halle … Well … Yeah.
Hey from Malmö! I am on a whirlwind trip around Southern Sweden and Denmark, so i might check in less frequently, but still wanted to share this NYTimes op-Ed by Mark Bittman on how to feed the world, in which he only requires three pages to roll up the entire debate about quantity vs. distribution … Continue reading How To Feed The World
This weekend, David Cameron hosted the G8 “Hunger Summit” in Northern Ireland, resulting in promises, pledges, praise – and a lot of backlash from African civil society, who this summit was supposed to help. What was the problem? [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-E3iPJZ6_g] (the IF campaign actually had a really good promotion video.) Prior to the summit, Cameron announced … Continue reading IF … Policymakers Would Listen to Civil Society?
