Musings on sustainable food systems, agriculture vs. agroecology, and more!
In a way it’s almost funny – all this time a lot of the food policy community’s attention is drawn to seed laws in the US, dissecting Supreme Court cases and hidden Congressional amendments, while at the same time the European Commission is drafting what seems to be at least equally harsh legislation with a … Continue reading What's Happening to EU Seed Diversity?!
I recently read this brief history of the use of nitrogen fertilizer, and it was so interesting to learn more about this crucial agricultural input! In my agricultural economics classes, we often use nitrogen as an input for our examples, so it was good to beef up my knowledge about it. Maybe you will discover … Continue reading 10 Things I Didn't Know About Nitrogen Fertilizer
After Japan was hit by an earthquake, a tsunami and a nuclear meltdown in 2011, it was clear that recovery would take a while. This was particularly true in the agricultural sector of the coastal regions affected by the catastrophe, where rubble- and sea water-soaked soils made planting nearly impossible. Overall, irrigation canals, roads and … Continue reading After the Tsunami – Which Way Forward for Japanese Agriculture?
Cuba is such a funny case: according to this article, agroecological farming principles are the norm, more than half of its farms use organic production methods, and it is a leader in urban agriculture – but yet, most of these developments are less the result of a coordinated policy shift than a survival mechanism that … Continue reading Cuba At The Crossroads
“The food crisis can only be conquered with even greater intensification.” “A new ‘Green Revolution’ to match that of South-East Asia is needed to improve yields further.” “Organic farming is a cute idea, but it will never replicate the yields of conventional agri-business.” Who hasn’t heard those arguments? And felt defeated by the challenge to … Continue reading Research Breakthrough: Less Inputs = More Yields?!
Remember when I posted about the upcoming European Parliament’s vote on its position on the Common Agricultural Policy reform 2014 – 2020? Well, the voting happened yesterday and the results are in – it seems like the Parliament walked a middle way between the proposals of its Agricultural Committee and environmentalists’ demands.
Last time I was talking about Labeling Fables I floated the idea of unveiling some of the most prominent labels so you know what you are buying in the grocery store. Well, here is installment #1: Starting with one of the most famous labels around: Fairtrade. Chances are, you know it stands for fair trade … Continue reading Labels Unveiled: Fairtrade
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjtIl5B1zXI] This is an interesting take on the interplay between food production and climate change. The video defines a ‘safe space’ defined by the boundaries on how much food we need, how much food we can produce at given levels of climate change, and how that increased food production will further affect climate change.
In a country where 60% of the population is involved in agriculture, and 70 – 80% of agricultural work is done by women, within the legal system women farmers are still almost invisible. Though 18% of family farms in India are headed by women, only 2% of land is owned by them. According to a study carried out by Oxfam India … Continue reading India's Women Farmers Claim Equal Rights
This is the title of a report that was just launched by the Center for Food Safety, a U.S. NGO that, in their own words, “challenges the use of harmful food production technologies and promotes organic and other forms of sustainable agriculture”. The report gives a great overview of the current state of property rights … Continue reading Seed Giants vs. US Farmers
