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Showing posts with label malnutrition. Show all posts
Showing posts with label malnutrition. Show all posts

Video - Food By the Numbers: Feeding our Hungry Planet

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Showing Support for Family Farmers and Sustainable Agriculture

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Family farmers are extremely valuable yet they are under siege and need our support. World Food Day 2014 shines a spotlight on the world's 500 million family farmers. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) reports that based on data from 93 countries, family farmers account for an average of 80 percent of all holdings, and are the main producers of food that is consumed locally. Family farmers are also sustainable farmers. Sadly family farmers are disappearing at an alarming rate. Family farms that used to be an important source of rural jobs.

As explained in a foodtank article

"The world cannot do without the family farmer," says Amy McMillen, Partnerships and Outreach Coordinator for FAO. "It’s because of the family farmer that we eat a variety of healthy foods every day. And yet, family farmers still make up the majority of poor and hungry people in the world. We must do more to incentivize, celebrate and exponentially improve the lives of family farmers to ensure all people have access to fresh, healthy food."

While family farms are critical to food security and sustainable agriculture, they are having an increasingly hard time making ends meet. More need to be done to support them with tools and resources that address the cost of land, labor costs, government regulations and policies, climate change and the inherent risk of farming, as well as the disproportionate amount of work required given the financial returns.

As explained by Nabeeha M. Kazi, President & CEO of Humanitas Global and Chair of the Community for Zero Hunger, we must work to preserve family farmers.

"We do not want the universe of family farmers to shrink, and we must have policies, programs and resources to enable family farmers to stay on the farm if they desire to do so and perform at their potential," says Kazi.

We must help farmers to develop tools for designing sustainable agricultural systems based on the diversity and stability of local ecosystems. We all have a vested interest in supporting the family farmer. We simply cannot afford to lose family farmers if we are to address issues of food security and engage sustainable agricultural practices.

© 2014, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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Infographic - Biodiversity for Family Farming

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World Food Day 2014: Assessing US Agricultural Risks and Focusing on Family Farms

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October 16th is the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations’ designated World Food Day. This event was first celebrated thirty three years ago. The theme for 2014 is Family Farming: “Feeding the world, caring for the earth”, drawing global attention to the importance of smallholder farmers. Family farms are key to improving food security and better management of natural resources. As explained by the CGIAR Consortium, "Family farming plays a significant role in reducing poverty and hunger, by providing the household and communities with nutrition rich food and livelihoods."

The resource demands from agriculture are considerable and we will never be able to reign in climate change and transition to a green economy without addressing the issue of food.

The future of agriculture will be challenging. As explained in the Risky Business report, alarming losses are predicted for America's agricultural industry. These concerns represent a salient economic concern for the US and the world.

According to the report climate change may diminish agricultural yields by as much as 73 percent in some states. Some of the most productive agricultural lands will be ravaged by extreme heat, prolonged spring downpours, and widespread and extended drought.

The effect of climate change on agricultural productivity will have staggering economic impacts. One of the areas expected to suffer agriculture declines due to climate change is the Upper Midwest. This area contains more than 520,000 farms which produced nearly $136 billion worth of crops in 2012. More than half (65 percent) of nation's corn and soybeans come from this area.

If we fail to act places like Missouri and Illinois will see average yield losses up to 73 percent by the end of the century. The report also indicates that we can anticipate short-term average yield losses up to 15 percent in the next 5 to 25 years. The Midwest region faces yield declines of up to 19 percent by mid-century and 63 percent by the end of the century.

Family farms can readily adapt to changing weather conditions through agricultural practices such as crop switching and double or triple cropping. Other cropping practices that may help include no-till, cover crops, and riparian and wetland buffers.

We must begin building agricultural resilience to climate change by improving soil health, water quality and protective habitat.

Economic incentives from emerging environmental markets and the greening of the commodity supply chain also provide new opportunities for producers to earn revenue while conserving vulnerable natural resources.

© 2014, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

Related
Showing Support for Family Farmers and Sustainable Agriculture
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The Think Eat Save Student Challenge

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Sensitizing children to the ecological impacts of food waste is important and the Think.Eat.Save Student Challenge is a great example of an powerful educational project. Vast quantities of food are wasted each year and this phenomenon is sadly a part of many western cultures. To help reorient children to this issue, UNEP has launched a new campaign that calls schools and students to start a wasteless revolution.

The campaign challenges students and to find out how much food gets wasted in their schools. Then students are encouraged to organize a project and take action to reduce or eliminate food waste.

Each student is asked to think of the food items that they discard. Then they are asked to multiply these items by the number of students in their school, and the number of schools worldwide. Students are also asked to assess how much food is wasted in their cafeterias and then take action to reduce waste.

The goal is to reduce food waste by sensitizing children to the fact that when they throw away food they are wasting money and the earth’s precious resources.

Students are encouraged to raise awareness among classmates and teachers at their school as well as friends, and families outside of school. Social media also factors prominently in the initiative as students are encouraged to spread the word through their digital networks using the hashtag #ThinkEatSave!

In addition to doing something positive for the sustainability of our planet, winning schools will be awarded cash prizes to further support the initiative. Winners will also gain online exposure.

For more information click here.

© 2014, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

Make sure to see the article titled, "Comprehensive Green School Information and Resources." It contains links to over 200 articles covering everything you need to know about sustainable academics, student's eco-initiatives, green school buildings, and college rankings as well as a wide range of related information and resources.

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Event - Responsible Business Forum on Food and Agriculture 2014

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The Responsible Business Forum on Food and Agriculture, will take place on July 14th & 15th, 2014, at the Shangri-La Hotel in Makati, Manila. Feeding a global population of 9 billion by 2050 will require transformational changes to our farming and agricultural systems, already under pressure from climate change and water scarcity. This year’s Responsible Business Forum on Food and Agriculture is being held in partnership with WWF.

The forum will explore innovative and collaborative approaches to improving agricultural productivity and environmental sustainability across the following commodity value chains; corn, coffee and cocoa, fisheries and aquaculture, palm oil, , rice and sugar.

Global leaders will gather from business, government and NGOs to make recommendations for increasing agricultural productivity, whilst improving rural livelihoods and reducing environmental impacts. Agricultural commodities addressed will include – rice; poultry; fisheries & aquaculture; palm oil; coffee & cocoa and sugar. Working groups will produce recommendations on sustainable land use, equitable opportunity for small-holder farmers, increasing productivity and improving rural livelihoods.

For more information or to register click here.

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Read More»

Infographics: Population, Food, Agriculture, Water, GHGs and Solutions (World Resources Institute)

Infographics: Population, Food, Agriculture, Water, GHGs and Solutions (World Resources Institute)
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Video - Sustainable Meat: Trailer from the Documentary "American Meat"

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American Meat, is a feature documentary about a grass-roots revolution in sustainable farming. This film explains how America arrived at its current industrial system, and shows you the feedlots and confinement houses, not through hidden cameras but through the eyes of the farmers who live and work there. The story shifts to the burgeoning movement of farmers, chefs and everyday folks.

"The film makes a powerfully persuasive case for the benefits of small, grass-based organic farms and local sourcing…. it presents its arguments forcefully but without strident didacticism." – Fred Scheck, the Hollywood Reporter

© 2013, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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Event - Second Annual Bionutritional Summit

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The second annual bionutritional summit will be held on October 23, 2013 at Seelbach Hilton located near the GIE & EXPO in Louisville, Ky. The Summit will be hosted and sponsored by Holganix.

This year’s keynote speaker is Judith Guido, former sales, marketing and strategy executive of Service Master’s TruGreen Landcare. She will focus on how to leverage the green phenomenon and make a profit from it. Guido’s presentation is entitled, Leveraging the Green Phenomenon & Building a Profitable Green Company.

Highlights include, Understanding the size and opportunities with the green market, how to leverage the green opportunities within your market, creating differentiation and a competitive advantage with green and how to build and position an profitable green company.

Attendees will have time to select two out of the five options listed below. RSVP with Nicole Wise at Nwise@holganix.com.
  • The Science Behind Holganix by Holganix scientist and inventor Stephen T. Lange
  • Marketing with Bionutrition by marketing specialist Brian Bacigalupo from Real Green Systems and Holganix Head of Marketing Nicole Wise.
  • Bionutritional Tree and Shrub Program with tree specialist Elliot H. Schaffer.
  • Equipment 101 with Holganix VP and COO Dave Thompson, along with representatives from Gregson Clark and LT Rich.
  • User Panel comprised of several Bionutritional Summit users with discussions led by Holganix CEO Barrett
For more information or to register click here.

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In India Childhood Malnutrition is Compounded by Deadly Corruption

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The combination of malnutrition and corruption are proving to be deadly in India. A total of 22 children have died so far from eating a pesticide laced lunch at a Chapra primary school in the rural Indian state of Bihar. Doctors are fighting to save the lives of 25 others. On July 17, the day after the incident, heartbroken parents and their supporters protested the tragic loss of innocent lives outside the school and at a local police station.

The cook complained to the headmistress about the smell and the taste of the food, but she insisted that it be served nonetheless. In response the authorities had suspended a food inspector and are pursuing a criminal case against the school headmistress who fled the scene and is currently being sought. The state has ordered an inquiry and announced that parents of the dead children will receive financial compensation.

The Indian government's free school meals program provides meals for 100 million children. Parents in poorer families depend on these lunches to provide adequate levels of nutrition for their children. The World Bank, statistics indicate that India leads the world with 43 percent of Indian children being underweight. The Indian prime minister, Manmohan Singh, has described infant malnutrition levels in India as a "national shame".The government, led by the Congress party, is pushing for an expansion of the country's food subsidy program.

However, more funding may not solve the problem as the lunch program, like so many other segments of Indian society, is plagued by waste and corruption. School meals in India are provided by contractors who commonly source the cheapest ingredients and bribe local officials to turn a blind eye. Sadly this leads to numerous incidents of poisoning, although they rarely lead to death on this scale.

In a 2010 report Nirvikar Singh's report titled "The trillion-dollar question" in The Financial Express indicates that corruption in India is a major issue that adversely affects the nations economy. A 2005 study conducted by Transparency International in India found that more than 62 percent of Indians had firsthand experience of paying bribes or influence peddling to get jobs done in public offices successfully. In its 2008 study, Transparency International reports about 40 percent of Indians had firsthand experience of paying bribes or using a contact to get a job done in public office.

According to Debroy and Bhandari, 2011 report titled "Corruption in India," in the World Finance Review, the state of Bihar has experienced significant improvements in their anti-corruption efforts.

© 2013, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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Insects are a Sustainable Food Source

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As the impacts of climate change worsen, extreme weather including drought will make it harder to grow enough food to feed the world. In addition, rising population levels, particularly in urban centers, will put added pressure on already constrained food resources.

By 2030, over 9 billion people will need to be fed, along with the billions of animals raised annually for food and as pets. Meanwhile, land and water pollution from intensive livestock production and over-grazing are leading to forest degradation, thereby contributing to climate change.

A new book released today by the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) says insects like beetles, wasps and caterpillars are an important potential source of nutrition that can help address global food insecurity.

The book, Edible Insects: future prospects for food and feed security, stresses not just the nutritional value of insects, but also the benefits that insect farming could potentially have on the environment and on addressing the rapidly increasing demand for food worldwide.

There are numerous health benefits associated with insects as a food source. Insects are high in protein, fat and mineral contents. They can be eaten whole or ground into a powder or paste, and incorporated into other foods. Insects already supplement the diets of some 2 billion people and have always been part of human diets in Asia, Africa and Latin America. In cities such as Bangkok and Kinshasa, and there is high demand for insects from urban consumers.

Of the 1 million known insect species, 1900 are consumed by humans. Some of the most consumed insects include beetles, caterpillars, bees, wasps, ants, grasshoppers, locusts and crickets.

One of the offshoots of this initiative could be insect farming. Another benefit of insect farming is that their greenhouse gas profile is much lower than that of livestock. (eg pigs produce 10-100 times more greenhouse gases per kilogram than mealworms). Insects also feed on bio-waste, use significantly less water than livestock, and can be farmed more easily.

© 2013, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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Food Production and UN Millennium Development Goals

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Food crises are jeopardizing efforts to achieve the United Nations' millennium development goal of halving the proportion of people who suffer from hunger by 2015. According to an annual report on world hunger, food price volatility is likely to continue and perhaps even increase, making poor farmers, consumers and countries more vulnerable to poverty and food insecurity.

Population growth, increasing demand from rapidly growing economies and biofuels will place additional demands on the food system, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (Ifad) and the World Food Programme (WFP) said in their joint report.

"Even if the MDG were achieved by 2015, some 600 million people in developing countries would still be undernourished," said UN experts. "Having 600 million people suffering from hunger on a daily basis is never acceptable. The entire international community must act today and act forcefully to banish food insecurity from the planet."

The report emphasized that investment in agriculture, particularly small farmers, remains critical to sustainable, long-term food security. Investment is required in irrigation, improved land-management practices and better seeds developed through agricultural research.

NGOs point out that developed countries have yet to live up to their pledge to invest $22bn in agriculture development. The money was promised at L'Aquila, Italy in 2009, following food crises that triggered riots in 30 countries across three continents.

The report said predictable policies and openness to trade were more effective strategies for governments than export bans and other restrictive policies, which risk increasing volatility and high prices on international markets.

© 2011, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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Breaking the Cycle of Famine

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The famines in East Africa and elsewhere make food a critical issue in 2011. Small, import-dependent countries, particularly in Africa, are especially at risk, with many of them still facing severe problems following the world food and economic crises of 2006-2008. Much of East Africa is in crisis and the current famine is not its first. In some places this is the worst drought in 60 years. The result is that 13 million people at now risk and 1.8 million people have been displaced in Somalis alone.

Although aid agencies are doing what they can, we need to find better solutions than post hoc assistance. It cost less to avoid a crisis than it does to save lives after famine hits. Experts estimate that emergency relief in famines costs seven times as much as preventing the disaster to begin with.

As journalist Tina Rosenberg wrote in The New York Times earlier this year, "Out of fear, farmers do not try new methods that can bring them higher yields. They cannot take out loans to buy the drought-resistant seeds and tools to bring a bigger harvest, because they cannot be sure of repaying the loans. They need to know they will have money left over to feed their families and plant again should the harvest fail, so they invest less in farming. "

Recognizing this, several years ago Oxfam launched a program in Ethiopia to try to break this cycle, This insurance product is designed to be commercially viable (i.e., risk-based pricing) and to avoid subsidizing premiums as has been done in the past.

© 2011, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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Blog Action Day 2011: Food

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This year, Blog Action Day is on October 16, which coincides with World Food Day, so the 2011 theme is, quite naturally food. Since its inception in 2007, Blog Action Day themes have included water in 2010 and climate change in 2009. This year, in the short span of just two weeks approximately 1,500 bloggers from 80 countries registered to take part in Blog Action Day, 2011. Because of World Food Day, for Blog Action Day 2011, some bloggers are focusing on devastating famines, while others are addressing the abundance of food that is causing new health problems in the western world.

Blog Action Day is an annual event that unites the world’s bloggers in posting about the same issue on the same day. The aim is to raise awareness and trigger a global discussion around an important issue that impacts us all.

The thousands of bloggers addressing the same issue on the same day changes the conversation on the web and focuses audiences around the globe on that issue. Out of this discussion naturally flow ideas, advice, plans, and action.

On the first Blog Action Day in 2007, thousands of bloggers to wrote about the issue of Environment. Thousands of bloggers ran environmental experiments, detailed innovative ideas on creating sustainable practices, and focused on organizations and companies that promote green agendas.

In 2008, Blog Action Day covered the theme of poverty, and similarly focused the blogging community’s energies around discussing the wide breadth of the issue from many perspectives and identifying innovative and unexpected solutions.

In 2009, the conversation around climate change brought together voices around the globe to discuss an issue that threatens us all and mobilized tens of thousands of people to get more involved in the movement for a more sustainable future.

Last year, with the theme of Water, we saw 5,600 bloggers from 143 countries, reaching more than 40 million readers with discussions a broad range of water issues, from river conservation, to the ethics of bottled water, to the increasing privatisation of water access, to the water crisis in Africa, all eager to shed light on this often-overlooked topic.

© 2011, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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The F Word: Famine is the Real Obscenity

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Bono, George Clooney, Jessica Alba, Idris Elba and more unite behind ONE's new campaign to help focus the world's attention again on the famine and food crisis in the Horn of Africa. Click here to find out more.

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