Worldwide, food inflation is a worry.The rising prices have been attributed to failing harvests, rising population and increased demand for food, increased consumption/changing consumption patterns in emerging economic powers, the demand for ethanol etc. But a key factor that is not often mentioned is speculation in agricultural commodity prices which often cause severe fluctuations in the price of staple foods like corn, wheat, or soy, for the consumer. When we click a button to execute a trade and then look at the profits afterward, we may sometimes lose sight of the fact that food is not like any other commodity and trading in food is often the same as trading in hunger. It would seem obvious that there is a need to ban or at least limit trading in essential food commodities. Like other contentious issues such as subsidies, however, there is a lack of political will and consensus in making this happen. More on this here.
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Trading in Hunger
Posted in Food Policy, Food Security, Hunger, Price Rise, Uncategorized
Tagged food policy, food security, Hunger, Price Rise
Aeroponic Garden Lands in Chicago’s O’Hare Airport
An aeroponic garden located on the mezzanine level of Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, the second-busiest airport in the world, will provide a source of fresh locally grown produce to travelers
Posted in Uncategorized
Paying for a Healthy School Lunch
The first step in the journey towards improving school lunches was to ensure that nutritious meals are required to be served. The next question, of course, is, how do we pay for it? Fresh produce costs more, schools that are currently equipped only with freezers and steamers have to redesigned so actual cooking can take place.More or better qualified staff may be necessary as well.
Part of the costs of the current system are borne by the government, some of the students receive subsidized meals based on income levels and the rest pay an amount ranging from $ 1.50 to $ 2.75 depending on the location of the school. These prices will have to increase. School authorities fear that some families will then have to opt out of the lunch system which would worsen the situation.
Providing healthy lunches to children , it can be argued, is the parents’ responsibility. Most people would agree that where parents are struggling to make ends meet, the government should come to their aid. Even when times are bad as they are today, fulfilling the nutritional needs of children today to ensure a healthy future population is crucial. Therefore, attempts to control the deficit should not restrict funding to nutritional programs. Better to bear a deficit to ensure healthy children that to bear a deficit for wars that our children have to fight. Countries like France, Germany, Finland all provide healthy food in schools. How do they manage it? I will be posting about this shortly.
As for those who pay the current cost of lunch, here are some issues to think about: if the school provides a nutritionally adequate , freshly prepared meal to our children, might it not be worth paying a little more for that? I pack 2 lunches everyday and I try to cook from scratch. This takes time ,and money as well ,so I might give some thought to my total cost benefit here before I decide to opt out. And I would be the first to admit that on there are hectic mornings on which snack packs or other packaged foods provide a welcome solution to the lunch problem. So, if I knew that my child will get a wholesome lunch, prepared from fresh produce at the school, this might appear to be an alternative worth considering.
Posted in Uncategorized
Take the Slow Food Challenge on 9/17
Slow Food USA has come up with a fun approach to rethinking the way we eat. They are asking us to reclaim the “value meal”, the hallmark of fast food vendors by cooking and eating a meal that costs no more than $5 per person. You could cook for your own family, invite over friends and have a party or attend/organize bigger events. Ideas, recipes and other details available at Slow Food USA’s website. If you do take up the challenge, I would love to hear how it went!
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Food and Nutrition Jargon Buster
Food and nutrition jargon buster | AHN
Ever get confused with all the different terms floating out there? Chronic malnutrition/acute malnutrition/hunger/famine… This jargon buster is the answer to all your questions.
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Online Tool Gives Sustainable Farmers Competitive Advantage
MarketMaker is a free online tool designed to link agricultural supply chain players. The tool gives small and midsize producers access to geographic and demographic information that allows them to connect with buyers and find new markets for goods. Sustainable farmers have a “competitive advantage” on MarketMaker because buyers can single out growers based on specific agricultural practices.
via Online Tool Gives Sustainable Farmers Competitive Advantage.
Posted in Farm Technology, Green, Uncategorized
Food Advocacy
Food Advocacy: The Ultimate Guide to Getting Involved – The Atlantic.
Marion Nestle’s list of organizations working to reform our food system provides many alternatives to those wishing to join in this effort.
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The Economics of Climate Change
So, by now, we have all heard or read about climate change and what we need to do to combat it. Assuming that most of us do not doubt the process of climate change, there is the debate on how to take care of it and most important how to pay for this efforts. The “how to take care” part depends on our evaluation of what the impact of climate change is going to be. On this, there are several schools of thought ( surprise!!), there are climate change models and also economic models which analyse this question. We need to inform ourselves about this debate if we are to contribute meaningfully. If , like many of us, you have been otherwise occupied recently, fear not, here is a piece from Grist.com that will introduce you to all of this in an easy way.
Posted in Climate Change, Food Policy, Uncategorized
Tagged climate change, food policy
Smart Farms
Insights into the exciting possibilities of using technology in agriculture, for instance an app for monitoring environmental conditions or wireless automation products which help farmers in rural India manage irrigation systems. Absorbing read!
Thought + Food 