A balanced read from NPR on the organic/conventional/GMO debate.
Agricultural Subsidies
Here is Mark Bittman’s proposal for subsidies for the Farm Bill 2012. He advocates reallocating instead of abolishing subsidies, we could not agree more! Let’s move resources from corn and soy and boost vegetables and fruits. An increased supply in these areas will hopefully lead to a fall in their prices and more people getting their five-a-day!
Support the Florida Farmworkers
The citrus workers of Florida have been living and working in appalling conditions, as you may know. This week, events are being held in Boston and Tampa to support their struggle.
Read all about the issues, the events and how you can show your support here.
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GMO around the World
Cool map depicting data on where GM technology has been adopted….the Americas and Asia, yes but Europe, not so much. The comments that follow make for interesting reading as well.
http://www.economist.com/blogs/dailychart/2011/02/daily_chart_genetically_modified_crops&fsrc=nwl
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The Thing About Vegetables….
…..is that we have forgotten how to cook them! So says Francis Lam in this piece, and I have to agree. If I eat outside (not in an ethnic restaurant), my options with vegetables seem are usually limited to raw salads, boiled/steamed or at best a quick stir-fry. Even some vegetarian restaurants seem to be preoccupied with trying to make their diners comfortable with the no-meat situation rather than celebrating the vegetables themselves. And that is sad, because not only are vegetables (and black beans, kidney beans etc) good for us, they pack a real taste punch. So , lets make this year of the vegetables and also give the poor planet a break! For starters, I am going to try to grow some of my own vegetables this year. Planter+ soil+seed+water+sunlight how hard can it be, right? Will keep you posted on that! And once they ripen, break out the olive oil, dust off the spice jars and revel in a summer feast!!
Food Security and Global Security
We have noted earlier how the discussion on climate change does not focus enough on the impact on agriculture. Here is an interesting piece making the connection between climate change, its impact on food production (poor harvests leading to shortages) and the looming possibility of armed conflict breaking out over food.
Food Fight: Climate Change and the Coming International Food Crisis.
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Bloggers Against Hunger
Thought+Food is proud to join the World Food Programme’s Blogger’s Against Hunger platform. There will be more on the issue of hunger and ways to help in future posts. In the meantime, please click on the freerice banner to your right to play a fun game and help the fight against hunger!
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Join the Bluefin Brigade
Watching a species become extinct before our very eyes, largely due to our own actions, is a tragedy beyond words. The last bluefin tuna may be caught/die in 2012. Join the call to ban bluefin tuna fishing. More at www.howtosavethebluefin.com
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Food Price Rise Debate
Interesting debate on rising food prices at the New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2011/02/15/is-the-world-producing-enough-food
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How to Fix the Food System
Two recent articles in the Atlantic highlight the fractures in our food system: Barry Estabrook writes about discovering that, while Santa Barbara county in California ranks among the top 1 percent of American counties for agricultural production, 95 percent of the fruits and vegetables consumed in the county are imported from outside. Further, amidst all this bounty, 8 per cent of children and 53 per cent of adults are overweight. This is but one example of the many distortions in our food system. He concludes that we all need to make efforts to fix these flaws.
In another article, Josh Viertel shares his disappointment that President Obama is not adequately addressing the problems with the food system, “the fruit loops vs. real fruit” problem, as he frames it. He finds that in matters of reforming the farm system and maintaining good food standards the administration has not taken the lead. Like Estabrook, he concludes that if anything is to change, it is up to us, the people to change it.
We can think of the food system as having two big categories: the farming or food production part and the food consumption part. In both areas, big business interests dominate and governments are often slow to take radical steps to modify the existing structures. It would seem an obvious choice to reduce or abolish subsidies to corn and increase support to fruits and vegetables; or for government dietary guidelines to say that soda is bad for your health, but reality is more complex and cold realities often get in the way of ideal actions. So, yes, it is up to us to bring about a transformation instead of relying solely on the administration. Send a message through your choices: buy less processed foods and more fruits and vegetables, talk to you grocery store people about what you would like to see them sell, they are usually very attentive to consumers. And when a candidate comes to ask for your vote, ask them what they did for food system reform,follow their record, keep a track of how they vote on the Farm Bill 2012, for instance. Perhaps we cannot junk the existing system and put in place a perfect new one all at one go, but we can certainly do our bit to reform the one we have one step at a time.
Thought + Food 