The voices heard most often in the food debate belong on the consumer side of the table: what foods are safe or nutritious or good for kids. We do not often hear the producers’ side of the story. Many people say they do not want to eat food grown with the help of biotechnology. Consider what this Portuguese farmer has to say and consider the question afresh.
Posted in Farm Technology, Food Policy, Food Safety, Food Security, Hunger, Living
Tagged Farming Technology, food decisions, food policy, food safety, food security, Green, Hunger, Living
What would dinner look like in the year 2035? That is the subject of “The Taste of Tomorrow: Dispatches from the Future of Food” By Josh Schonwald, reviewed in The Washington Post. The author identifies 3 main components of a meal in the future: salad (which he studies right in Salinas County, home of John Steinbeck and known as the “World’s Lettuce Bowl”), laboratory raised meat and farmed fish, all of which might come together with an ethnic flavor profile that is unfamiliar to us today. What was interesting to me from this review is that while he would prefer, like most of us, to be eating organic vegetables and humanely raised animals, he came to recognize that biotechnology will have a place at the table of the future and that is not a bad thing. Often we forget the need to balance what we would like to see on our plate with what the planet can bear, a consideration that needs to be made more often given the rising population and the impact of changing climate.
Posted in Climate Change, Farm Technology, Food Policy, Food Security, Green, Hunger
Tagged climate change, Farming Technology, food policy, food security, Hunger, nutrition
Today is World Water Day. It is a reminder of a growing crisis in our lives. With a growing population, access to clean drinking water is far from universal. Agriculture, which provides food, also takes up most of the freshwater that we draw from the environment each day. As the demand for food increases, more and more underground water is being pumped up to deal with the situation. But this also means that we have lower reserves to deal with droughts and that is a cause for concern as climate change becomes more pronounced. A hidden source of concern is also the virtual import of water. Industrial production of asparagus in Peru, for instance, is drying up wells and leaving small farmers with no access to water. Here is a great infographic on import and export of water through trade in commodities.
This is a crisis which we need to attend to without delay and promote the conservation of water as much as possible by choosing efficient methods of water use such as drip irrigation in production, by thoughtful use in our daily lives and also by eating in season so that undue stress is not places on water resources to grow produce to suit our unreasonable diets.
Posted in Climate Change, Farm Technology, Food Security, Green, Hunger, Living
Tagged climate change, Farming Technology, food policy, food security, Green, Hunger, Living
Seed vaults usually conjure up dark images of a post catastrophe future when the planet is devastated and the protected seeds need to be brought into use. But a recent story, showed a different side: an appreciation of the benefits that we can derive from heirloom varieties of seeds today itself. As we prepare to deal with the impact of climate change, these vaults may be sources of varieties that are better able to withstand drought or heavy rain. The emphasis during the last century was increased productivity as the pressure to feed a growing population was intense. At this moment, however, we need to nuance our choices in the presence of constraints. The yield has to increase but this effort needs to be respectful of the environment as well.
Posted in Climate Change, Farm Technology, Food Policy, Food Security, Green, Hunger
Tagged climate change, Farming Technology, food policy, food security, Green, Hunger
The last time I wrote about quinoa, I had yet to try it. All around me though, there was a buzz around this wonder food. Even then, it was unsettling to know that while there was a huge demand for quinoa abroad, back in Bolivia, the high prices for this crop was forcing consumers to move over to other options including novelties (to them) like soda and white bread. Now, there is a new twist to this story: climate change has lead to warmer temperatures in quinoa growing areas so now more land can be used for this purpose. This has sparked conflicts among farming communities eager to grow more quinoa and take advantage of the high prices they can get.
I did eventually bring home and cook quinoa and we all enjoyed it. But it also brought into focus the troubled future of food where there is increasing pressure on the food system to feed the growing population while climate change forces us to change the way we grow food.
Posted in Climate Change, Food Policy, Food Security, Green, Hunger, Living, Nutrition, Price Rise
Tagged climate change, food policy, food security, Green, Hunger, Living, nutrition, Price Rise
In the midst of all the bad food news: the obesity epidemic, use of hormones and toxic chemicals in the food industry, food deserts, to name a few; reports of flourishing urban gardens are always encouraging. But are they really a long term solution to the problems in our food system? It can be argued that their small size prevents them from spurring economic growth in the community in a meaningful way and they can do little to solve the problem of global hunger.
As in most issues related to the food world, it is essential not to take an extreme view. Urban gardens are an important step toward revitalizing devastated urban areas like Detroit or New Orleans and in small ways their scale can be ramped up to spread the benefits in the community but they are not a magic wand which we can wave and fix the food system.
In this piece the author argues that it would be more efficient to have a Wal-Mart instead as that would create more jobs and bring economic growth to the area. Before we knock the idea, check out a Wal-Mart store. In my neighborhood, the store stocks wild caught fish, organic produce, milk and eggs and has organic options to regular cereals, granola bars and other basics on the shelves, all at an affordable price.
We cannot all grow our own food and small farms cannot feed everyone. We have also learned our lessons from the consistent growth of huge industrialized farms and the subsequent breakdown of the food system. Can we try for a middle path where local, nutritious produce is available at prices consumers can actually afford?
Posted in Farm Technology, Food Policy, Food Safety, Food Security, Green, Hunger, Living, Nutrition, Urban Farming, Urban Garden
Tagged food decisions, food policy, food safety, food security, Green, Hunger, Living, nutrition, Urban Garden
It is the weekend and many of us are going to be grocery shopping for the week, so this might be a good time to reflect on this fact: an average American family throws out an estimated $130-$175 a month in food that is spoiled, or simply not required. This number reflects what we pay at the checkout but think also of the inputs, soil, nutrients, water, labor that went into producing that food, which were taken from the planet and simply destroyed. So, before we rush out to buy more stuff to stick in to the refrigerator, here is a checklist:
First, make a menu plan for the week. You do not have to plan all the details but get a basic idea, like, Tuesday dinner will be grilled chicken and vegetables and that can be worked into a packed lunch for the next day.
Second, inspect the fridge and pantry to see what ingredients might already be available there.
Third, now make a list of what you need to get.
Four, do not hit the grocery store without having a meal first.Research shows that we buy more stuff and more unhealthy stuff when we are hungry.
Hopefully, this will lead to less waste and more savings!
This is an amazing video! Martha Carlson is a farmer raising sugar maples, a teacher, scientist and now a climate activist. she explains that the rise in temperatures in the last three decades is matched by a parallel drop in sugar content of the sap, trees dying early and the possibility of maple sugars vanishing by 2100. We all know that correlation does not mean causation but the problem is evident, “on page 2” as she puts it, and it is time to find a solution.
Posted in Climate Change, Food Security, Green
Tagged climate change, food security, Green
Most Indians have always bought their fruits and vegetables at the stall at the corner of the road, or the nice store that would deliver even a bunch of cilantro or a bunch of carrots to your home if you were in a fix. The supply chain that brought this produce to the market was haphazard at best. Now, all that is set to change, with the Indian government deciding to allow foreign investment in the retail sector, upto 51% for multi-brand retailers like Walmart and Carrefour. There will be various conditions that they will have to satisfy, such as a minimum amount invested in 5 years, support for rural infrastructure and jobs etc. How all these plans work out remains to be seen but the retail scene for food will change drastically. The new policy is expected to dampen inflation, bring in more efficiency and productivity and reduce wastage. Matthew Yglesias pointed out that it will probably result in the top 1% getting extremely rich but so along as the families around the median and the extremely vulnerable are not squeezed, the policy should be a positive one. I am not so sure ,mostly for the food sector. All the people involved in growing, transporting and bringing this food to the family table ( and they number in the millions)will be affected as this policy is put in place. In time, they may benefit but the initial impact will be hard. At a time when there is mounting hunger , malnutrition and concerns about the impact of climate change on agricultural productivity ( specially in South Asia), this new policy will add another variable to an already volatile situation. Caution and a long term perspective should be the way to go in this regard.
Posted in Climate Change, Food Justice, Food Policy, Food Security, Price Rise
Tagged climate change, Food Justice, food policy, food security, Hunger, Price Rise
The Environmental Working Group has just published its report on farm subsidies in the US based on data from the year 2009. Before getting to the analysis itself, it is important to note that the report is based on 2009 numbers because the USDA demonstrates a troubling lack of transparency when it comes to giving out information. What emerges is a clear picture of a subsidy program gone astray. First off, the recipients of these payments are not required to even work on or won a farm. Indeed, the biggest beneficiaries of a program intended to help farmers are actually big agribusinesses, particularly in the south. How uneven is the distribution of this pie? The top 10% of the beneficiaries of this program received 55% of the total payments. Even this cursory reading will reinforce what we know already: small farms which are more vulnerable to the vagaries of prices and weather are not befitting from direct payments at all. This program is merely handing out cash to big players in crops like corn, wheat and soy. Remember that fruits and vegetables are not even covered by this program. So if we are looking to overhaul the food system, eliminate junk and encourage healthy eating, subsidy reform seems like a really good place to start. The EWG data presentation is detailed, fascinating and even available by state here.
Posted in Food Justice, Food Policy, Food Security, Nutrition, Price Rise
Tagged food policy, food security, nutrition, Price Rise
Thought + Food 