Emerging contaminants – a growing concern?
[Image credit: minthu] Over the last 200 years, the global population has been growing at an exponential rate and according to the UN, is predicted to reach 8.5 billion by 2030. The population increase to date, has been supported by the development of agricultural, industrial and health care resources, which has led to the rise…
CABI board member pens Economist blog on US$80bn agricultural investment shortfall
CABI board member Dr Prem Warrior says we must plug a US$80bn global shortfall in agricultural innovation if the world is to be ‘smart’ to the demands of feeding 10 billion people by 2050 and meet the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Dr Warrior writes in The Economist Intelligence Unit blog that the challenge is not…
Global health security, collaborating to stop epidemics
Global health security is defined as stopping the spread of infectious diseases and drug resistance across borders. Its a concept being put into action by the Global Health Security Agenda, a commitment by over 50 member countries, NGOs and international donors to assess and improve health systems to stop outbreaks, as happened with Ebola in West Africa, turning into epidemics. We review progress on malaria and on neglected tropical diseases as detailed in the 2017 annual report of UK’s All-Party Parliamentary Group for Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases, entitled "Global Britain in the Fight against Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases".
Dr Rob Reeder goes ‘bananas’ about pests and diseases on the Urban Farm Podcast
Plant pathologist Dr Rob Reeder has this week spoken to Greg Peterson of the US-based Urban Farm Podcast about how the global supply of bananas (particularly the Cavendish variety) could be put at risk from a three-pronged attack of pests and diseases. In the podcast, Dr Reeder reveals the reasons why the fungus known as…
How Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) Enter the Food Chain in non-GMO Producing Countries
How Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) Enter the Food Chain in non-GMO Producing Countries - by Tatjana Brankov A superficial review of the legislation on transgenic foods and feeds indicates that consumers in non-GMO producing countries consume GMO-free food. However, less attention is paid to the fact that GMOs can enter the food chain through the import of transgenic foodstuff and feedstuff or by contamination. In some countries, transgenic food production is fully equal to conventional production. The concept of substantial equivalence, developed by the OECD and further elaborated by FAO/WHO “embodies the concept that if a new food or food component is found to be substantially equivalent to an existing food or food component, it can be treated in the same manner with respect to safety, i.e. the food or food component can be concluded to be as safe as the conventional food or food component” (FAO/WHO 1996). Such a…
Building capacity for greater food security in Pakistan
As part of CABI’s mission to help farmers grow more and lose less, we have been funded by USAID – via the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) – to help Pakistan improve its sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) systems and therefore open up its fruit and vegetables to more high-end global markets that were previously untapped. Currently these products only contribute 13% of the country’s export but improvements to its SPS capabilities could see this number rise significantly.
Around the world in 80 spices
From the dawn of civilization spices were sought after eagerly. The seafarers of the ancient lands braved the raging waves and winds to go to distant lands in search of spices and aromatics. The discovery of the fairyland of spices and Spice Islands was one of the major aims of most circumnavigations that the age of Renaissance had witnessed. Such navigational expeditions and discoveries had opened up the flora and fauna of many countries to the rest of the world; the most notable among them was the ‘Columbian exchange’ following the discovery of American continent by Columbus and Amerigo Vespucci. Columbus went in search of India and black pepper but discovered America and red pepper. The exchanges that followed the discovery of new lands changed radically the cuisines of the world and medicines too, “reshaping every one’s food basket and medicine chest significantly.”
Invasive Alien Plants
It was back in the early 1990s, on my first field trip to Assam in North-east India, with invasion ecologist Dr. Sean T. Murphy, when I first encountered mikania growing as an invasive weed. Until then, I had only seen this vine in its Central and South American native range, where locating a population of the plant could sometimes take all day.
The Baby Boomer Travel Market is Booming!
The populations of most developed, and some developing societies are growing older. This is because birth rates have decreased and life expectancies are increasing due to medical advances and better health care, as well as greater public health education with regard to diet, exercise and improved safety awareness. As a result, population projections have estimated that there will be a huge increase in the numbers of older people who are living longer; and it has been estimated that by 2050, 2 billion people will be aged 60 and older, accounting for 22% (or 1:5) of the world population.
CABI board member Paulus Vershuren explains how CABI is delivering on SDG17: Partnerships for the Goals
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjrI0hkWTZ4?feature=oembed] The world we live in today faces complex and interconnected challenges that individual organisations alone cannot easily resolve. When the scale of the challenge is global, organisations must find ways of strengthening their partnerships and coming together to find the best and most sustainable solutions. This is why partnerships are at the…