Global food and poverty issues on the table
Awareness on global food and poverty issues was raised last weekend as the World Food Day was observed on the 16th of October followed by the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty on the 17th. Both days were highly topical since eradicating poverty and improving food security were the first two goals listed in…
New report highlights link between forests, farms and food security
With the global population estimated to reach 9 billion by 2050, there has been much debate around the issues of nutrition and food security. Amid these concerns, a report published on May 6 by the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO), calls for greater consideration of the use of forests as a food source as…
New study produces biofuel and animal feed from the same crop
âFirst generationâ bioethanol is produced directly from food crops such as corn and sugarcane. Global production of bioethanol has been increasing in recent years due to policies in many countries that consider biofuel as a renewable alternative to fossil fuels. While it is widely recognised as means to improve future energy security, the rapid expansion…
âLand Belongs to the Future, Letâs Climate Proof Itâ â World Day to Combat Desertification 2014
June 17 has been designated by the United Nations as World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought (WDCD). The slogan of this year’s WDCD is ‘Land Belongs to the Future, Letâs Climate Proof Itâ, which aims to âhighlight the benefits of mainstreaming sustainable land management policies and practices into our collective response to climate changeâ. The…
Reducing hunger and undernutrition – how are we doing?
Hunger and undernutrition are amongst the most persistent global development challenges. Part of Millennium Development Goal 1 is to âHalve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people who suffer from hungerâ (UN, 2012). With global numbers of undernourished people static at 870 million for the past 5 years and undernutrition contributing to the deaths…
Recent developments in the world of biofuels
Opinions on the use of crops for biofuel and bioenergy continue to be polarized â are they a âgood thingâ or not? When are they a âgood thingâ? Who benefits? How do you measure the impacts and their interactions at a local, national and international level on food security, land resources, water, greenhouse gas emissions,…
Global research efforts tackle food security.
On January 28, Dave Simpson wrote on Hand picked (âRedesigning the global food systemâ) about the recent release of the Foresight report, The Future of Food and Farming, which argues for fundamental change to the global food system if a rapidly expanding global population is to be fed over the next 40 years. On 10…
Epigenetics: epi what?
Pity the poor editor on BBCâs news programme âBreakfastâ (11 jan 2011) subtitling, as Professor Robert Winston and others discussed the possibility of gender selection to "complete your family in the way you desire" i.e. to finally achieve that longed for girl or boy. Throughout the discussion the text editor had kept up admirably, coping…
Focusing food security efforts where they are needed
The current World Summit on Food Security , as noted in an earlier blog, is a major effort to focus agriculture to lower risks of starvation and economic insecurity. But how can researchers and planners work out what is needed where? John Dixon of ACIAR and his co-authors describe a major Food and Agriculture Organization â…
Climate change â the influence on food security
âWhen it rains, it does not rain on one roof onlyâ This is a saying from the home village in western Kenya of my friend and colleague Dennis Rangi, CABIâs Executive Director for International Development. He said this in his introduction to the CABI Summit in London which I though was particularly apt as I…