Oxfam America has published a briefing paper
http://www.oxfamamerica.org/files/Extreme-Weather-Extreme-Prices.pdf
modeling the impact of climate change on food prices.
It's already happening, of course. Drought in middle America this summer means higher corn and wheat prices, among other things. But that doesn't just mean that your loaf of bread or corn flakes will cost more. Most corn goes to feed lots or ethanol production or corn derivatives used in highly processed foods. So prices go up at McDonald's and the meat counter, at the pump, and on any foods containing high fructose corn syrup or corn starch or dextrose or any number of unpronounceables. And prices go up for countries which buy our surpluses.
The long form of the report is here, at the international Oxfam site.
http://www.oxfam.org/en/grow/reports
I haven't read these reports yet, just skimmed, but I'm planning on doing it soon, when I'm not gleaning, or contacting gleaners, or processing my own produce, or editing documents for our Sonoma County Community Garden Network, or wondering when I am going to find the time this weekend to seek some donations for the brand new Interfaith Sustainable Food Collaborative. I'm still committed to keeping up with the global issues, no matter how busy I get with the actions here. The context of every local food system is global.
Showing posts with label global food system. Show all posts
Showing posts with label global food system. Show all posts
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Friday, October 14, 2011
World Food Day is Sunday
and today I am all about food.
I attended our local Food Policy Committee meeting this morning, am working on a sermon and some handouts for Sunday, and about to head out to buy some local cheese for coffee hour and a swing by the community garden, bringing in more tomatoes.
In my preoccupation I may forget to post something in the next few days. Here's a video from the Institute on the Environment, Global Land Initiative, University of Minnesota, that provides a good snapshot of the world's food system.
I attended our local Food Policy Committee meeting this morning, am working on a sermon and some handouts for Sunday, and about to head out to buy some local cheese for coffee hour and a swing by the community garden, bringing in more tomatoes.
In my preoccupation I may forget to post something in the next few days. Here's a video from the Institute on the Environment, Global Land Initiative, University of Minnesota, that provides a good snapshot of the world's food system.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
The GM beat goes on
I just listened to an hour of yesterday's Science Friday on what GMO's can do for world hunger. As the intro said, Golden Rice isn't in any rice bowls yet. What advantages does "biotech" (is that a cleaner or sexier phrase than "genetically modified"?) have over conventional hybridization?
Well, I don't think they answered the question. I appreciated what the spokesperson for the Union of Concerned Scientists said at the beginning of the segment - the quick fix of GMing doesn't work so well for complex traits like drought resistance.
I did not appreciate the fact that every time this guy presented an alternative viewpoint to the Man from Monsanto, Ira Flatow told him to hurry up. The fact is that complex traits, and ecologically and culturally complex situations, require complex answers, not slick talking points.
Several times during the conversation GM cotton's introduction to and use in India was mentioned. I wonder how they could do this with no one - even the anthropolgy professor on the panel - mentioning the many suicides about farmers of GM cotton in India.
Well into the hour, a person preparing a talk on conservation raised a good question, and Glenn Stone, the anthro professor, made some good points, I think. He pointed out that the patenting of seeds makes it very difficult for independent scientists to do the research they would like, the experimental work necessary to test the environmental impact of GM seeds.
He also pointed out that the buying up of seed companies by agrochemical companies has caused seed prices to soar.
One of the things that fascinated me is that at Monsanto and in the institutes and foundations that are playing ball with them, the comparisons of GM crops (biocassava+, I think the new one which will be ready at the end of this decade was called) are to vitamin pills, rather than, as the Concerned Scientists rep pointed out, to agro-ecology. So doing gene transplants to get more iron and calcium and vitamin A or whatever into a staple root crop is better than "supplementation" - but is it better than developing diversified small scale agriculture? No foundation grants for that research.
The link to this podcast was broken, and I'm not sure how I finally did download it. Itunes might work better than the NPR site if you care to search for it and listen to it. If you do, try to stick with it - the next to last question from a listener in San Francisco is worth the price of admission - he brought it back to the context of global hunger. I wish the answers from the panel had been as good as the question.
Well, I don't think they answered the question. I appreciated what the spokesperson for the Union of Concerned Scientists said at the beginning of the segment - the quick fix of GMing doesn't work so well for complex traits like drought resistance.
I did not appreciate the fact that every time this guy presented an alternative viewpoint to the Man from Monsanto, Ira Flatow told him to hurry up. The fact is that complex traits, and ecologically and culturally complex situations, require complex answers, not slick talking points.
Several times during the conversation GM cotton's introduction to and use in India was mentioned. I wonder how they could do this with no one - even the anthropolgy professor on the panel - mentioning the many suicides about farmers of GM cotton in India.
Well into the hour, a person preparing a talk on conservation raised a good question, and Glenn Stone, the anthro professor, made some good points, I think. He pointed out that the patenting of seeds makes it very difficult for independent scientists to do the research they would like, the experimental work necessary to test the environmental impact of GM seeds.
He also pointed out that the buying up of seed companies by agrochemical companies has caused seed prices to soar.
One of the things that fascinated me is that at Monsanto and in the institutes and foundations that are playing ball with them, the comparisons of GM crops (biocassava+, I think the new one which will be ready at the end of this decade was called) are to vitamin pills, rather than, as the Concerned Scientists rep pointed out, to agro-ecology. So doing gene transplants to get more iron and calcium and vitamin A or whatever into a staple root crop is better than "supplementation" - but is it better than developing diversified small scale agriculture? No foundation grants for that research.
The link to this podcast was broken, and I'm not sure how I finally did download it. Itunes might work better than the NPR site if you care to search for it and listen to it. If you do, try to stick with it - the next to last question from a listener in San Francisco is worth the price of admission - he brought it back to the context of global hunger. I wish the answers from the panel had been as good as the question.
Monday, July 6, 2009
G8 shifts focus from food aid to farming (FT.com)
G8 shifts focus from food aid to farming
By Javier Blas in London
Published: July 6 2009 00:08
The G8 countries will this week announce a “food security initiative”, committing more than $12bn for agricultural development over the next three years, in a move that signals a further shift from food aid to long-term investments in farming in the developing world.
The US and Japan will provide the bulk of the funding, with $3bn-$4bn each, with the rest coming from Europe and Canada, according to United Nations officials and Group of Eight diplomats briefed on the “L’Aquila Food Security Initiative”. Officials said it would more than triple spending. ...
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/60720902-6992-11de-bc9f-00144feabdc0.html
%^)
By Javier Blas in London
Published: July 6 2009 00:08
The G8 countries will this week announce a “food security initiative”, committing more than $12bn for agricultural development over the next three years, in a move that signals a further shift from food aid to long-term investments in farming in the developing world.
The US and Japan will provide the bulk of the funding, with $3bn-$4bn each, with the rest coming from Europe and Canada, according to United Nations officials and Group of Eight diplomats briefed on the “L’Aquila Food Security Initiative”. Officials said it would more than triple spending. ...
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/60720902-6992-11de-bc9f-00144feabdc0.html
%^)
Taro Aso: The world must learn to live and farm sustainably (FT.com)
The world must learn to live and farm sustainably
By Taro Aso (Japan’s prime minister)
Published: July 5 2009 20:08
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d6e93cf6-6995-11de-bc9f-00144feabdc0.html?nclick_check=1
Food security will be the highlight of the discussion when the heads of 27 countries and 11 organisations meet on Friday at the Group of Eight summit in L’Aquila. I expect substantial progress to be made, particularly on aid to countries affected by the food crisis. I will also make a new proposal to promote responsible foreign investment in agriculture, in the face of so-called “land grabs” – the growing trend for large-scale investment in farmland across the developing world.
A year has passed since this phenomenon first gained attention, and new deals continue to hit the headlines. The United Nations special rapporteur called for a set of principles, and the African Union discussed the issue at its summit last week. What is needed now is for concerned parties to frame a co-ordinated global response.
Japan, as the world’s largest net food importer and a major donor in agricultural development, believes it has a role to play.
...
We believe non-binding principles would promote responsible investment and sustainable farmland management. They should include, among other things:
● International agricultural investments, particularly sovereign interventions, must be transparent and accountable. Investors should ensure that key stakeholders, including local communities, are properly informed. Agreements should be disclosed.
● Investors must respect the rights of local people affected by investments, in particular land rights. They should also ensure the benefits are shared with local communities in the form of employment, infrastructure, skills and technology transfer.
● Investment projects need to be integrated into recipient countries’ development strategies and environmental policies.
● Investors must take into account the food supply and demand situation in recipient countries. Foreign investment must not aggravate local food insecurity.
● Deals for land and products should adequately reflect market values. Trade arrangements must adhere to World Trade Organisation rules.
Japan will work with key partners to develop a global platform to agree on principles and compile good practices. We call on interested parties to meet in September. We need a grand coalition with a common vision, for our interests are all entwined.
%^)
By Taro Aso (Japan’s prime minister)
Published: July 5 2009 20:08
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d6e93cf6-6995-11de-bc9f-00144feabdc0.html?nclick_check=1
Food security will be the highlight of the discussion when the heads of 27 countries and 11 organisations meet on Friday at the Group of Eight summit in L’Aquila. I expect substantial progress to be made, particularly on aid to countries affected by the food crisis. I will also make a new proposal to promote responsible foreign investment in agriculture, in the face of so-called “land grabs” – the growing trend for large-scale investment in farmland across the developing world.
A year has passed since this phenomenon first gained attention, and new deals continue to hit the headlines. The United Nations special rapporteur called for a set of principles, and the African Union discussed the issue at its summit last week. What is needed now is for concerned parties to frame a co-ordinated global response.
Japan, as the world’s largest net food importer and a major donor in agricultural development, believes it has a role to play.
...
We believe non-binding principles would promote responsible investment and sustainable farmland management. They should include, among other things:
● International agricultural investments, particularly sovereign interventions, must be transparent and accountable. Investors should ensure that key stakeholders, including local communities, are properly informed. Agreements should be disclosed.
● Investors must respect the rights of local people affected by investments, in particular land rights. They should also ensure the benefits are shared with local communities in the form of employment, infrastructure, skills and technology transfer.
● Investment projects need to be integrated into recipient countries’ development strategies and environmental policies.
● Investors must take into account the food supply and demand situation in recipient countries. Foreign investment must not aggravate local food insecurity.
● Deals for land and products should adequately reflect market values. Trade arrangements must adhere to World Trade Organisation rules.
Japan will work with key partners to develop a global platform to agree on principles and compile good practices. We call on interested parties to meet in September. We need a grand coalition with a common vision, for our interests are all entwined.
%^)
Monday, April 20, 2009
food security, global stability ... this just in from Cison di Valmarino
Financial Times (ft.com) Monday April 20 2009
US urges food output boost to avert unrest
By Javier Blas in Cison di Valmarino, Italy
The US agriculture secretary has warned that unless countries take immediate steps to sharply boost agricultural productivity and food output and reduce hunger, the world risks fresh social instability. ...
"This is not just about food security, this is about national security, it is about environmental security," he said on the sidelines of the first meeting of the Group of Eight ministers of agriculture. ...
Last year's spike in food prices caused riots in about 30 countries, from Haiti to Bangladesh. Leading agricultural commodity exporters, including India and Argentina, imposed bans on overseas sales of food products. "I can figure out there are only three things that could happen if people do not have food: people could riot, that they have done; people migrate to places where there is food, which creates additional challenges; or people die," said Mr Vilsack.
This article can be found at:
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/4fe6b1fe-2d43-11de-8710-00144feabdc0,_i_email=y.html
US urges food output boost to avert unrest
By Javier Blas in Cison di Valmarino, Italy
The US agriculture secretary has warned that unless countries take immediate steps to sharply boost agricultural productivity and food output and reduce hunger, the world risks fresh social instability. ...
"This is not just about food security, this is about national security, it is about environmental security," he said on the sidelines of the first meeting of the Group of Eight ministers of agriculture. ...
Last year's spike in food prices caused riots in about 30 countries, from Haiti to Bangladesh. Leading agricultural commodity exporters, including India and Argentina, imposed bans on overseas sales of food products. "I can figure out there are only three things that could happen if people do not have food: people could riot, that they have done; people migrate to places where there is food, which creates additional challenges; or people die," said Mr Vilsack.
This article can be found at:
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/4fe6b1fe-2d43-11de-8710-00144feabdc0,_i_email=y.html
Sunday, December 28, 2008
If you only read one article about global food
this is a good place to start:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7795652.stm
I like Lang's (member of the newly formed UK Food Council) list of four things to address:
1) an oil-based food system in the face of declining oil supplies
2) water scarcity - we need to know the water cost of our food, and not import food from countries experiencing water shortages (undermining those countries food sovereignty further)
3) biodiversity - doing agriculture in a way that enhances it "how can food systems work with the planet and biodiversity, rather than raiding and pillaging it?"
4) getting real about urbanization
The article also notes that while global food prices have dropped a bit since earlier this year (see item 1 above - and consider the current unnaturally low price of oil) 40 million more people around the world have been pushed into hunger in 2008.
Here is Tim Lang in a sentence:
"The 21st Century is going to have to produce a new diet for people, more sustainably, and in a way that feeds more people more equitably using less land."
Are we up to it?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7795652.stm
I like Lang's (member of the newly formed UK Food Council) list of four things to address:
1) an oil-based food system in the face of declining oil supplies
2) water scarcity - we need to know the water cost of our food, and not import food from countries experiencing water shortages (undermining those countries food sovereignty further)
3) biodiversity - doing agriculture in a way that enhances it "how can food systems work with the planet and biodiversity, rather than raiding and pillaging it?"
4) getting real about urbanization
The article also notes that while global food prices have dropped a bit since earlier this year (see item 1 above - and consider the current unnaturally low price of oil) 40 million more people around the world have been pushed into hunger in 2008.
Here is Tim Lang in a sentence:
"The 21st Century is going to have to produce a new diet for people, more sustainably, and in a way that feeds more people more equitably using less land."
Are we up to it?
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
the global food scene - some updates
I've been doing some research for a story for Episcopal media on the global food crisis. Since I can't get a response from our Washington Office, and the sustainability staff person in the Anglican office at the UN does not answer emails or return calls, I've been going back to some of the secular places I've found helpful in the past.
I am still a fan of Food Aid or Food Sovreignty (see links to the right) as the best treatment of the underlying problems. There is an update on the Oakland Institute site now. Interestingly, they label the current crisis the food price crisis - putting an emphasis on the economic dimensions of the problem. They make the case that free trade has caused much of the current crisis - and yet the IMF and the US are proposing more of the same as a solution. Hmmm.
Check out the media links on the right of the Oakland Institute site
http://www.oaklandinstitute.org/
If you do podcasts (or just like listening on your computer when Comcast fails you and you can't get the ball game on the radio after dark which is my present condition) the KPFA interview with Anuradha Mittal of the OI is a pretty good summary. There's also a reminder to check out Kootenay Co-op Radio's Deconstructing Dinner podcasts.
I am still a fan of Food Aid or Food Sovreignty (see links to the right) as the best treatment of the underlying problems. There is an update on the Oakland Institute site now. Interestingly, they label the current crisis the food price crisis - putting an emphasis on the economic dimensions of the problem. They make the case that free trade has caused much of the current crisis - and yet the IMF and the US are proposing more of the same as a solution. Hmmm.
Check out the media links on the right of the Oakland Institute site
http://www.oaklandinstitute.org/
If you do podcasts (or just like listening on your computer when Comcast fails you and you can't get the ball game on the radio after dark which is my present condition) the KPFA interview with Anuradha Mittal of the OI is a pretty good summary. There's also a reminder to check out Kootenay Co-op Radio's Deconstructing Dinner podcasts.
Monday, April 28, 2008
More on global food issues
A recent article in the NY Times on the true cost of shipping food around the world - a topic on which I have probably spent enough energy here, at least for now - led me to the site for all the articles in the series on the looming global food crisis which they call "The Food Chain".
Here it is:
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/series/the_food_chain/index.html
Note that these articles are all in "business". We need some other perspectives!
Here it is:
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/series/the_food_chain/index.html
Note that these articles are all in "business". We need some other perspectives!
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Happy World Food Day
Yes, today is World Food Day, the anniversary of the founding of the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations.
I am celebrating by going to a meeting where grant apps will be reviewed. Our Sonoma County Food working group is looking for a piece of the pie, as it were, to conduct a survey of our food system and develop some base line indicators so we can track progress toward fresh, local food for all.
Studying the WFD web site, this photo caption caught my interest:
"What is adequate food? It means an amount and variety of food sufficient to meet all of one's nutritional needs for a healthy and active life. The right to food is more than the right to basic staples or to sufficient dietary energy."
Now, I resist the nutritionistas and the obesity police, but I would have to agree with them on this: many of our US children, most of them affluent by any global standard, are not having their right to adequate food honored as they subsist on chicken nuggets, Kraft dinner, artificially flavored and colored yogurt, cola and its cousins, with canned or frozen corn as a vegetable - as though they weren't getting enough corn in the other things.
The other thing that struck me as I read so many of the materials on the WFD site is this: food aid is a last or emergency resort. Adequate food requires that we address all the issues that impede people's ability to meet their dietary needs - land rights, environmental degradation, living wage, water resources. If a person is hungry it usually means that lots of other things have already gone wrong in their lives, most of them systemic issues. Hunger is the last symptom of a community that is not supporting the lives of its members.
I struggle with how we get churches to see that food aid for the hungry is the least we can do. Unless it is accompanied by other initiatives that work to develop or change policies that eradicate poverty, it's useless. Unless we look at the whole food system, we are only doing good for the next meal or the next day, not really doing anything to secure and sustain adequate food for all.
I'm posting the link to the Right to Adequate Food guidelines on the list to the right.
The excellent leaflet for World Food Day is available here.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
reading and picking
It's been weeks since I did as much writing here as I had hoped, but I have been reading and picking.
Things are slowing down in the garden - or I am. Still produce is everywhere. Yesterday at a meeting of the Sonoma County Food working group New College students brought a huge box of produce - which I resisted. But when I saw the eggplants, I brought some home to go with the squash and tomatoes I have.
I think that we are finally moving, having agreed yesterday to tackle a countywide food assessment. This is foundational - knowing where we are to identify how to move toward where we want to be - fresh, affordable food for all, that's good for people and our environment.
All of this for me against a backdrop of pondering food globally. I'm recording notes from Food Wars today, before returning it to the library, and taking at last look at Hungry Planet before it, too, goes back. Whenever I feel sorry for myself trying to can and bake at the same time in my galley kitchen I will remember the two page spread (pp. 54-55) "Kitchens".
If you are not familiar with Hungry Planet, it has photos of a families with their food for a week from a number of places around the world. Some, mostly in Africa, have no packaged foods, and perhaps not enough. Some, like Greenland, have curious mixtures of packaged, imported items and local foods. Others, like the family that shops at Raley's and Costco and the German and Japanese families have an astounding array of packaged items. If I had to eat anywhere else, based on these photos, it would be Guatemala, Italy or Turkey.
Things are slowing down in the garden - or I am. Still produce is everywhere. Yesterday at a meeting of the Sonoma County Food working group New College students brought a huge box of produce - which I resisted. But when I saw the eggplants, I brought some home to go with the squash and tomatoes I have.
I think that we are finally moving, having agreed yesterday to tackle a countywide food assessment. This is foundational - knowing where we are to identify how to move toward where we want to be - fresh, affordable food for all, that's good for people and our environment.
All of this for me against a backdrop of pondering food globally. I'm recording notes from Food Wars today, before returning it to the library, and taking at last look at Hungry Planet before it, too, goes back. Whenever I feel sorry for myself trying to can and bake at the same time in my galley kitchen I will remember the two page spread (pp. 54-55) "Kitchens".
If you are not familiar with Hungry Planet, it has photos of a families with their food for a week from a number of places around the world. Some, mostly in Africa, have no packaged foods, and perhaps not enough. Some, like Greenland, have curious mixtures of packaged, imported items and local foods. Others, like the family that shops at Raley's and Costco and the German and Japanese families have an astounding array of packaged items. If I had to eat anywhere else, based on these photos, it would be Guatemala, Italy or Turkey.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
god and mammon and a cup o' joe
An investigative report for The Sacramento Bee, by Tom Knudson, indicates that the individual consumer, however reassured by corporate marketing, must still be wary of claims of eco-friendly or worker-friendly production.
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/393917.html
Perhaps we'd be better off with Just Coffee
http://www.justcoffee.org/
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/393917.html
Perhaps we'd be better off with Just Coffee
http://www.justcoffee.org/
Saturday, September 22, 2007
greening the synagogue
Rabbi David J. Cooper on Yom Kippur encouraged his congregation to use the day to think about how to become better stewards of the earth.
Reported by Meredith May, Saturday, September 22, 2007
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/09/22/BAJESAA7O.DTL&feed=rss.bayarea
Kehilla Synagogue - High Holydays Services 2007/5768
"The Earth Upon Which You Stand is Holy Ground" (Exodus 3:5)
http://www.kehillasynagogue.org/hhd/hhd.html
Reported by Meredith May, Saturday, September 22, 2007
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/09/22/BAJESAA7O.DTL&feed=rss.bayarea
Kehilla Synagogue - High Holydays Services 2007/5768
"The Earth Upon Which You Stand is Holy Ground" (Exodus 3:5)
http://www.kehillasynagogue.org/hhd/hhd.html
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Interlibrary Loan
I'm speeding along reading a book I have for just two weeks, wondering why with all the foodies in this county my library didn't have a copy of it.
It's Food Wars: the Global Battle for Mouths, Minds and Markets by Tim Lang and Michael Heasman. (London: Earthscan, 2004) It is a global book, much less US centered than most of the other reading I have recommended. There are lots of charts and graphs and tables here, which I like a lot. But most significant is that this book does not mince words about the tensions between human health and nutrition values and ecological values. This is a tension I feel a lot when I meet with food system folks around here - I came close to a shouting match with a woman who felt it was more important for folks to have fresh produce, even if it does come from Mexico. I was arguing for sustainability values. It's not that I don't care about health - but that I see the values as nesting. Unless we look at planetary health, our solutions to individual health will be for one generation at most.
One of the tables toward the end of the book is "some tentative rules for food and ecological health (adults)". I love the last bullet
- Enjoy food in the short term, but think about its impact long term
It's Food Wars: the Global Battle for Mouths, Minds and Markets by Tim Lang and Michael Heasman. (London: Earthscan, 2004) It is a global book, much less US centered than most of the other reading I have recommended. There are lots of charts and graphs and tables here, which I like a lot. But most significant is that this book does not mince words about the tensions between human health and nutrition values and ecological values. This is a tension I feel a lot when I meet with food system folks around here - I came close to a shouting match with a woman who felt it was more important for folks to have fresh produce, even if it does come from Mexico. I was arguing for sustainability values. It's not that I don't care about health - but that I see the values as nesting. Unless we look at planetary health, our solutions to individual health will be for one generation at most.
One of the tables toward the end of the book is "some tentative rules for food and ecological health (adults)". I love the last bullet
- Enjoy food in the short term, but think about its impact long term
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