Considering the violent political unrest in various parts of the world, many accept the claim that the 21st century will go down in history as a period of global reorder, perpetual insecurity and bloodshed. If the grim headlines of the first decade could be taken as forecasts of the storms ahead, many nation-states are […]
Last December, Hawaii’s Big Island passed a bill prohibiting biotech companies from operating on the island and restricting farmers from growing new genetically modified crops. The island does not currently have any operating biotech companies, but approximately three-quarters of the 30 million pounds of papayas harvested there are genetically modified according to The New York Times. […]
With the passing of another year comes the need to look ahead at the issues that will increasingly define the world we live in. Every year since 1945 the international community marks World Food Day, serving as a reminder of the importance of food security in a world where 1 in 8 go hungry. With […]
India is anticipating a massive wave of refugee migration from neighboring Bangladesh. This feared population swell – India already has 1.2 billion people of its own – would come not from anticipated political corruption, but from climate change. India projects that rising sea levels will yield an unprecedented number of Bangladeshi “climate refugees” seeking basic […]
The U.N. Environmental Programme (UNEP) recently highlighted some appalling figures pertaining to issues of food waste in a somewhat unexpected and innovative manner. The UNEP’s 2013 theme for World Environment Day on June 5, “Think.East.Save,” reports the U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization’s (FAO) data concluding 1.3 billion tons of food, or the equivalent of all […]
Last month, Oxfam International released a new policy paper (Our Land, Our Lives) that looked at large-scale farm land acquisitions in the developing world, along with the role of the World Bank in facilitating some of the transactions as an investor and/or advisor to national governments. According to Oxfam, Africa has borne the brunt of […]
Do women leaders matter for women? Not at the national level suggests Nicholas Kristof in a recent New York Times article focused on a specific woman leader he doesn’t care for very much. According to him, she’s bad for everyone in her country, but especially for the women. Kristof points out that, “metrics like girls’ education […]
This week, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) published a new tool to address the growing health risks associated with climate change. The “Atlas of Human Health and Climate” explores the exacerbation of “diseases of poverty” (including those related to food and water insecurity), emergency medical situations related to extreme […]
Child marriages spike among Syrian refugees The young teenage daughters of Syrian refugees in Jordan are increasingly being married to older Syrian men — against the laws of both countries — as a form of financial and other security against a backdrop of conflict and instability. “We’re concerned about early marriages — using that as […]
While this blog often posts about many of the current issues in food security, there are also opportunities to present ideas about the future of food. The Atlantic’s “The Future of X” channel recently looked at “The Future of Food” through an interview with Nicola Twilley, writer of the Edible Geography blog. Watch the video […]
Global Food Security blog contributor Christiaan Perez interviewed Claudia Ringler, Deputy Division Director for Environment and Technology Production at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) about the food security issues under discussion at the Rio+20 Conference, which took place this week. Q1. The original mission of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) […]
Posted by contributor Andres Santamaria. The Rio+20 Conference on Sustainable Development, which starts this week from June 20th -22nd, is not only the 20th anniversary of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development that took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, but falls during the 10th anniversary of the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable […]
Posted by contributor Andres Santamaria. As the 20th anniversary of the Rio conference approaches, many countries are waiting to be affected by decisions made at this event. Case and point: Bangladesh. In this New York Times Green Blog post, a Q&A held with Thomas Rath, the country program manager for the United Nations International Fund […]
The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) has released a report on food, agriculture, and sustainability ahead of the Rio+20 Earth Summit. Although “Food and Agriculture: The Future of Sustainability” focuses primarily on environmental issues, it draws attention to the health implications related to the current global food system. More than one […]
Women play a vital role in providing food security in all societies, and with Mother’s Day coming up on May 13th, the World Food Program USA (WFP USA) is hosting a webcast, “Mothers Rule the World” to “discuss the critical role mothers play in improving household food security and the nutritional wellbeing of their children.” […]