The Human Imprint

Chocolate sales rise during the global recession

Ausfoodnews reports that" chocolate sales around the world have busted through the recession, as consumers looked to comfort food to overcome their economic worries". The article states that:

"In China and the Ukraine-two countries not necessarily recognized for their rampant chocoholic populations-chocolate confectionery sales rose 18% and 12%, respectively, this year. Each country has seen steady sales increases since 2005 and Mintel predicts continued growth through 2013.

Other countries have also seen chocolate bars, bags and boxes flying off the shelves, albeit at lower rates. Brits drove their chocolate market up 5.9% this year, while Americans purchased 2.6% more chocolate than in 2008. Argentinean sales rose 1.8% from 2008, while in Belgium, a country that claims to produce some of the world’s best chocolate, sales increased by 3.2%".

Reconnecting floodplains to rivers

BBC News has written an article on recent US research into reconnecting flood-plains to rivers to try and help reduce the risk of future flooding. The article states that:

"A study by US researchers said allowing these areas to be submerged during storms would reduce the risk of flood damage in nearby urban areas.  Pressure to build new homes has led to many flood-prone areas being developed.

Writing in Science, they said the risks of flooding were likely to increase in the future as a result of climate change and shifts in land use.  "We are advocating very large-scale shifts in land use, "said co-author Jeffrey Opperman, a member of The Nature Conservancy's Global Freshwater Team.  "There is simply no way economically or politically that this could be accomplished by turning large areas of flood-plains into parks," ..... "What we are proposing in this paper is a way that this strategy can be compatible, and even supportive, with vibrant agricultural economies and private land ownership."

For example, the authors explained, the flood season and growing season in California did not occur at the same time.  This meant that allowing the land to be submerged by floodwater would not result in a permanent loss of farmland or crops being destroyed." Hopefully this joined up approach of making space for water and recognising the need to grow food is gaining momentum both here and in the US. Check out the article.

More than 7m UK households are in fuel poverty

The Independent reports that according to the Government's official fuel poverty statistics released in October, 4 million homes in the UK in 2007 were in fuel poverty. Fuel poverty is defined as spending at least 10 per cent of income on heat and power. However the Independent reports that: " in the latest research, a YouGov poll of 2,050 adults, 29 per cent of those surveyed said they spent more than a 10th of their income on fuel, equating to 7.25 million households". If the sample size is representative of the country as a whole this is a concerning statistic.

Bugs adapt to disinfectants

The Telegraph reports that a team of researchers from the National University of Ireland in Galway has been carrying out research into how bacteria adapt to become resistant to disinfectants (chemicals designed to reduce harmful bacteria to a safe level) and antibiotics. The reserachers found that

"... bacteria exposed to small amounts of disinfectant adapted and were able to pump out antimicrobial agents which stopped both disinfectants and antibiotics from working. In practice in hospitals, this could mean a small amount of disinfectant remaining on the floor after it was mopped could help spread serious disease  .... "What is more worrying is that bacteria seem to be able to adapt to resist antibiotics without even being exposed to them"

This means that close attention needs to be paid not only to the development of hygiene programmes, but also to their implementation in practice. if the practice does not comply with the procedures then resistance can develop e.g. poor dilution of chemicals, not following cleaning instructions, lack of training. This is as true in the food supply chain as it is in hospitals and health care facilities.

Flood waters enter city of Venice

BBC News reports that more than half of the Italian city of Venice is flooded, after water levels rose to their highest point this year.  The waters in some parts of the city reached 143cm (56in) above sea level. BBC News reports that this is the 11th highest level since records began and experts fear it may rise even further early next year.

Follow the link to find out more.

Fifth anniversary of the tsunami

Today marks the fifth anniversary of the tsunami that devasted lives around the Indian Ocean. It is estimated that 250,000 people died and BBC News reports on the memorial events to mark the passage of time.

India food prices hit 10-year high

Back in August I wrote about the food supply issues in India. BBC News reports that food prices in India have risen 20% in one year, the highest rate in a decade.

The article states that "The federal finance minister Pranab Mukherjee has said the government was planning to import food to ease prices. A short supply of food due to lower farm produce following drought and floods has led to the rising prices. Overall inflation in India has risen to 4.78% in November, up from 1.34% in October. Economists say this could trigger a rise in interest rates. Correspondents say that the price rises are bound to increase concerns that poorer people in the country may be more exposed to food shortages and malnourishment".

Follow the link to read the full article.

Tea prices rise

Being a tea drinker this media release caught my eye from the FAO Media Centre.

"Tea prices reached record levels this year but should ease in 2010 as weather patterns returned to normal in the main tea-producing regions of Asia and Africa .... The FAO Tea Composite price, the indicative world price for black tea, reached a high of $3.18 a kilogramme in September amid droughts in India, Sri Lanka and Kenya underpinned by increased demand, compared to an average price of $2.38 per kilogramme in 2008.

The concern is that tea producers could over-react to the current high prices by planting more crops, threatening an over supply in the market.... Consumption growth outpaced production between 2005 and 2009 the gap between consumption and production growth was largest between 2007 and 2009, when it reached 3.4 percentage points". 

This is another example of how water shortages have affected food production in several regions of the world.

New federal action plan aims to ease California's water crisis

MercuryNews.com reports on the latest action to try to ease the water crisis in California. This strategy will be key to the development both in terms of food production and future development in the region. Check it out.

India's wettest place is low on water

BBC News reports that what was once the world's wettest places, Cherrapunji is now getting up to 20% less rain every year - and is suffering from water shortages.  This is further compounded by the fact that the population in the area has risen fifteen fold since 1961. Increasing population and reducing water reserves - check out the article which described the human impact of water scarcity.