The Human Imprint

Le's all be vegetarians

If only tackling the void between what the world population wants to consume and what the planet can deliver was this simple. If we removed a range of food providing animals from the planet what would be the environmental justification for pets?

The Independent carries an article about an interview with Professor Stern ahead of current climate talks. The reduction in the impact of humans on the planet will be addressed by social measures and accepting responsibility for the food we eat is one of those social measures, as well as, reducing the waste we produce, and also looking at the way we support the human population in the lives that people strive for whilst making sure that we can provide that with best use of natural resources. The solutions require empathy and understanding for individual and community motivations and effective communication with the message delivered by people we believe in and trust.

The challenges will be met not just product labelling, but by a two-way discussion on nutrition and health and well-being all of which is addressed by a balanced and varied diet. I have written about the barriers to this many times including the transition of diets across the world to dairy and meat based diets and the limiting access to vitamins due to the cost of fruit and vegetables. In the UK,  I can buy ten apples for around £4 or a kilogramme of blueberries or I can buy 5kg of dried pasta - if I am on a limited income which will I choose?

There are a billion people who are vegetarian through necessity, because they can't afford meat, in fact they don't have secure access to food period. This is a complex mesh of issues which will be addressed by a multilayered approach and I believe will ultimately succeed from a ground up not a top down movement.

China moves 330,000 in water plan

BBC News reports that 330,000 people have been moved to make way for a project to divert water from the south of the country to the north. People in Henan and Hubei provinces are being moved out of the way of a canal from the Yangtze River to Beijing. Follow the link to read the article. 

More floods in the Philippines

BBC News reports that the Philippines has been hit my a second typhoon in as many weeks. At least 160 people have been killed by the latest flooding and landslides triggered by heavy rain in the northern Philippines, officials say. Most of the deaths were in Benguet province, where landslides were reported to have hit several towns. Follow the link to find out more. 

Flood misery in Andhra Pradesh

BBC News reports that the worst floods in more than 100 years have left behind a trail of death and destruction in five districts of the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Check out the article for full details.

Samoa and Tonga hit by tsumami waves

National Geographic report on the devastation caused by the giant waves caused by an earthquake measuring 8.3 on the Richter Scale. The photographs show the strength of the waves.

Australia 'uranium' dust concerns

BBC News reports that environmentalists have raised concerns that another giant dust storm blowing its way across eastern Australia may contain radioactive particles from a uraniam mine. 

Sydney and Brisbane have experienced their biggest dust storm in 70 years. The dust caused problems for people with asthma, as well as those with heart and lung conditions. Check out the BBC News video.

Tropical storms and floods hit the Phillippines

BBC News reports that "rescue workers are being overwhelmed by the scale of floods in the Philippines that are estimated to have killed at least 100 people".

Torrential rains from Tropical Storm Ketsana flooded the capital, Manila, and 25 nearby provinces last Saturday. As much as 80% of Manila was submerged, displacing 450,000 people with more than 115,000 are now in makeshift shelters.Follow the link to read the full story.

2050: Increased investment in agricultural research essential

The FAO Media Centre reports that: "Boosting agricultural production to the levels needed to feed an expanded world population will require sharply increased public investment in research and development and widespread adoption of new technologies, farming techniques and crop varieties." This is according to a new FAO discussion paper published on the 25th September.

"The paper, titled "The Technology Challenge," is one of several produced by the UN food agency to serve as starting points for panel discussions at the "High-Level Expert Forum on How to Feed the World in 2050," taking place at FAO's Rome headquarters October 12-13. The Forum will prepare the ground for the World Summit on Food Security from 16 to 18 November 2009.

FAO's latest projections indicate that global agricultural production must grow by 70 percent by 2050 in order to feed an additional 2.3 billion people". Follow the links to find out more.

Fruit and vegetables have 'unacceptable' levels of pesticides

The Telegraph has reported on the findings of the Pesticides Residues Committee, part of the Health and Safety Executive, after testing more than 4,000 samples of food and drink.The article states that:

"The levels of pesticides varied considerably, with imported fruit and vegetables tending to have higher levels, according to its 2008 annual report. One in 7 beans in a pod one in 25 fresh peas (in pods) and one in five yams all had pesticides above the allowed level. One in 70 apples and pears had illegal levels of pesticides.

The Food Standards Agency insisted the illegal levels did not necessarily mean that the food was unsafe to eat, and pointed out that the overall levels of pesticides in food had fallen over the last year. In 2007 1.8 per cent of food had illegal levels; 2008 it had fallen to 1.2 per cent".

Soil quality - key to UK food production

There has been much debate in the last few days about the quality of UK soils and the long term impact on food production. This is a critical issue - check out our sister blog - Poultry Discussion

The Guardian reports that over two million tonnes of topsoil from farms and forests is being eroded by wind and rain each year in the UK. These needs to be addressed if we want to produce food at our current levels or increase production. We take soil for granted at our peril.