The Human Imprint

Improvements in rice harvest in Kenya

Check out the video  at the FAO Media Centre.

You are what you eat!

The old adage is that you are what you eat. BBC News reports that in a recent study the risk of depression has been linked to processed food consumption. The study suggested that:

"After accounting for factors such as gender, age, education, physical activity, smoking habits and chronic diseases, they found a significant difference in future depression risk with the different diets.

Those who ate the most whole foods had a 26% lower risk of future depression than those who at the least whole foods.

By contrast people with a diet high in processed food had a 58% higher risk of depression than those who ate very few processed foods." Follow the link to read the full article.

South Korea offers food aid to North Korea

I wrote just a few days ago about the problems with food supply in North Korea. BBC News has reported that South Korea has offered to come to North Korea's aid. South Korea has offered about 10,000 tons of corn to North Korea and 20 tons of milk powder and medicine for children, pregnant women and other vulnerable people. Read the article in full by following the link.

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.

'Crisis looming' as EU blocks GM-soy imports

Euractive.com has published an article on the looming crisis with regard to GM animal feeds in the EU.The article states that the European Union must decide within the next few weeks about whether it will allow imports of soy with small traces of other genetically-modified organisms (GMOs). It all depends on whether Europe will approve a range of currently unapproved GM products that are destined for animal feeds. As more of the world converts to using GM seed this is going to become more of an issue for the EU with their precautionary principle approach. 

Ethiopia asks for urgent food aid

BBC News has reported that the Ethiopian government has asked the international community for emergency food aid for 6.2 million people. The article states that:

"The request came at a meeting of donors to discuss the impact of a prolonged drought affecting parts of East Africa. The UN's World Food Programme says $285m (£173m) will be needed in the next six months. Some aid officials say the numbers of hungry could rise. Aid agency Oxfam has called for a new approach to tackling the risk of disaster in the country."

It makes me think of the saying - History does not repeat itself just revolves ... I remember as if it was yesterday the Live Aid concert even though it was actually a quarter of a century - sobering thought.

Nine million go hungry in North Korea

The Guardian has reported that a recent UN report has noted that almost 9 million people in North Korea were suffering from food shortages. The article also stated that the World Food Programme (WFP) was able to reach fewer than 2 million of the hungry population due to a shortfall in international aid as countries cut funding in response to Pyongyang's nuclear and missile tests. Click on the link to read the full article.

Spanish olive farmers hit by price falls

BBC News reports that olive prices in Spain have hit a new low. The growers' union, La Union de Pequenos Agricultores y Ganaderos (UPA), says the average price its members have been getting this year has been 1.85 euros ($2.70; £1.70) a kilo.  The worst month was in May when the price dropped to just 1.60 euros.  The UPA estimates that for a small grower the break-even point is around 2.20 euros.

The olive growers are entitled to European Union agricultural subsidies and because prices fell so much this year the EU has given extra support.  The EU has paid olive oil producers to store their oil until the market recovers.  The aid is for 180 days and up to a maximum of 110,000 tonnes.  Producers get 1.30 euros per tonne, per day. Follow the link to find out more.

2050: Climate change will worsen the plight of the poor

 The FAO Newsroom reports that many of the poorest regions of the world with the highest levels of chronic hunger are also likely to be among the worst affected by climate change.

"Many developing countries, particularly in Africa, could become increasingly dependent on food imports. While globally the impact of climate change on food production may be small, at least until 2050, the distribution of production will have severe consequences on food security: developing countries may experience a decline of between 9 and 21 percent in overall potential agricultural productivity as a result of global warming." Check out the article.

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.