Fostering Healthy Food Production and Consumption
As we continue to expand our food production systems to meet demand in the US and worldwide, it is important that consumers are educated about healthy food production and consumption. It is no secret that easy access to overprocessed foods, poor dietary habits and a sedentary lifestyle have led to record levels of obesity in the United States. Production and consumption are inextricably linked because healthy eating habits affect more than the shape of our bodies – our public health, global environment, and...
Read MoreOne Billion Hungry People, One Billion Overweight
In a previous post, we talked about the fact that 925 million people will not get enough to eat this year, or nearly 1 in 7 of the world population. This is one side of the so-called “Food Chain Double Burden.” The other side of that equation is that an equal number of people in the world have a Body Mass Index (BMI) of over 25, which is deemed overweight (a BMI greater than 30 indicates obesity). How is it that we live in a world that has nearly one billion people who are undernourished and an equal number...
Read MoreA Deep Dive on Global Hunger and Poverty – Low Income Food Deficit Countries
The United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) uses certain criteria to identify a Low-Income and Food Deficit Country (LIFDC). According to the FAO website, these criteria include a per capita gross national income of less that US$1,855 and a net negative food trade position (gross imports minus gross exports) for a broad basket of foodstuffs in the preceding three years. The current list for 2012 contains 66 countries. The complete list is available at the FAO link cited above. The countries one...
Read MoreWatching our “Waste Lines”
If you ever wanted to get a idea of what a crowded planet might look like someday, you need only look at pictures from the Times Square New Year’s Eve celebration, with the sheer numbers of people crammed into that city space. The conservative estimate was that 1.5 to 2 million people crowded into Times Square for the party. Afterwards, City officials indicated that nearly 150 sanitation workers began the cleanup. They needed almost two-dozen dump trucks and mechanical street sweepers, and 37 backpack blowers....
Read MoreA World of Hungry and Thirsty People…What are We to Do?
“I can promise that if there is not sufficient water in our region, if there is scarcity of water, if people remain thirsty for water, then we shall doubtless face war.” This sobering quote is from Meir Ben Meir, Former Israeli Water Commissioner, in a BBC news article from 2000. As if there are not enough global conflicts, to have one over water is a dubious prospect. In fact, the Pacific Institute already tracks where access to water is playing a key role in violent conflicts. Already we have seen the havoc...
Read MoreImproving Access to Healthy Food
When sufficient food is produced to feed the world, why is it that nearly 1-in-7 people still suffer from chronic hunger? Is it their diet? Cheap food is normally not known for being nutrient dense. Perhaps it is where they live? Many in developing countries do not have suitable places to grow their own food or suffer from poor food distribution due to civil strife. As with any global crisis, the causes are complex and inter-related, but here are just a few reasons why a significant percentage of the world...
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