On July, 28 2012 Brother Dave Andrews, Senior Representative for Food and Water Watch and a member of Nourishing the Planet’s advisory group, will be honored with the prestigious Distinguished Service to Rural Life Award for his commitment to enhancing the life of rural people. The award is the highest honor given by ...]]> By Alison Blackmore

On July, 28 2012 Brother Dave Andrews, Senior Representative for Food and Water Watch and a member of Nourishing the Planet’s advisory group, will be honored with the prestigious Distinguished Service to Rural Life Award for his commitment to enhancing the life of rural people. The award is the highest honor given by the Rural Sociology Society, a professional social science association founded in 1937 with the intent of improving the quality of rural life, communities, and the environment.

Brother Dave Andrews, recipient of the Distinguished Service to Rural Life Award. (Photo credit: http://www.holycross brothers.blogspot.com/)

Andrews has worked for over 30 years on sustainable development, food and water issues, and public policy, both nationally and internationally, and has a long-standing commitment to bettering the spiritual, social, and economic lives of rural people.

Since the 1970s, Andrews has dedicated his life to ensuring that the dignity of rural people is respected. As the Executive Director of the National Catholic Rural Life Conference for 13 years, he supported rural Catholic congregations, worked with farm communities to determine the best way to care for the earth, and advocated on behalf of rural people on pertinent food policy issues. Today, as a senior representative for Food & Water Watch, Brother Andrews acts as a liaison to the faith community, motivating people of faith to be thoughtful and deliberate about their choices within the food system. Internationally, he represents farmer and peasant voices at various high-profile summits and meetings, including World Food Summits and the last three World Trade Organization meetings. He frequently attends UN Food and Agriculture Organization international and regional meetings on food security, and works with UN officials to advocate for justice for the most vulnerable laborers in the world’s food system.

For his relentless work on behalf of rural society, both national and internationally, Brother Andrews is well-deserving of this award and the Nourishing the Planet team is honored to congratulate him for his service.

Do you know of other outstanding people or work being done to better rural society? Let us know in the comments section!

Alison Blackmore is a research intern with Nourishing the Planet.

To read more about Dave Andrews’ work, see Meet Nourishing the Planet Advisory Group: Dave Andrews, The GMO Debate Continues, Part 1: Where Would You Like to See More Agriculture Funding Directed?, Food & Water Watch Want You to Know Your Fish, and Answering the Question: What to Eat?

To purchase State of the World 2011: Innovations that Nourish the Planet please click HERE. And to watch the one minute book trailer, click HERE.

On Friday, in coordination with the World Economic Forum, the Chicago Council on Global Affairs will hold its third annual Symposium on Global Agriculture and Food Security in Washington, D. C.

At the symposium, President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and other leaders in the global food security and agriculture landscape will ...]]> By Arielle Golden

On Friday, in coordination with the World Economic Forum, the Chicago Council on Global Affairs will hold its third annual Symposium on Global Agriculture and Food Security in Washington, D. C.

The symposium will discuss the current status of food security and agriculture. (Photo credit: Bernard Pollack)

At the symposium, President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and other leaders in the global food security and agriculture landscape will discuss G8 efforts to advance global agricultural development and food and nutrition security in Africa. Participants will range from African heads of state, to international aid organizations, to scientific and academic institutions.

The symposium will focus on four key topics: demonstrating the L’Aquila Initiative from the 2009 G8 Summit, which stated a shared commitment to invest $20 billion over three years to encourage  rural development in poor countries;  presenting select African countries’ development plans; announcing new commitments to these plans; and exploring opportunities for non-governmental plans to complement and amplify action to further the goals of the G8 Summit.

The Chicago Council on Global Affairs aims to influence the discourse on global issues through contributions to opinion and policy formation, leadership dialogue, and public learning. The World Economic Forum works to engage business, political, academic and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas.

The symposium hopes to elevate G8 topics and announcements among the participants and foster cooperation between the represented groups.

For more information, click here.

Arielle Golden is a research intern with the Nourishing the Planet project.

To purchase State of the World 2011: Innovations that Nourish the Planet please click HERE. And to watch the one minute book trailer, click HERE.

How many times have you gone to a restaurant and not been able to finish your whole meal? Or worse, taken home the leftovers only to throw them out after several days of them sitting untouched in the refrigerator? Thankfully, there is a new social initiative offering a choice to restaurant-goers that provides ...]]> By Holly Tassi 

How many times have you gone to a restaurant and not been able to finish your whole meal? Or worse, taken home the leftovers only to throw them out after several days of them sitting untouched in the refrigerator? Thankfully, there is a new social initiative offering a choice to restaurant-goers that provides two benefits: healthier meal portions while simultaneously reducing food waste to support the fight against hunger. While the United States is plagued with both obesity and hunger – Halfsies will now provide a new option of ordering half of a normal portion with the remaining value of the dish being put to better use.

Halfsies aims to reduce food waste while alleviating food insecurity and obesity in the United States. (Photo credit: Bernard Pollack)

About 40 percent of the food produced in the United States is thrown away. And the national food waste habit is growing: as a nation, we waste 50 percent more food today that we did in 1974. At the same time, portion sizes have grown considerably. In the 1970s, around 47 percent of Americans were overweight or obese; now 66 percent are considered overweight. And, at the same time, more than 50 million Americans are hungry.

With a tag line of “Eat Less, Give More,” Halfsies aims to not only fight world hunger, but also educate consumers on portion sizes, a problem that contributes to America’s growing obesity epidemic. The vision of this non-profit is to educate right where people live, eat and work. By offering a half-portion option in participating restaurants, customers are empowered to make a real difference, both in their own lives and in the lives of people in need.

When a consumer chooses to ‘go halfsies’ at a participating restaurant, he or she receives a half-portion of their meal while still paying full price. What restaurants don’t put on the table will be donated to both local (60 percent) and international non-profits (30 percent) to tackle hunger.  Halfsies will take 5 to 10 percent of the donations to cover overhead costs, and any remaining funds will be used for special projects that align with Halfsies’ mission and values such as emergency disaster relief, sustainable agriculture, and women’s rights.

Halfsies turns the simple act of going out to eat into a charitable giving opportunity. Started by four friends from Austin, Texas, Halfsies plans to kick off pilot programs in their hometown this spring and move into NYC later this year. They are also planning for a national launch in 2013. Halfsies is still working through the details with the restaurants, such as the software to be used for easy ordering and tracking and how different meals will be treated.

Through local and global initiatives, Halfies aims to see food waste in American cut in half, local poverty levels drop, and a significant impact made in the lives of people living with hunger and poverty, both in the United States and around the world. By creating a simple process, Halfsies gives restaurant-goers the opportunity to make an easy choice that benefits themselves, their community, and their world.

For more details visit www.gohalfsies.com

Holly Tassi is a research intern with the Nourishing the Planet project.

To purchase State of the World 2011: Innovations that Nourish the Planet please click HERE. And to watch the one minute book trailer, click HERE.

Along its 760-kilometer course, from the Shewan highlands in southern Ethiopia, down to Lake Turkana in Kenya, the Omo River supports half a million Indigenous People from more than two dozen different tribes, including the Bodi, Karo, Muguji, Mursi, Elmolo, Gabbra, Rendille and Hamar in the Lower Omo valley and around Lake Turkana. ...]]> By Patricia Baquero

Along its 760-kilometer course, from the Shewan highlands in southern Ethiopia, down to Lake Turkana in Kenya, the Omo River supports half a million Indigenous People from more than two dozen different tribes, including the Bodi, Karo, Muguji, Mursi, Elmolo, Gabbra, Rendille and Hamar in the Lower Omo valley and around Lake Turkana. For generations, the Indigenous People have farmed sorghum, maize and beans along the lower Omo and around Lake Turkana region, depending on the annual flooding cycle of the river. The natural ebb and flow of the Omo River provides water for agriculture, livestock, and fishing.

The Gibe III Dam, currently under construction, could exacerbate water scarcity and conflicts in the region. (Photo credit: Mark Angelo)

But since the 1970s, droughts have increased in frequency and length, bringing famine and displacing thousands of people. Water scarcity and conflicts over water resources are also likely to worsen when the Gibe III Dam project finishes in 2012. The dam is situated about 300 kilometers southwest of Addis Ababa with a capacity of 1,870 MW, and can provide power to 400 million people. Ethiopia is among the countries with the lowest rates of electricity—currently, only 15 percent of Ethiopians have access to electricity, and this access is mainly in cities.

But the dam potentially threatens the lives of the Indigenous farmers and fishers from the Omo-Turkana region. According to the African Resources Working Group (ARWG), the Gibe III dam will reduce the lake’s depth by about seven to ten meters in its first five years, adding to the effects of climate change, which has likely reduced the depth by about five to eight meters already. The dam will disturb the natural flooding cycle of the Omo River, eliminating the seasonal floods and the nutrients deposited along the river.

Artificial flooding from the dam will last 10 days, replacing the natural gradual flood which usually lasts for several months. The International Rivers organization states that the artificial flood will be incapable of reaching all the areas that the natural annual flood feeds and will not support the current agricultural and fishing productivity.

According to the project’s Public Consultation and Disclosure Plan, only 93 members from four Indigenous communities were consulted from around 500,000 affected Indigenous People located downstream of the dam, and it occurred after construction of the dam had already begun. The Environmental and Social Impact Assessments (ESIAs) are not accessible for the majority of the affected people and are not even in the languages spoken by them, violating domestic laws and international agreements that require consultation among the affected people, allowing them to give free, prior, and informed consent to developments and the use of their land and other resources.

Friends of Lake Turkana (FoLT), a Kenyan organization representing Indigenous groups in northwestern Kenya, is carrying out a campaign to highlight the potentially harmful consequences to biodiversity, livelihoods and food security that the Gibe III dam would cause to the lake and its ecosystem, to the Kenyan public, legislators, diplomatic missions, donor agencies, and development partners.

Although the dam constructors promise benefits, including electricity, for citizens, the cost to the Indigenous People and the environment might be too high a price to pay.

What do you think? Should the construction of this dam continue even if it is bringing electricity to some at a cost to others? Let us know in the comments!

Patricia Baquero is a research intern with Nourishing the Planet.

To purchase your own copy of State of the World 2011: Innovations that Nourish the Planet, please click HERE. And to watch the one minute book trailer, click HERE.

Name: Nancy Romer

Affiliation: Brooklyn Food Coalition

Bio: Nancy Romer is the General Coordinator at the Brooklyn Food Coalition and a psychology professor at City University of New York’s Brooklyn College. She was instrumental in organizing the first Brooklyn Food Conference in 2009, and established the Brooklyn Food Coalition in the same year after becoming inspired ...]]> By Laura Reynolds

Name: Nancy Romer

Affiliation: Brooklyn Food Coalition

Bio: Nancy Romer is the General Coordinator at the Brooklyn Food Coalition and a psychology professor at City University of New York’s Brooklyn College. She was instrumental in organizing the first Brooklyn Food Conference in 2009, and established the Brooklyn Food Coalition in the same year after becoming inspired to transform the way people produce, distribute, and consume food.

Nancy Romer is the General Coordinator of the Brooklyn Food Coalition. (Photo credit: Encore.org)

The Brooklyn Food Coalition is hosting its annual Brooklyn Food Conference this Saturday, May 12, at the Brooklyn Technical High School. Over 5,000 people are expected to attend the conference, including the prominent speakers Vandana Shiva, world-renowned environmental activist; Lucas Benitez, Co-Director of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers; and several others. Events and workshops such as “The Future of New York City Food Policy” and “Faith and Feeding the Hungry” will run from 8:30am until 6pm. The conference will also feature cooking demonstrations, film screenings, kids’ activities, and an expo of non-profit and for-profit organizations.

With community gardens and farmers markets sprouting up all over the place lately, why do we still need events like the Brooklyn Food Conference?

We need the Brooklyn Food Conference, and other events that draw together all the actors working to reform the food system, because we need to change policy. We now have a range of activities, like farmers markets in certain neighborhoods, that can improve the lives of individuals or communities—but we still need far-reaching, major changes in policy that will spread these improvements across New York and the country. It is clear that the will to change policy is not going to come from the top; we need a heavy lift from the bottom to tell policymakers what we need and demand from our food systems, and the Brooklyn Food Conference is a major step in sending that message.

We also need the Brooklyn Food Conference because it is an opportunity for everyone working in food system reform to meet each other, to communicate, and to celebrate the work we are doing and the progress we have made. It is important to celebrate the positive, along with focusing on all the work we still need to do!

What aspect of this year’s conference are you most excited about?

My favorite part of the Conference is seeing all the faces of the people working in the food-system reform movement. It is so empowering and wonderful to see that all of these people—community gardeners, food worker organizers, food cooperative members—are changing the food system in their own way. But an important part of meeting with all of these activists is getting them out of their ‘silos,’ or the specific areas in which they are working. We need to work as a movement, not as factions with independent goals, because we are all working toward a healthier, fairer, and more sustainable global food system.

What do you see as some of the most pressing challenges to local or regional food sovereignty today?

The biggest problem in the food system is the control of local, regional, state, and national governments by multinational corporations. If we could wrest control over our food choices back from the corporations, the opportunities for sustainable food systems are endless. The city of New York provides around 1 million meals every day; if city agencies could determine where they sourced the food for those meals, and could choose regional small- or medium-scale farmers as their go-to source, that alone would make a huge difference in strengthening the local food system, as well as the local economy. The same goes for processed and cooked foods—if local suppliers of these foods were given preference over multinational suppliers, New York’s economy would be given a huge boost.

There are a number of other ways we can achieve healthier food systems. Some of them seem tangential to food, but they are all in fact very pertinent: ban fracking, save our farmland, create laws that require non-interference in workers’ organizing, and outlaw advertising of junk food to kids and adults alike. We need to move away from our dependence on factory farms, and doing that requires a huge combined effort from all sectors of the food-system movement.

Does anything in New York or elsewhere give you hope for a more fair and sustainable food system in the future?

Of course! I see reasons for hope every day. Young farmers are seeing farming as a viable career option, more food cooperatives are springing up everywhere, people are buying local and organic, parents are becoming food activists for their children’s health, entrepreneurs are rejecting the large corporate world and starting their own small businesses instead.

Perhaps most importantly, politicians are becoming aware that local food system reform is a way to address climate change. Climate change isn’t just the elephant in the room for policymakers—it is the room. They are struggling to find ways to combat climate change quickly, and building strong local food systems is one of the best ways to do that. New York State Senator Daniel Squadron has proposed a bill to ban the use of antibiotics in animals sold for food in New York. Because so many factory farms rely on antibiotics to keep their animals healthy, this bill would effectively ban the sale of factory-farmed meat in the state of New York. It is extremely encouraging to see that people are recognizing that we can build our economy with food initiatives that are healthy for the people, animals, and the planet.

 What encouraging signs do you see in your local or regional food system?

Laura Reynolds is a research intern with Nourishing the Planet.

To purchase your own copy of State of the World 2011: Innovations that Nourish the Planet, please click HERE. And to watch the one minute book trailer, click HERE.

On May 14, Slow Food President Carlo Petrini will be speaking on the right to food and food sovereignty at the 11th session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII). His invitation to speak is the first time an external guest has been asked to address the Forum.

The UNPFII ...]]> By Alison Blackmore

On May 14, Slow Food President Carlo Petrini will be speaking on the right to food and food sovereignty at the 11th session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII). His invitation to speak is the first time an external guest has been asked to address the Forum.

Carlo Petrini speaking at the Terra Madre conference in Turin, Italy. (Photo credit: Bernard Pollack)

The UNPFII represents global issues pertinent to Indigenous Peoples. This year, at its annual two-week session, the Forum will focus on the “Doctrine of Discovery,” where Indigenous, governmental, and UN representatives will discuss the impact foreign conquests have had on Indigenous Peoples, and how to rectify these grievances.

At the Forum, Petrini will speak on the power Indigenous Peoples hold to deal with many of our most dire societal ills – from environmental crises to global health problems. For many years, Petrini and Slow Food have been working with Indigenous communities, learning from their agricultural approaches, supporting farming initiatives, and fostering connections between farmers. Petrini argues that returning to many traditional agricultural practices that work in harmony with the earth is one of the best ways to establish a food system that guarantees access to nutritional food without sacrificing the long term health of our environment.

For more information on the 11th session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, click here.

Alison Blackmore is a research intern with Nourishing the Planet.

To read more about Carlo Petrini’s work with Slow Food International see Carlo Petrini makes the case for eating less meat, and Carlo Petrini Talks about Slow Food and the World

To purchase State of the World 2011: Innovations that Nourish the Planet please click HERE. And to watch the one minute book trailer, click HERE.

In California, every year 6 million tons of food ends up in landfills. One reason so much food is wasted is that most Americans refuse ...]]> Check out our latest op-ed about food waste, published in the Los Angeles Daily newspaper, one of the largest circulating newspapers in the country with a daily print circulation of 188,000.

In California, every year 6 million tons of food ends up in landfills. One reason so much food is wasted is that most Americans refuse to eat the less-appealing cuts of meat. But utilizing a variety of meat products can be a more sustainable way of cooking and eating that can ultimately reduce food waste. Many Los Angeles restaurants are now serving some of the most unusual, yet delicious dishes that highlight every part of the animal, to critical culinary acclaim.

Click here to read the full article.

 To purchase State of the World 2011: Innovations that Nourish the Planet please click HERE. And to watch the one minute book trailer, click HERE.

Reuters AlertNet recently identified 10 individuals who are changing the food system at the grassroots. Based on nominations from leading NGOs and research institutes involved in nutrition and agriculture, including Nourishing the Planet, Reuters paid tribute to innovators worldwide who are finding ways to boost production without sacrificing food security for generations to come.

Nourishing ...]]> By Alison Blackmore

Reuters AlertNet recently identified 10 individuals who are changing the food system at the grassroots. Based on nominations from leading NGOs and research institutes involved in nutrition and agriculture, including Nourishing the Planet, Reuters paid tribute to innovators worldwide who are finding ways to boost production without sacrificing food security for generations to come.

Women at work at the Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA). (Photo credit: Bernard Pollack)

Nourishing the Planet is thrilled to give special congratulations to three recipients who we have met with on the ground: Edward Mukiibi, co-founder of Developing Innovations in School Cultivation (DISC) in Uganda, Reema Nanavaty, Director of Economic and Rural Development at the Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) in India, and Davinder Lamba, co-founder of the Mazingira Institute in Kenya. Their work is inspiring farmers, youth, and policymakers to create a more environmentally sustainable food system.

As the world looks to find ways to feed a population predicted to grow to 9 billion by 2050, it will be people like Mukiibi, Nanavaty, and Lamba who are finding ways to raise yields, improve nutrition, increase incomes, and protect the environment. From inspiring youth to become farmers, to giving poor women farmers a voice through organizing, to promoting urban farming—these  food trailblazers are finding the best solutions for their communities and creating new models for a sustainable food system.

To read more about Edward Mukiibi, Reema Nanavaty, and Davinder Lamba see Mazingira Institute and NEFSALF: Training a New Breed of Farmers, Looking Inside the Gates to Feed the City from Within: An Interview with Diana Lee-Smith, Nourishing the Planet Spends a Day with SEWA, Women farmers key to end food insecurity, Youth Deserve Gold Medals for Sustainability, How to Keep Kids “Down on the Farm”, Conversations With Farmers: Discussing the School Garden with a DISC Project Student, and Cultivating a Passion for Agriculture.

To purchase State of the World 2011: Innovations that Nourish the Planet please click HERE. And to watch the one minute book trailer, click HERE.