This week, we turn our attention to three major problems in the global food system: obesity, food waste, and genetically modified foods. Sugar-packed beverages are a major contributor to the obesity epidemic in the United States; read about the five “worst drinks in America” in this post. Food waste, meanwhile, reaches shocking rates in the United States and many European countries. According to this TEDx presentation by food waste activist Tristram Stuart, most of these countries stock up to two times as much food in stores and restaurants as is nutritionally required to feed their populations. Watch the full video here. And genetically modified foods have made headlines this week; a new study by Professor Gilles-Eric Seralini of the University of Caen in France and the independent research organization CRIIGEN examines the effects of lifetime exposure of Monsanto’s genetically modified (GM) Maize NK603 and the widely used herbicide Roundup. Read our analysis of the study here.
Photo Credit: Bernard Pollack
In honor of International Peace Day on Saturday, we highlight a partnership between Recipeace and Peace One Day aimed at inspiring peaceful action by individuals. Even though Peace Day has passed, you can still check out Recipeace’s creative peace meal recipes, which are linked to inspiring stories from the past about how food has bought conflicting people together and helped turn times of crisis into times of peace.
Our NtP TV episode this week discusses small plot intensive farming, or SPIN farming. In gardens around the country and the world, SPIN farming can outperform the use of chemical fertilizers in boosting food production, and may offer a sustainable solution to many of problems in the food system. Watch the full episode here.
Further highlights from the past week:
We highlight Sanergy, an organization in Nairobi, Kenya that is tackling the problem of sanitation in one of the world’s largest urban slums. In most of the world’s slums, sanitation is a daily challenge, and disease and infection spread easily in such environments. Read more here about Sanergy’s unique approach to alleviating this problem.
And our Indigenous vegetable of the week is Papalo, an ancient herb found throughout Mexico, the American Southwest, and several South American countries. Although papalo is still a relatively obscure plant to many Americans, it is slowly gaining popularity in New York kitchens as immigrant farmers increasingly grow the herb and sell it in markets.
We continued to receive some exciting news coverage this week. New Africa Analysis, a London-based news magazine, highlighted our article on 25 inspiring women in the food and agricultural movement. Click here to read the full article.
Now it’s your turn: What were your favorite posts from the week? What do you hope we’ll write about next week? Let us know in the comments!
To purchase State of the World 2011: Innovations that Nourish the Planet please click HERE.
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