Posts Tagged ‘Danielle Nierenberg’
Drought Pushes International Food Prices to Record Levels
The Inter Press Service quoted Nourishing the Planet Director Danielle Nierenberg this morning in its article, “International Food Prices Again at Record Levels, World Bank Warns.” The article discusses the latest global food price statistics released by the World Bank.
Statistics for July indicate a 10 percent rise over just the previous month, and a 6 percent increase over already high prices from the same time frame a year ago.
Danielle Nierenberg argues in the article, “[t]he silver lining of the current drought is that the West can perhaps take a new look at the sustainable practices that have been helping many African farmers combat drought. This is an opportunity for the Western world to look to the developing world – they have a lot to teach us.”
Click here to read the full article.
Healthier Kids: School Programs Improve Eating Patterns
The Syracuse Post-Standard published an op-ed co-written by Danielle Nierenberg, director of the Nourishing the Planet project and Sophie Wenzlau, communications associate with the Nourishing the Planet project.
The article focuses on innovative school lunch programs that are making children healthier in upstate New York. With childhood obesity and malnutrition affecting many of our nation’s children, schools play an increasingly important role in reversing this trend and reinforcing healthy eating habits. More schools nationwide need to incorporate hands-on nutrition education and provide local, nutritious and tasty food on student’s school lunch trays.
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.
Rio+20 and the Role of Nigerian Women in Sustainable Development
Today, Daily Times Nigeria published an op-ed co-written by Jill Sheffield, president of Women Deliver, and Danielle Nierenberg, director of the Nourishing the Planet project at the Worldwatch Institute.
The article focuses on women in Nigeria and their role in sustainable development. The piece highlights the need for women’s rights to be a core issue at Rio+20, a conference marking the twentieth anniversary of the first Earth Summit in Rio. In Nigeria, one-third of women have an unmet need for contraception, and nearly 80 percent of Nigerian farmers are women. Recognizing the important role of women as food producers, business owners, care givers, and mothers is key to creating a sustainable future for all.
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.
UN Report Calls for a Realignment of Agricultural Reform
By Laura Reynolds
The UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) has released a report entitled “Food and Agriculture: The future of sustainability.” The report will provide input for UNDESA’s Sustainable Development in the 21st century (SD21) Report for Rio+20, which will serve as a roadmap during the UN Conference on Sustainable Development this June.
A new UN report calls for sustained investment in smallholder farmers. (Image credit: UNDESA)
The report sought contributions from four major groups working in the global food and agriculture system: a policy and trade group, a business specialists group, a rural livelihoods and poverty expert group, and an agricultural production and environmental sustainability group. Nourishing the Planet director Danielle Nierenberg coordinated the rural livelihoods and poverty expert group.
The central idea of the report is that during this century, farmers will need to produce more food per unit of land, water, and agrochemicals to feed the rapidly growing world population. But they will have to do this while facing climate change, market and social volatility, shifting nutrition needs, and an increasing scarcity of most of the factors involved in food production, including fertile soil, fossil fuels, and even farmers themselves.
The report’s contributors agree that one of the most problematic trends in the food and agriculture system is the misaligned focus on maximum production and yield. “The current ‘more production’ orientation is so outdated and unresponsive to our current needs that it is causing its own problems, particularly for our environment and natural resources,” states the report.
Partly as a consequence of this focus on production, 1 billion people are overweight or obese in the world while another billion are undernourished. Instead of focusing on production, policymakers and reformers must work to broaden access to food and improve the variety and nutrition of foods. “Rather than simply ‘more’ production, we must also consider what would be ‘better’ production and better food systems.”
Barilla Center for Food and Nutrition and Worldwatch Celebrate Earth Day with the Release of “Eating Planet”
By Leah Baines
Across the globe, the food system is broken. Worldwide, 30 percent of food is wasted, 1 billion people go to bed hungry each night, while another 1 billion suffer from health problems related to obesity and agriculture contributes roughly one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Meanwhile, people are increasingly disconnected from how their food reaches their plate, making solutions to the global agricultural system seem even more difficult to attain.
The Barilla Center for Food & Nutrition, in collaboration with Nourishing the Planet, is releasing its book, Eating Planet, today. (Image credit: Barilla Center for Food & Nutrition).
The Barilla Center for Food & Nutrition (BCFN) is collaborating with the Worldwatch Institute’s Nourishing the Planet project to release their report, Eating Planet, today, April 22, (Earth Day). Eating Planet will highlight the challenges facing the food and agricultural system, as well as the numerous benefits that reform could bring.
The book incorporates findings from the report with contributions from many renowned experts and activists worldwide. “The study’s conclusions represent a major step toward ensuring that agriculture contributes to health, environmental sustainability, income generation, and food security,” said Nourishing the Planet project director Danielle Nierenberg. “The ingredients will vary by country and region, but there are some key components that will lead to healthier food systems everywhere.”
The report is divided into four sections: Food for All, Food for Sustainable Growth, Food for Health, and Food for Culture. Each section describes the challenges we face in providing safe, healthy, and environmentally sustainable food and offers concrete recommendations, proposals, and actions to help solve the global food crisis. The book also draws upon experts’ specific suggestions for food and agricultural reform, including healthy eating and lifestyles, fair food prices, and transparent and responsible food trade.
Agriculture, the Solution
Check out Nourishing the Planet’s latest powerpoint presentation from the recent Global Citizenship Symposium at Georgia College.
(Photo credit: Julie Carney, Gardens for Health International)
Project Director Danielle Nierenberg outlines the connection between sustainable agriculture and public health. She discusses agricultural initiatives that are cutting down on food waste, while producing nutritious food, such as hermetically sealed bags, which are helping to improve global health, while protecting the environment.
Click here to view the presentation.
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.
Watch Nourishing the Planet participate in International Food & Nutrition Forum
Today, Nourishing the Planet will be participating in the Barilla Center for Food and Nutrition (BCFN)’s Third Annual International Forum on Food & Nutrition.
Photo credit: Bernard Pollack
Project director, Danielle Nierenberg will be speaking on a panel on “Geo-Agriculture”: Food Waste and Comparison of Agricultural Policies at 11:15 AM local time.
Please click here to watch it live and here to access Danielle’s presentation.
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.
A Year in Africa Unearthing Stories of Hope and Success
Check out this article recently published in Tufts University’s Now publication.
During her trip, Dani met with many small-scale farmers who shared their agricultural innovations and stories of success with her. (Photo credit: Bernard Pollack)
The piece highlights Nourishing the Planet project director Danielle Nierenberg’s journey to sub-Saharan Africa, where she visited dozens of projects that are improving livelihoods, while preserving natural resources and protecting the environment.
The article was originally published in the spring edition of Tufts’ Nutrition Magazine.
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.
State of the World 2011 Launches in Taiwan
Nourishing the Planet Project Director Danielle Nierenberg is in Taiwan to launch State of the World 2011: Innovations that Nourish the Planet. Hosted in partnership with Taiwan Watch, the launch event brought together researchers and policy makers, including National University of Tainan’s College of Environmental Sciences and Ecology Dean, Tsun-Hsin Hsiegh, Chi-Mei Community University’s Vice Dean Chang Cheng-Yang and the Taiwan Permaculture Community’s Hiu-i Chiang, to discuss environmentally sustainable innovations in agriculture that are working on the ground now to help alleviate hunger and poverty.
Here are some photos from the launch: