Articles 2020

Major study finds world's most productive farming regions are especially vulnerable to rising temperatures, and face steep declines in agricultural output this century.

Slechts één land ter wereld produceert genoeg voedsel om zijn bevolking volledig te voeden volgens moderne voedingsrichtlijnen: het Zuid-Amerikaanse Guyana. Dat blijkt uit een grootschalige analyse van de productiecapaciteit van 186 landen, gepubliceerd in het toonaangevende tijdschrift Nature Food. De studie, geleid door onderzoekers van de Universiteit van Göttingen, toont aan dat de meeste landen ver achterblijven in het realiseren van een gezond voedingspatroon op basis van eigen productie.

A new point in history has been reached, entomologists say, as climate-led species’ collapse moves up the food chain even in supposedly protected regions free of pesticides

Eat-Lancet report recommended shift to more plant-based, climate-friendly diet but was extensively attacked online [...] The report recommended that if global red meat eating was cut by 50%, the “planetary health diet” would provide nutritious food to all while tackling the harms caused by animal agriculture, which accounts for over 14% of all greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. It suggested individuals – particularly in wealthy countries – should increase their consumption of nuts, pulses and other plant-based foods while cutting meat and sugar from their diets.

Antarctica's remote and mysterious current has a profound influence on the climate, food systems and Antarctic ecosystems. Can we stop it weakening by 2050?

Depleted soil leads to reduced yields, forcing farmers to rely on fertilizers that raise food production costs, consumer prices.

L’ONG Foodwatch, qui conteste l’accord judiciaire signé avec Nestlé pour éteindre les poursuites, dépose deux plaintes contre X pour « tromperie ».

L’association de défense des consommateurs a déposé ce mercredi 25 septembre deux nouvelles plaintes pour les traitements de purification illégaux auxquels les deux géants de l’eau en bouteille ont eu recours.

High-level policy discussions have built momentum for “food system transformation” that would help farmers address the climate crisis.

Mogen lokale besturen ingrijpen om de vloedgolf aan nieuwe fastfoodzaken tegen te gaan? De aankondiging van minister Hilde Crevits om de mogelijkheden daartoe te onderzoeken, lokte vorige week veel reactie uit. In De Morgen noemde Bart Eeckhout het ‘micromoralisme’: de neiging van politici om voortdurend in te grijpen in hoe burgers hun persoonlijke leven inrichten’, en hij ziet meer brood in betere gezondheidspreventie. Volgens Maarten Corten van Rikolto zijn er een aantal kanttekeningen te maken bij deze lezing van de feiten.

Microplastics and nanoplastics may be present in food, primarily from environmental contamination where foods are grown or raised.

This report reveals the tactics of Big Meat and Dairy companies to delay, distract, and derail action on transforming the food system, mirroring strategies used by the tobacco and fossil fuel industries. Food systems are responsible for around a third of global greenhouse gas emissions, with approximately 60% coming from animal agriculture, the largest source of man-made methane emissions.

Nieuw onderzoek in het vakblad Nature Foods waarschuwt voor een toenemend tekort aan kalium in landbouwgrond. Dat vormt een ernstige bedreiging voor de wereldwijde voedselzekerheid.

L’association de défense des consommateurs dépose ce mercredi 21 février une plainte contre les deux groupes pour les traitements de désinfection auxquels ils ont eu recours sur leurs eaux telles que Vittel ou Perrier.

Existing production destroys more value than it creates due to medical and environmental costs, researchers say

The world could fall short of food by 2050 due to falling crop yields, insufficient investment in agricultural research and trade shocks, according to Joe Biden’s special envoy for food security, Dr Cary Fowler. Fowler, who is also known as the “father” of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, a global store of seeds for the most significant crops, said studies by agricultural economists showed the world needed to produce 50-60% more food by 2050 in order to feed its growing population. But crop yields rates were projected to decline by between 3-12% as a result of global heating.

After hottest day ever, researchers say global heating may mean future of crop failures on land and ‘silent dying’ in the oceans

Climate breakdown and crop losses threaten our survival, but the ultra-rich find ever more creative ways to maintain the status quo, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot

Welk voedsel willen we en wat willen we ervoor opgeven? vraagt MO*columniste Virginie Platteau zich af. ‘De wereldbevolking voeden, dat wíl de agro-industrie niet. Overproductie en inadequate distributie zijn inherent aan het systeem waarin winstmarges voorgaan op het voeden van de mensheid.’

Recycled and reused food contact plastics are “vectors for spreading chemicals of concern” because they accumulate and release hundreds of dangerous toxins like styrene, benzene, bisphenol, heavy metals, formaldehyde and phthalates, new research finds.

Fourth year in a row in which number of people facing food crises increased substantially

the biophysical limits of food production are being reached. Second, current food production systems are actively destroying the very resource base upon which they rely. Third, the majority of food production and all its storage and distribution is critically dependent upon fossil fuels, not only making the food supply vulnerable to price and supply instability, but also presenting an impossible choice between food security and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Fourth, climate change is already negatively impacting the food supply and will do so with increasing intensity as the Earth continues to warm and weather destabilises. Fifth, the trajectory of increasing food demand that cannot easily be reversed. Sixth, the prioritisation of economic efficiency and profit in world trade has undermined food sovereignty and the resilience of food production at multiple scales, making both production and distribution highly vulnerable to disruptive shocks. Considered individually, each one of the hard trends presents a

The excessive use of phosphorus is depleting reserves vital to global food production, while also adding to the climate crisis

A community of Indigenous peoples worried that mercury used by gold miners was contaminating the fish they eat. So they created a DIY team to find out more.

The coasts of Alaska are piled up with dead birds dying of starvation. Experts say that climate change is resulting in shifts in the food chain.

De EU actualiseert haar verordening over duurzaam gebruik van pesticiden (SUR). Het voorstel van de commissie bevat slechts kleine verbetering en maakt geen plaats om de weg vrij te maken voor een duurzame en gifvrije landbouw. Pesticiden zijn een belangrijke oorzaak van het verlies aan biodiversiteit en een gezondheidsrisico voor mensen, vooral voor degenen die in de buurt van boerderijen werken en wonen. Daarom is het belangrijk dat de EU overstapt van het huidige landbouwsysteem dat afhankelijk is van schadelijke stoffen.

Relatief eenvoudige veranderingen aan het voeder van vee en vissen kan veel meer voedsel beschikbaar maken voor menselijke consumptie. Dat blijkt uit een nieuwe studie in Nature Food.

Poutine a coupé le gaz. Cet hiver, il n’y en aura peut-être pas assez d’énergie pour chacun des étages de notre société (ménages, entreprises, bâtiments publics). Et si, réellement, la quantité d’énergie disponible pour se chauffer n’est pas suffisante, payer plus cher n’y changera rien : quand il y a pénurie, quand le magasin est vide, même avec beaucoup d’or, il n’y a rien à ramener à la maison. La question n’est alors plus « comment alléger les factures ? » mais devient « comment faire avec moins d’énergie ? ».

Ecosystems rely on interconnectedness — bees pollinate the flowers, predators eats prey, and so on. But these webs, though highly evolved, can be delicate. One link goes missing, and a ripple effect is felt throughout the entire system. As more species are lost, that balance becomes increasingly fragile, sometimes to the point of collapse.

The National Drought Group of the UK predicts that yields of some vegetable crops—carrots, onion, and potatoes—could be cut in half. The European Drought Observatory says that almost half of the bloc is drier than it has been since the Renaissance. China’s agricultural ministry has urged farmers to undertake emergency switches to different crops following a historic heatwave.

As China's record heatwave starts to subside, farmers are assessing the damage caused by a prolonged drought and the government is urging them to replant or switch crops where they can.

Wat begon als een schoolstraf – op het land gaan werken-, werd voor Oegandees Edward Mukiibi zijn levensdoel. “Duurzame, lokale landbouw is de basis voor geluk en de oplossing tegen honger, werkloosheid en het verlies van biodiversiteit”, zegt de kersverse voorzitter van Slow Food International, actief in 160 landen.

He has weaponised food, energy and refugees, spreading economic and political pain across the continent. Sanctions don’t work, a land for peace deal would be a disaster. Only the military route remains

Food supply expert paints grim global picture hunger 05.23.2022 By Arvin Donley NEW YORK, NEW YORK, US — Global wheat inventories currently stand at about 10 weeks of global consumption, a food supply expert said during a special meeting of the United Nations Security Council on May 19. Sara Menker, chief executive officer of Gro Intelligence, an organization that gathers and analyzes global food and agricultural data, said she disputes official government agency estimates that put global wheat inventories at 33% of annual consumption, countering inventories are closer to 20%. “It is important to note that the lowest grain inventory levels the world has ever seen are now occurring while access to fertilizers is highly constrained, and drought in wheat growing regions around the world is the most extreme it’s been in over 20 years,” Menker said. “Similar inventory concerns also apply to corn and other grains. Government estimates are not adding up.” Menker told the security council that while much of the blame

The Bank of England governor warned last week of ‘apocalyptic’ food price rises. Yet war in Ukraine, climate change and inflation are already taking their toll all over the world. Apocalypse is an alarming idea, commonly taken to denote catastrophic destruction foreshadowing the end of the world. But in the original Greek, apokálypsis means a revelation or an uncovering. One vernacular definition is “to take the lid off something”.

For the past few years, scientists have been frantically sounding an alarm that governments refuse to hear: the global food system is beginning to look like the global financial system in the run-up to 2008.

Restaurant menus across the West Coast of Canada will soon see an influx of squid and sardine dishes, while the popular sockeye salmon makes a slow exit. As it turns out, climate change may have something to do with this.

L'Agence fédérale pour la Sécurité de la Chaîne alimentaire (Afsca) procède vendredi au rappel de différents produits de la marque Verstegen, à la suite d'une notification RASFF (Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed) concernant la présence possible de salmonelle dans différentes épices contenant de la citronnelle.

Het Food Forest Institute VZW is een Belgische organisatie die zich inzet voor de ontwikkeling van grootschalige voedselbossen. De organisatie wijst op de dringende noodzaak om af te stappen van het exclusieve gebruik van éénjarige gewassen als graan voor onze voedselproductie. Voedselbossen zijn een belangrijk onderdeel van het alternatief.

Inflation is a disease that disproportionately afflicts the poor. Even before Vladimir Putin unleashed his brutal war on Ukraine, whose byproducts include soaring energy and food prices, inflation was already over 7.5% in the US and above 5% in Europe and the UK. Calls for its taming are, therefore, fully justified – and the interest rate rise in the US, with the same expected in the UK, comes as no surprise. That said, we know from history that the cure for inflation tends to devastate the poor even more. The new wrinkle we face today is that the supposed solutions threaten not only to deal another cruel blow to the disadvantaged but, ominously, to snuff out the desperately needed green transition.