Many forgotten foods may hold the key to improving the livelihoods of farmers, reducing hunger, and mitigating the effects of climate change.
Crops and Commodities
Cold Conundrum? Getting Nutritious Food to More People in Ethiopia
While agricultural production of fruits and vegetables has surged in recent decades, millions of Ethiopians are still not eating them. Children are hit the hardest by poor-quality diets, with millions suffering from growth-limiting stunting.
Stephanie Race: Preparing for Future Farming Hurdles Requires Multidisciplinary Data
The urgency to transform agricultural research and data into cutting-edge solutions for growers “is as if someone turned the volume up on the stereo,” says Stephanie Race of Crop Performance Ltd. and Earth Labs.
Opinion | Why We Need Organic for All?
Pesticides such as chlorpyrifos are linked to increased neurodevelopmental problems yet little is being done to protect farmworkers from pesticide exposure; which is hundreds of times greater levels of toxic pesticides than consumers’.
Climate change exacerbates the challenge of plant pests
The FAO predicts that the severity of the pest problem is only going to increase with Climate Change—calling for farmers’ to enhance their knowledge and skills to best manage pests and diseases of crops.
Re-introducing a Nutrition-Packed Berry in the Midwest
In Hartsburg, Missouri, Terry Durham created River Hills Harvest so elderberry growers throughout the Central United States could benefit from shared knowledge about sustainable growing practices and marketing.
It Isn’t Waste, It Is Simply Spare: Adam Kaye of Spare Food Co
In 2015, Kaye co-created the wastED pop-up restaurant series in New York and London, boasting menus using forgotten or unwanted parts of food. “We took products that people don’t consider as delicious or coveted, and we created something really pretty out of it”
Opinion | Our Crops Don’t Need More Carbon Dioxide
Our global capacity to achieve food security will strongly depend on how crops and agroecosystems will be impacted by climate change. Unfortunately, rising levels of atmospheric CO2 will have more negative than positive effects on our food systems.
Celebrate Hummus and Falafel on February 10th #LovePulses
World Pulses Day is February 10th! Read about why pulses matter for global health and the environment in 10 of our favorite Food Tank articles.
Opinion | Investment in Agriculture and the Race to the Bottom
On-farm investment in agriculture has doubled over the past 20 years and as a result agricultural production has grown rapidly. But the bad news is that the key conditions that made these investments viable are deteriorating, and rapidly.
Sowing the Seeds of Change: Integrating Education and Agriculture in Rural Nepal
Join Food Tank in discussion with Surya Karki about his mission to bring quality education to Nepal, and why teaching agriculture and sustainability are key to alleviating poverty.
Crop Modeling May Help Pave the Way to Increased Food Availability
Crop modeling is just one form of agricultural research that may benefit from the unified approach of the CGIAR Platform for Big Data in Agriculture.
Ensure Tech for Better Food Says James Collins of DowDuPont, Corteva Agriscience
James Collins, COO of the Agriculture Division of DowDuPont and CEO-Elect of Corteva Agriscience wants to change the narrative for global agriculture companies, with farmers and consumers at the center of their missions.
Millet and Sorghum are Climate-Smart Grains for Farmers in Chad
Climate-resilient grains like pearl millet and sorghum can help subsistence farmers in Chad enjoy increased crop yields and better self-resilience.
How Native American Diets Benefit From Tucson’s Indigenous Seed Bank
In Tucson, Arizona, the nonprofit Native Seeds/SEARCH maintains a ‘library’ full of heritage seeds indigenous to the Southwestern US and Mexico. Several distribution programs return these seeds to Native Americans who historically incorporated the crops in their daily diets.
Greening Uganda: Restoring Native Forest Cover To Increase Local Resilience
The Native Seeds Project is providing local farmers and refugee communities with sustainable nutrition and increasing their resilience to climate change.
UN Backs Seed Sovereignty in Landmark Peasants’ Rights Declaration
The Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and other People Working in Rural Areas, which was the product of some 17 years of diplomatic work led by the international peasant alliance La Via Campesina, formally extends human rights protections to farmers whose “seed sovereignty” is threatened by government and corporate practices.
Reckless Soy Expansion Engulfs Tropical Savanna
Nearly three million hectares of natural vegetation in the Cerrado have been stripped for soy production since 2000. Beyond disrupting water systems and threatening the soy business, habitat destruction is destroying life in the most biodiverse tropical savanna region in the world.
Alfalfa, Queen of Forages: Reconquering the Grasslands of Inner Mongolia
Alfalfa, “queen of forages,” a high-yielding crop with high nutritional quality, could make a big difference in the lives of the rural folk that carve out a living in Inner Mongolia.
Wisconsin Nonprofit Re-Imagines Traditional CSAs
“[Our] goal is to grow a resilient local food community for organic farms,” says Layne Cozzolino, Executive Director of Farmshed, the nonprofit putting a spin on Wisconsin CSAs.
