This year’s Eating City speakers took a deep dive into various institutional problems facing the food system, such as city procurement, health and wellness in schools, and food waste.
Op-Ed
Trade Barriers Aren’t the Way to Fix Nutrition
Joe Glauber argues that discriminating against the origin of certain foods is not likely to improve global diets, and policies for healthier eating are better targeted at consuming the right kinds of foods.
Did Monsanto Write Malawi’s Seed Policy?
Malawi’s new draft seed policy, crafted in part by a Monsanto official, defines ‘seed’ as one that is quality certified, overriding the common cultural understanding of the term seed, and preventing local farmers from selling or displaying farm-saved seed at local seed fairs.
Healthy Food: the New Nextdoor Neighbor
Young Female Farmers Mobile Produce uses food to unify communities, cutting across age, income, and cultural differences.
Amazon-Whole Foods Deal Could Mean Prime Waste
Amazon’s acquisition of Whole Foods has the potential to have a ripple effect across the grocery industry, affecting our food chain from farm to landfill. And one big area this new partnership could shape is combating wasted food.
The Trump Administration’s False Promise to Rural America
If future GMO crops are to play positive environmental and social roles, they must be developed and deployed under policies and other conditions that favor and value agro-ecology, rural society, food sovereignty, and the environment over corporate control and excessive profit.
Red Palm Weevil: A Pest Damaging the Livelihoods of Date Producers
Tunis, Tunisia – Treatment against Red Palm Weevil in the streets of Tunis, 2013. ©FAO/Daniel Beaumont Red Palm Weevil (RPW) is a key pest of palms originating from South and South East Asian Countries that has significantly expanded its geographical…
Africa Needs Better Farm Policy—Not Better Farmers
I’ve recently spent several weeks in Malawi, and for about 15 years I have been working with colleagues on measuring the impacts of agricultural input use in Africa. With American budget cuts looming, I spent some of my time overseas…
Teaching Agroecology in the Himalayan Foothills
Navandya’s organic farm encourages a mix of ancestral and modern farming techniques through the practice of agroecology. At the heart of their work is the observation that the green revolution has destroyed traditional knowledge that previously guided Indian farming communities.
Free from Debt and Suicide: India’s Natural Farmers
Ashlesha Khadse’s friends in Bangalore’s hi-tech boom are sometimes envious of her work. It’s true that they have their weekends free, but being immersed in a David and Goliath fight for a fair food system seems like pretty meaty stuff.…
California is the Center of the Second-Chance Career Movement
The U.S. prison population has been growing for decades. At 66 prisoners per 10,000 citizens, our per capita prison population is six times higher than in 1975 and surpasses every country except the island nation of Seychelles. One in every…
Fairtrade Farmers Spur Big Change in Child Labor
Belize’s Ministry of Labor takes strong steps to address child labor nationwide. Advocacy efforts by Fairtrade sugar cane farmers were influential in the move.
African Farmers Stung by Climate Change Await Return of New Season Rains
Whitney McFerron is the lead writer and editor for One Acre Fund, a nonprofit social enterprise that provides farmers with the financing and training they need to grow their way out of hunger and poverty. Moses Odoli is watching his…
Saving Lives and Livelihoods
Hunger weakens people to the extent that they cannot fight off even the simplest illness—a common cold can become a death sentence. In South Sudan, this is happening right now.
The Food Sustainability Index: Fostering the Global Shift Towards a More Sustainable Food System
The Food Sustainability Index (FSI) assesses how different areas of the food system and its stakeholders are moving towards a more sustainable direction.
The Compost Story, Brought to You By Kiss the Ground
On May 7, 2017, Kiss the Ground released The Compost Story, a short film about how composting can transform the planet by reducing landfills and improving the health of soils everywhere.
The Impact of a Sociable School Meal
A social meal could be just what elementary and secondary schools need in order to promote learning opportunities during lunch, says Gurpinder Singh Lalli.
F2F Training Enables Myanmar Farmers to Increase Production and Access New Markets
The F2F Program is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and leverages the expertise of skilled U.S. volunteers to increase agriculture sector productivity and profitability, and strengthen agricultural sector institutions.
Grilling a Greener Burger at your Summer BBQ
Launch your grilling season with a better burger that’s healthier, more environmentally friendly, and supports your local farmers and ranchers.
Land and the Right to Food in Zambia: U.N. Envoy Urges Shifts Away from Large-Scale Projects
With nearly four-fifths of rural Zambians living in poverty and 40 percent of children—more than one million—suffering stunted growth from malnutrition, Zambia has become one of Africa’s most impoverished countries.
