Transforming the food system will take great effort and requires a systems based approach. By working toward these five aspirations, it is possible to build a more equitable food system that provides nutritious food for all.
Op-Ed
The Last Straw or a New Beginning?
India’s new farm acts might be the last straw for the country’s small-holders. As protests continue, could this lead to a new beginning for farmers?
Selling the Past as Innovation in Africa
Despite criticism, a growing number of farmers, scientists, and development experts are advocate for a shift from high-input, chemical-intensive agriculture to low-input ecological farming.
Nuance Is Our Friend, Ideology Is Our Enemy
To build a better food system, we must welcome solutions that embrace nuance.
Dietary Guidelines for Americans: There Are No Healthy People on an Unhealthy Planet
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans have the potential to better public health and the environment. But in recently released 2020-2025 guidelines do not go far enough.
Why Food Systems Need Resilient Farmers Markets: 5 Lessons from 2020
In addition to feeding people, farmers markets can build essential infrastructure in communities. Here are 5 main lessons drawn farmers markets operating through the pandemic.
Biden’s Agriculture Secretary: Heitkamp is the Wrong Choice
More than 150 Groups Oppose Nomination of Heitkamp for USDA Secretary, arguing that she is the wrong choice for the next USDA Secretary.
Does Kenya Need GMO Cassava? Ask the World Food Prize-winner Who Saved Africa’s Cassava
Hans Herren, who won the 1995 World Food Prize for biological pest control, argues that Africa still does not need genetically modified cassava. Rather, natural solutions can treat pests and keep the soil and crops healthy.
Why Agroecology, not Agribusiness, Will Save Our Food System
The global food system needs transforming. Family farmers can get us there, through agroecology and the equitable use of resources.
Which Grocery Retailers Make the Grade on Bee-friendly Food?
A new scorecard ranks leaders and laggards on protecting pollinators from toxic pesticides in supply chains amid an “insect apocalypse.”
The Pandemic Almost Killed My Restaurants. The Climate Crisis Will Be Worse.
The climate crisis threatens restaurants and the livelihood of workers. The time is now to reconsider our diets and the impact that consumers’ eating habits have on the planet.
The Dark Side of Agricultural Free Trade: A Caribbean Perspective
Free trade in agriculture has disrupted livelihoods, crippled infrastructures, and eroded essential support services within Caribbean economies.
We All Have the Right to Food Grown Without Toxic Pesticides
In some neighborhoods, organic produce can be inaccessible and unaffordable, but everyone has a right to food free from pesticides.
Indigenous Peoples Hold the Past and Future of Food in Their Hands
International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples offers an opportunity to give thanks to the Indigenous cultures who steward the land and protect the world’s biodiversity.
Biden’s Ambitious Goals for Climate and Agriculture Require Bolder Strategies
The final draft of the Democratic National Convention Platform promises to help slow climate change and proposes a net zero emissions goal for agriculture, but Joe Biden’s strategies do not go far enough. There is still time to change that.
Africa’s Farmers: Key to Solving Malnutrition
For the fifth straight year, chronic hunger increased worldwide. But supporting small-scale farmers and ecologically sound farming practices has the potential to nourish communities and the planet.
A Call for Community-Based Seed Diversity During the COVID-19 Pandemic
COVID-19 is pushing America’s seed diversity and sovereignty to a crisis point — and how we respond could affect our food security and even national security for years to come, writes Gary Paul Nabhan.
COVID-19 and the Global Food Supply: Big Lessons from the World’s Small Farms
Successes in farming communities from Nepal to Guatemala hold lessons for those in the U.S. who see small-scale farms as one way to build resilience. Though each success story is different, the communities often share three commonalities.
COVID-19 Is Hitting Kenyan Horticulture Exports Hard
Kenya’s horticulture export sector was booming, but now it is being pummeled by COVID-19 and travel restrictions. Some growers are finding new opportunities in local markets.
Everyone’s Business: Food Systems Transformation as the Defining Issue of our Time
From better business practices to policy intervention, the current pandemic creates an opportunity to address food safety, create more sustainable practices, and transform the food and health systems.
