Public Health

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 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.

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.

Research Raises Concerns for Pregnancy Complications from Pesticide Exposure

Researchers discover a correlation between glyphosate pesticide exposure during pregnancy and complications including low birth weight, raising another health concern for the world’s most commonly used and increasingly controversial pesticide.

New Book Examines Agroecology as the Future of Farming

The Institute for Food and Development Policy, a nonprofit known as Food First, released a new book entitled Fertile Ground: Scaling Agroecology from the Ground Up, edited by Groundswell International Executive Director and co-founder Steve Brescia. Fertile Ground presents nine innovative case…

Ross Fraser: “There is no one-size-fits-all solution to hunger”

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimates that 42 million people, including 13 million children, in the United States were food insecure in 2015. While food insecurity rates have been declining since 2009, the last year of the Great Recession, food insecurity…

Documentary to Highlight Those Finding Solutions to Hunger, Poverty, Landlessness

A documentary film adapted from the book Hope’s Edge: The Next Diet for a Small Planet by Frances Moore Lappé and Anna Lappé launched on Kickstarter in May 2017. Fifteen years after the book’s original publication in 2002, Luis Medina, a…

School Food Gets a Makeover with Meal Preparation Company Solo Fresco

Food Tank speaks with Karl Robillard, Director of Marketing and Communications for Meals on Wheels San Francisco, about the proposed federal budget cuts, the ensuing media frenzy, and what it means for the crucial services they provide to seniors in the community.

Food Insecurity on the Rise: A New Collaborative Report Provides a Global Picture

A new collaborative report combines a variety of data sources for a comprehensive picture of global food insecurity in 65 countries in 2016, its exacerbating factors, and a near-future outlook.

Australia: No Change In Junk Food Advertising To Kids In 5 Years

There has been no reduction in advertising unhealthy foods to Australian children on television, despite the food industry’s introduction of voluntary self-regulation standards in 2009.

IFPRI Report Examines How to Feed a Rapidly Urbanizing Population

The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) has released its 2017 Global Food Policy Report. This year, it particularly focuses on ensuring food security in a world where two-thirds of the population is projected to live in urban centers by 2050.

Building Resilient Rural Livelihoods is Key to Helping Yemen

More than 17 million people around Yemen’s rugged landscape are acutely food insecure, and the figure is likely to increase as the ongoing conflict continues to erode the ability to grow, import, distribute, and pay for food.

Meals on Wheels SF and the Impact of Budget Cuts

Food Tank speaks with Karl Robillard, Director of Marketing and Communications for Meals on Wheels San Francisco, about the proposed federal budget cuts, the ensuing media frenzy, and what it means for the crucial services they provide to seniors in the community.

Boston Herald’s Lindsay Kalter: Put the Food System on the Next Generation’s Radar

Lindsay Kalter, Health Care Reporter at the Boston Herald, is speaking at the inaugural Boston Food Tank Summit, “Investing in Discovery,” which will be held in collaboration with Tufts University and Oxfam America on April 1, 2017.

Healthier Diet Links U.S. Food and Health Care Systems in Climate Change Mitigation

UCSB healthy diet study links diet change to greenhouse gas emissions reductions in U.S. food and health care systems.

Largest Humanitarian Crisis Since 1945

Severe food insecurity and humanitarian crises in South Sudan, Yemen, Somalia, and Nigeria are reported by United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator Stephen O’Brien after visiting the affected areas. Described as worst in U.N. history.

Food Sell-By Dates Are About to Change In a Big Way

The Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) and the Food Marketing Institute (FMI), two major food industry retail and manufacturer organizations, calls for widespread adoption of two standard phrases for food labels: Best If Used By or Use By.

Catalina Lopez-Ospina on Promoting Fresh Food Access in Boston

Catalina Lopez-Ospina, Director of the Mayor’s Office of Food Initiatives in Boston, is speaking at the inaugural Boston Food Tank Summit, “Investing in Discovery,” which will be held in collaboration with Tufts University and Oxfam America on April 1, 2017.

Oliver Gottfried: “Do not forget the hands that feed us”

Oliver Gottfried works around the United States and the world, focusing on farm workers rights, elevating their voices so that they can pursue better lives. He urges consumers to get to know their food system so that we can all take action when injustices arise.

Jessica Fanzo Calls for More Accountability Across the Food System

Dr. Jessica Fanzo talks food as a central part of our lives, the impact of our daily choices on health and income security around the world, and the idea that letting go of some traditions may help solve some of the most daunting problems our food system faces.

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