FAO Forestry Paper Released: Edible Insects: Future Prospects for Food and Feed Security

Recently the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), a United Nations organization that focues on "rais[ing] levels of nutrition, improv[ing] agricultural productivity, better[ing] the lives of rural populations and contribut[ing] to the growth of the world economy" released a report titled, Edible Insects: Future Prospects for Food and Feed Security (2013). The 201-page report is available for free here.

FAO Book Released: Indigenous Peoples' Food Systems & Well-being

Recently the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), a United Nations organization that focues on "rais[ing] levels of nutrition, improv[ing] agricultural productivity, better[ing] the lives of rural populations and contribut[ing] to the growth of the world economy" released a report titled, Indigenous Peoples' Food Systems & Well-being (2013). The 437-page book available here, discusses the following:

[i]ndigenous Peoples in cultural homelands of the most rural areas of developing regions experience challenges in using their traditional food systems and to ensure food security and health despite the treasures of food biodiversity that could support well-being. This book is the third in a series promoting use of local food systems by Indigenous Peoples; the first defines the process to document local food resources, and the second describes food systems in 12 diverse rural areas of different parts of the world. Here we describe processes and findings from more than 40 interdisciplinary collaborators who created health promotion interventions for communities using local food systems. Included are participatory processes using local knowledge and activities specifically for local food; global overviews of Indigenous Peoples' health circumstances, environmental concerns, and infant and child feeding practices; and nine specific case examples from Canada, Japan, Peru, India, Colombia, Thailand and the Federated States of Micronesia. Common themes of successful interventions and evaluations are given along with chapters on human rights issues and implications for policies and strategies. Throughout the 10 years of this research we have shown the strength and promise of local traditional food systems to improve health and well-being. This work is in context of the second United Nations' International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples and the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

As You Sow Report Released: Slipping Through the Cracks: An Issue Brief on Nanomaterials in Food

Recently, As You Sow, a non-profit that "promotes environmental and social corporate responsibility through shareholder advocacy, coalition building, and innovative legal strategies" issued a report titled, Slipping Through the Cracks: An Issue Brief on Nanomaterials in Food (2013). The 19-page report which is available with a one-time registration, is

designed to inform companies, investors, and consumers about the emerging use of engineered nanomaterials in food and food related products. It highlights the potential risks of nanotechnology for companies who are knowingly or unknowingly using it in their products and for public health. 

. . .

Slipping Through the Cracks presents:

• A summary of the emerging usage of nanomaterials within the food industry and international policies and regulations

• Analysis of our survey findings on the use of nanomaterials in food products, packaging, and supplements

• Results and methodology of laboratory tests on currently available foods containing nanomaterials

• Recommendations for companies, investors, and consumers interested in this issue

Related Reports:
Sourcing Framework for Food and Food Packaging Products Containing Nanomaterials (2011).

National Intelligence Council Report Released: Global Trends 2030: Alternative Worlds

This week, the National Intelligence Council (NIC), a bridge agency established in 1979 to "support[ ] the Director of National Intelligence in his role as head of the Intelligence Community," released its annual report titled, Global Trends 2030: Alternative Worlds (2012).  The 160-page report available here, which discusses issues of food, water, climate change, and energy,

is intended to stimulate thinking about the rapid and vast geopolitical changes characterizing the world today and possible global trajectories over the next 15 years. As with the NIC’s previous Global Trends reports, we do not seek to predict the future—which would be an impossible feat—but instead provide a framework for thinking about possible futures and their implications.

In-depth research, detailed modeling and a variety of analytical tools drawn from public, private and academic sources were employed in the production of Global Trends 2030. NIC leadership engaged with experts in nearly 20 countries—from think tanks, banks, government offices and business groups—to solicit reviews of the report.

Prior versions of the report are available here:
Global Trends 2025
Global Trends 2020
Global Trends 2015
Global Trends 2010

National Academies Report Released: Exploring Health and Environmental Costs of Food: Workshop Summary

Recently, the National Academies Press (NAP) released a report authored by Leslie Pray, Laura Pillsbury, and Maria Oria, Rapporteurs; Food and Nutrition Board; Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources; Institute of Medicine; and the National Research Council titled, Exploring Health and Environmental Costs of Food: Workshop Summary (2012). The 106-page report is available free with a one-time registration. According to the summary, the focus of the report

was on the environmental and health impacts of food, using externalities as a basis for discussion and animal products as a case study (i.e., specifically beef, poultry, pork, and dairy). The intention was not to quantify costs or benefits, rather lay the groundwork for doing so. A major goal of the workshop was to identify information sources and methodologies required to recognize and estimate the costs and benefits of environmental and public health consequences associated with the U.S. food system . . .  It was anticipated that the workshop would provide the basis for a follow-up consensus study of the subject and that a central task of the consensus study will be to develop a framework for a fullscale accounting of the environmental and public health effects for all food products of the U.S.food system.

 

UNEP Report Released: Avoiding Future Famines: Strengthening the Ecological Basis of Security through Sustainable Food Systems

This month, the United Nations Environment Programme released a new report titled, Avoiding Future Famines: Strengthening the Ecological Basis of Security through Sustainable Food Systems. The 80-page report which is available here,

addresses an important aspect of the food security discourse: the ecological foundation of food security. The report argues that while factors such as availability, access, utilization and stability must be given adequate attention for global food security to be achieved, an underlying factor – the ecological dimension is not only largely being overlooked but is also being undermined.

The report has two main objectives:

• To describe the problem. What is the significance of the ecological foundation of food security and how is this foundation being undermined by societal pressures 

• To proffer some possible solutions. How can we build sustainable food systems?

The report was developed through collaboration among key international organizations including the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Bank, the World Food Programme (WFP) and the World Resources Institute (WRI).

Congressional Research Service Report Released: Deregulating Genetically Engineered Alfalfa and Sugar Beets: Legal and Administrative Responses

The Congressional Research Service (CRS), the public policy research arm of Congress, just issued the report Deregulating Genetically Engineered Alfalfa and Sugar Beets: Legal and Administrative Responses (Sept. 10, 2012). The brief 18 page report authored by Tadlock Cowen and Kristina Alexander discusses the current status of the situation involving the deregulation genetically engineered crops and the Monsanto Corporation,

the developer of herbicide-tolerant varieties of genetically engineered (GE) alfalfa and sugar beet (called Roundup Ready alfalfa and Roundup Ready sugar beet), petitioned USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) for deregulation of the items. Deregulation of GE plants is the final step in the commercialization process. Monsanto filed a petition for deregulation of its GE alfalfa in 2004, and for GE sugar beets in 2005.

 

SeaWeb’s 10th International Seafood Summit

SeaWeb's 10th International Seafood Summit to be held in Asia.

SeaWeb has announced the dates and location for the 10th annual Seafood Summit. SeaWeb’s Seafood Summit brings together global representatives from the seafood industry and conservation community for in-depth discussions, presentations and networking around the issue of sustainable seafood.

The goal of the Summit is to foster dialogue and partnerships that lead to a seafood marketplace that is environmentally, socially and economically sustainable. The Summit, which has traditionally been held in Europe and North America, will celebrate its 10th anniversary next year in Asia. In addition to the core program there will be a series of unique field trips and topical workshops before and after the Summit.

WHO: The Seafood Summit is attended by a diverse group of seafood industry professionals including producers, processors, distributors, buyers, retailers, chefs and restaurateurs, as well as other stakeholders such as conservation groups, policy makers, academics and the media. The Summit is the only event where all stakeholders come together around sustainable seafood.

WHEN: 6th – 8th September 2012

WHERE: The Kowloon Shangri-La, Hong Kong

Environmental Working Group 2011 Shopper's Guide to Pesticides

This guide from the Environmental Working Group finds that "The health benefits of a diet rich in fruits and vegetables outweigh the risks of pesticide exposure. [However, you should] reduce your exposures as much as possible, but eating conventionally-grown produce is far better than not eating fruits and vegetables at all.

The Shopper's Guide to Pesticide in Produce will help you determine which fruits and vegetables have the most pesticide residues and are the most important to buy organic. You can lower your pesticide intake substantially by avoiding the 12 most contaminated fruits and vegetables and eating the least contaminated produce."

Food Security, Farming, and Climate Change to 2050: Scenarios, Results, Policy Options -- IFPI

This report by the International Food Policy Research Institute, copyright dated 2010, provides an analysis of the scope of climate change as it relates to food security, including who will be most affected and what policymakers can do to facilitate adaptation.

Using empirical analysis, the authors suggest that policymakers should take into account (1) the value of broad-based sustainable development, (2) the power of investments to enhance agricultural productivity, (3) the importance of an open world trade system, and (4) the need for early action on both adaptation and mitigation. As policymakers in the developing world well know, neither food security nor climate change can be viewed in isolation. This report will be indispensible to readers trying to tackle these inextricably linked issues.

Energy Use in the US Food System

This Report from the United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, (Economic Research Report Number 94) dated March 2010, finds:

Energy is an important input in growing, processing, packaging, distributing, storing, preparing, serving, and disposing of food. Analysis using the two most recent U.S. benchmark input-output accounts and a national energy data system shows that in the United States, use of energy along the food chain for food purchases by or for U.S. households increased between 1997 and 2002 at more than six times the rate of increase in total domestic energy use. This increase in food-related energy flows is over 80 percent of energy flow increases nationwide over the period. The use of more energy-intensive technologies throughout the U.S. food system accounted for half of this increase, with the remainder attributed to population growth and higher real (inflation-adjusted) per capita food expenditures. A projection of food-related energy use based on 2007 total U.S. energy consumption and food expenditure data and the benchmark 2002 input-output accounts suggests that food-related energy use as a share of the national energy budget grew from 14.4 percent in 2002 to an estimated 15.7 percent in 2007.

Emerging Issues in the U.S. Organic Industry

This report by the United States Department of Agriculture (Economic Information Bulletin No. EIB-55) dated June 2009 finds that consumer demand for organic products has widened over the last decade. While new producers have emerged to help meet demand, market participants report that a supply squeeze is constraining growth for both individual firms and the organic sector overall.

Partly in response to shortages in organic supply, Congress in 2008 included provisions in the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act (2008 Farm Act) that, for the first time, provide direct financial support to farmers to convert to organic production. This report examines recent economic research on the adoption of organic farming systems, organic production costs and returns, and market conditions to gain a better understanding of the organic supply squeeze and other emerging issues in this rapidly changing industry.