Posts Tagged ‘global food’
The Food You Eat Is Poisoned
The Food You Eat Is Poisoned: Decolonizing Agriculture and Reviving Ecological Knowledge in Kurdistan. Farming in the mountains and plains of Kurdistan has always been more than a way to feed families; it is a way of life, a form of resistance, a connection to land holding deep memory. Long before industrial agriculture and state…
Read MoreHow to Feed the World and Save the Planet – A View from the Ground
“Better production ultimately means … protecting soils instead of depleting them, it means using water more wisely, it means bringing back diversity and local solutions.” – Beth Bechdol, FAO Deputy Director-General, on the FAO’s World Food Day 2025 opening plenary Anyone who tuned into the FAO’s World Food Day programme last week would be forgiven…
Read MoreThe Globalized, Industrialized Food System Is Destroying the World
The Globalized, Industrialized Food System Is Destroying the World — We Urgently Need to Support Local Food Economies Our food system is linked to an economic system fundamentally biased against what’s good for people and the planet. Introduction We can thank small farmers, environmentalists, academic researchers, and food and farming activists for advancing ecologically sound…
Read MoreFood Inflation
Food inflation: the math doesn’t add up without factoring in corporate power – Large farmers’ protests broke out in at least 65 countries over the past year. From India to Kenya through Colombia and France, desperation has hit a breaking point. Farmers warn that without better prices and more protection, their future is at risk.…
Read MoreNew Worlds to Build
George Monbiot recently came out swinging for me in his article ‘The cruel fantasies of well-fed people’, concerning my book Saying NO to a Farm-Free Future. Since that book in large part is a rejoinder to his own volume, Regenesis, I can hardly blame him for aiming a few blows. I just wish they hadn’t…
Read MoreWater Grabbing: Squeezing Communities Dry
In 2023 the United Nations’ authority on water warned that a global water crisis was imminent. For many communities, this crisis is already upon them, with water shortages affecting over a third of the world’s population, and many others dealing with devastating floods caused by climate change. The UN predicts the situation will get significantly…
Read MoreRevitalizing Indigenous Ecosystems
Oaxaca, one of the most biodiverse and culturally rich states in Mexico has, over the last two decades, rapidly exploded into a booming tourist destination. Visitors find themselves lost in the beauty of its diverse cultures, artisan crafts, vibrant cuisine, and its most famous beverage – mezcal. Tequila and mezcal have witnessed a remarkable surge…
Read MoreFive bad arguments against agrarian localism
Perhaps incorrectly, or even arrogantly, I’m anticipating that my soon-to-be-published book Saying NO to a Farm-Free Future might elicit pushback from those unconvinced by its arguments for agrarian localism. If it does, obviously that’s fine. It’s a polemical sort of book, so counterargument is only to be expected. But my hope is for thoughtful, engaged…
Read MoreThe Well is Running Dry on Irrigated Agriculture
Too much rain, but not enough water. That’s the title of a recent article about the massive rainstorms that hit California last December. The US state got a lot of badly needed rain, but, as pointed out in the article, this was nowhere near enough to save it from the severe drought the region is…
Read MoreChak Chok: a campaign against junk food
Transnational corporations have been spectacularly successful in their profit-driven quest to hook the world on junk food. The global sale of packaged foods swelled to US$2.8 trillion by 2020, and is estimated to balloon to $3.4 trillion by 2027. Soda (soft drink) sales have exploded globally, reaching $995 billion by 2002, and are predicted to…
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