Food Pages: On Earth Food Politics

Think seasonal, sustainable, local and healthy

"Eating is an agricultural act" -- Wendell Berry

The Seed Conspiracy is revealing and speaks of organic ag, open pollinated seeds and corporate agriculture. One of the original organic seed companies, Seeds of Change, found itself in a takeover by the Mars food corporation. This was a case study of how big ag is eating up independent companies who focus on healthy foods. In the US, the acquisition of Seeds of Change in 1997 became one of the first in a series of acquisitions by large corporations of organic/natural/wellness brands that pioneered a fast expanding sector in the US (and internationally) of healthy, 'natural - whole' foods

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In contrast to organic food production that often begins with heirloom/open pollinated seed, the large agricultural producers/agribusiness corporations principally use 'monoculture' agricultural techniques necessitating patented, hybrid seeds provided by international companies such as Monsanto, DuPont and Syngenta, who control approximately 50% of the global proprietary seed market.

http://www.gmwatch.org/gm-firms/10558-the-worlds-top-ten-seed-companies-who-owns-nature

Note: As of Aug 2015: Monsanto-Syngenta Monsanto, the world’s largest seed company, is attempting to swallow up the chemical operations of Syngenta, the world’s largest producer of pesticides and other farm inputs

Hybrid/patented seeds require intensive petrochemical/agribusiness inputs (with externalities) v open pollinated seeds and independent agricultural methods.

Multiple issues, political and business, are increasingly being debated re: production/yields/healthy products/soil depletion/acquifer/water depletion and longer term sustainability of agribusiness -- local and global agriculture is re-examining its production and future...

See more: 'The Food Movement, Rising' -- http://michaelpollan.com/articles-archive/the-food-movement-rising

Wendell Berry and a food 'obsession' by environmentalist writer Michael Pollan thinking about the roots of food -- http://michaelpollan.com/articles

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Seeds: Without Patents and Corporate Controlled Petrochemical Inputs

Seed Saving

• Food production that aims for water saving, soil saving, minimal pesticide/herbicide use...
• Food production that aims for healthy food products that are a basis to independent economics...
• Alternative agriculture practices that are diverse, resilient and community-oriented...

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GreenPolicy360 Food-related Categories and Pages:

Alternative Agriculture

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Farm-to-Table

Farmers Markets

Community Supported Agriculture

Community Gardens

Market Gardening

'Slow Food', Alternative to Fast Food

Food Saving, Reducing Food Loss

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Farm-Related Policies

Food-Related Policies

Genetic Engineering

Pesticides and Pest Management

Climate Smart Agriculture

Permaculture --- Permaculture Green Practices

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Resources

Civil Eats - http://civileats.com/

(TW) https://twitter.com/CivilEats

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Slow Food

Slow Food USA

http://www.slowfoodusa.org/join-meatless-monday

Meatless Monday

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Wholesome Wave

https://www.wholesomewave.org/

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http://www.ideafit.com/idea-food-and-nutrition-tips

https://www.ideafit.com/fitness-library/improve-our-diets-save-the-world

Weather and food costs are intertwined, as each year’s harvest is shaped by the weather and the availability of water. Cases in point are the severe droughts unfolding this year in California and Brazil. It’s also connected to a historic lack of water along with a lack of clarity on how to prioritize limited resources of water that are available, or what the foodservice industry should—or even could—be doing.

... climate change and water scarcity affect the foodservice industry today, along with strategies for managing the cost and supply of food, and protecting our water resources and businesses in the coming years.

Will Sarni, director of enterprise water strategy for Deloitte Consulting, delivered sobering projections:

• In 2025, two-thirds of the world’s population will be living in water-stressed or water-scarce areas.

• By 2025, an estimated 45% of the global GDP will be generated in water-scarce/stressed areas of the world.

"If you live in the western U.S., you know this is real and you know it’s impacting businesses, the public sector and so on," Sarni said. "There is an estimate that the drought is approximately a $3 billion hit to the state’s economy. That’s not good news—as California is the world’s seventh-largest economy, roughly, so $3 billion starts to become meaningful in the scheme of things. But this is not unique to California. California is essentially the canary in the mine highlighting some of the big issues that countries and regions are facing. We’re also seeing it in China and Brazil."

We are also depleting our water assets. We are basically mining groundwater, Sarni explained, meaning we are extracting water faster than it can be recharged. In essence we’re taking it out of the bank, which offers no buffer for any of the shocks triggered by drought or climate change.

But "hope is not a strategy, so let’s stop pawing at the drought," Sarni said. "Let’s deal with some of the structural issues that we’re facing in terms of how we manage water, price water and value water from both an economic and human perspective. The past is not a guide to the future. Things really have changed. We need to look at what the world will look like going forward."

Sarni called for more pragmatic management of water resources and adopting the concept of analyzing "virtual water," the water footprint of any product, food or otherwise, that requires water to manufacture it, import it or export it. It’s fundamental to know how much water it takes to grow something and then know where it goes, he said.

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Menus of Change Initiative - http://www.menusofchange.org/

Solutions to today’s food-related social and environmental concerns... such as:

• Obesity, diabetes, and healthcare costs

• The sourcing and production of our food

• The challenge of feeding an additional two billion people by 2050, as global resources decline

Menus of Change: The Business of Healthy, Sustainable, Delicious Food Choices is a ground-breaking initiative from The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health that examines these key issues. Launched in 2012, the initiative aims to create a network of collaboration among America’s most talented chefs, nutrition and environmental scientists, farm and fisheries experts, food service executives, and policy makers.