Full Coverage: Food

13.05.2008 David Dickson, Director, SciDev.Net, presents the critique of a recent report on the future of modern agriculture. Even as we fight the current needs of a hungry world in an environmentally sustainable way, the contributions of science and technology deserve recognition and not merely blame, he asserts.

13.05.2008 FALLUJAH, May 12 (IPS) - Sharp increases in food prices have generated a new wave of anti-occupation and anti-U.S. sentiment in Fallujah.

12.05.2008 More than 27,000 people in the Irrawaddy delta region of Burma -- one of the areas hardest hit by Cyclone Nargis -- have received food aid and other crucial supplies, a UN food agency announced yesterday.

12.05.2008 A small village in rural Kerala has successfully dealt with the onslaught of globalisation. Farmer groups and a distribution and retail network by the local community have helped producers get maximum returns for their farm produce and traditional products. The farmers are now happy with the elimination of middlemen.

09.05.2008 Once called India’s bread basket, Punjab’s success story has been marred by pesticide poisoning, soil contamination, farmer indebtedness and drug addiction. A recent report says the production-centric approach of industrial agriculture needs to make way for environmentally sound practices that promote equitable access to food.

09.05.2008 Diverting agricultural land to produce biofuels, increased dependence on imports, hoarding by traders, ban on export of food grains by neighbours are reasons cited for rising food prices in Nepal. Experts feel the government needs to take long-term measures if it wants to save people dying of hunger.

08.05.2008 The global food crisis is unraveling economic advances made in recent years by large sections of the poor working classes of Latin America, reports a U.S.-based ethnic media organization.

08.05.2008 Afghanistan government with UN help will soon carry out a study to assess the nutritional needs of people affected by rising food prices for future interventions. The country has large numbers of stunted, underweight and wasted children, and women in reproductive age suffering from malnourishment.

07.05.2008 UN Security Council needs to discuss the current global food crisis and take corrective measures before the situation goes out of hand. Experts feel that the UN body must recognise that war and civil strife cannot be prevented without addressing social and economic conditions.

07.05.2008 Keski-Amerikan maat pohtivat ruokaturvan parantamista yhdessä ALBA-maiden (Bolivaarinen vaihtoehto Amerikan kansoille) kanssa. Nicaraguan roolina on toimia vilja-aittana.

06.05.2008 With food hitting the headlines like never before, the International Institute for Environment and Development has launched a web-based publication that describes how to rethink food production and distribution for environmental and social gain.

06.05.2008 YK:n pyrinnöt ruokakriisin ratkaisemiseksi eivät saa kaikilta kiitosta. Senegalin presidentti Abdoulaye Wade haukkui FAO:n turhaksi ja tehottomaksi järjestöksi.

06.05.2008 Soaring prices of food items are making it difficult for poor countries to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. Any long-term planning has to focus on MDGs and cross-sectoral linkages with adequate budgets if governments wish to tide over the present crisis, says Salil Shetty, Director of the UN Millennium Campaign.

05.05.2008 Thaimaa haluaisi Mekong-maiden perustavan riisinviejien järjestön. Kartelli-idea sai tuoreeltaan varsin nuivan vastaanoton. Vaikka riisin vientihinta on korkea, viljelijät eivät juuri pääse rikastumaan.

05.05.2008 Hot weather and lack of safe drinking water have led to a severe spate in diarrohea cases in Bangladesh. According to health experts, poverty, rising food prices and low levels of awareness on sanitation are driving people to eat cheap contaminated food.

05.05.2008 The devastating Cyclone Nargis that struck Myanmar early Saturday has claimed 350 lives, as death tolls mount. While aid operations were restricted by the military junta in the outskirts of capital Yangon, the state media announced the country will go ahead with the constitutional referendum on May 10.

03.05.2008 UNITED NATIONS, May 2 (OneWorld) - The global food crisis is likely to persist if speculative investment by the corporate world is not reined in soon, warned a top expert responsible for reporting to the United Nations on human rights violations.

02.05.2008 Ilman lisärahaa ruokakriisi voi räjähtää käsiin, varoittavat YK ja Maailmanpankki. Järjestöt vaativat kansainvälistä yhteisöä avaamaan kukkaronsa ja antamaan Maailman ruokaohjelma WFP:lle sen hätäapuun tarvitsemat 755 miljoonaa dollaria.

02.05.2008 Demand for biofuels is destroying tribal peoples’ land and lives, according to a new report. Palm oil is one of the most destructive crops followed by sugar cane, soy, corn, manioc and jatropha.
From: Survival

01.05.2008 Sri Lankan government’s decision to ease restrictions on fishing in Eastern Province, a territory hitherto controlled by LTTE rebels, will give much needed fillip to the industry – a major source of revenue for the country’s exchequer and livelihood for people. It will also help people recover from 2004 tsunami disaster.