Britain’s biggest food retailer Tesco estimated that, in the first six months of this year, almost 30,000 tonnes of food were wasted in its stores and distribution centres across the UK. Using the latest figures published by the Waste and Resources Action Programme (Wrap), Tesco calculated the food waste footprint for 25 of the supermarket’s […]
Tesco: 68% of bagged salads are wasted Read More »
On October 17, this year’s World Food Prize will be awarded to executives at chemical-biotechnology companies Monsanto and Syngenta for developing genetically modified organisms. The three laureates sharing the 250,000 dollar prize are Robert Fraley, executive vice president and chief technology officer at Monsanto; Mary-Dell Chilton, founder of Syngenta Biotechnology, and Marc Van Montagu, a
World Food Prize Goes to Monsanto and Syngenta Read More »
“The Committee on World Food Security (CFS) must not allow itself to be captured by biofuels interest groups”, 80 civil society organizations, including Save Our Seeds, warn in an open letter issued on the occasion of the 40th annual plenary meeting of the UN-sponsored Committee, held this week in Rome. The CFS is discussing recommendations
Open Letter: Promotion of Biofuels is Undermining Right to Food Read More »
According to a new report published today by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), 842 million people are chronically undernourished worldwide. This means that in the period 2011-13 one in every eight was suffering from hunger. The majority of the hungry live in developing countries, most of them in Southern Asia (295 million), followed by
New FAO Report: 842 Million Suffering from Hunger Read More »
Swiss agronomist Hans Herren received the Right Livelihood Award “for his expertise and pioneering work in promoting a safe, secure and sustainable global food supply”. The four winners of the prize often referred to as ‘Alternative Nobel Prizes’ were announced on Thursday at a press conference in Stockholm. Hans Herren, president of Biovision Foundation and
‘Alternative Nobel Prize’ awarded to Hans Herren Read More »
A United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) report published on September 18th calls for radical changes in agriculture and food production. Farming in rich and poor nations alike should shift from monoculture towards greater varieties of crops, reduced use of fertilizers and other inputs, greater support for small-scale farmers, and more locally focused
UNCTAD wake-up call: More support for small-scale farmers needed Read More »
The waste of some 1.3 billion tons of food each year is causing economic losses of $750 billion and significant damage to the environment, according to an FAO report.
FAO: one-third of world’s food wasted annually Read More »
Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA), a coalition of pan-African networks, with members in 50 African countries and representing smallholder farmers, indigenous peoples and civil society, met in Addis Ababa 12-16th August 2013 to formulate an action plan to safeguard Africa’s sovereignty over its food, seeds and natural resources from the assault on Africa’s
African Food Sovereignty under attack by corporate interests Read More »
The European Commission announced on Monday that, in response to a report from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) identifying risks posed to bees by ‘neonicotinoid’ pesticides, it will start to take some protective measures. However the Commission did not go far enough to placate environmentalists who, along with the EFSA itself, had called for
EU Commission fails to ban bee-killing pesticides Read More »
On Wednesday and Thursday, the European Parliament’s Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development adopted its position in a vote on the reform of EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). In terms of direct payments to farmers, the result of the vote was a watering down of the Commission’s proposal on ‘Greening’ – linking payments to a
CAP Reform: Greening proposals watered down Read More »
