FAO in North America

Bugs for breakfast?

Submitted by Rachel Friedman on August 19, 2011

©FAO/Yasuyoshi Chiba / FAO

From chocolate-covered crickets to mealworm quiche, it may not be haut cuisine, but dishes with insects are at least gaining more press. September’s issue of The Atlantic includes an article on the edible insect industry. While insects offer an energy-efficient source of protein, there are challenges in regulations and processing, not to mention shifting perceptions around eating bugs.

Dana Goodyear examines the history of entomophagy (bug eating) and current trends in this week’s New Yorker (subscription required), reminding readers that it wasn’t long ago that sushi, a staple of grocery aisles today, elicited a similar “ick” response among American consumers. (Video here.)

FAO has also explored the potential of bugs for human consumption. Learn more in Humans Bite Back.

What do you think? Are bugs the new sushi?

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Good eats on Scientific American

Submitted by Rachel Friedman on August 17, 2011

Last week, the Scientific American blog devoted a day to exploring food. Topics spanned everything from culture, diet and nutrition to farming practices and the agricultural industry. Guest bloggers expounded upon organic agriculture and foraging, coffee culture and cheese making, spurring discussion and providing reading material for any food lover.

The entire collection of blog articles can be found on the SciAm blog.

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Oxfam maps food price ‘pressure points’

Submitted by Rachel Friedman on August 15, 2011

Oxfam International has published an interactive map and infographic that examines links between food price spikes, climate, trade and hunger in 21 countries.


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Secretary Clinton on famine and feeding the future

Submitted by Rachel Friedman on August 12, 2011

On Thursday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke at the International Food Policy Research Institute on the famine in the Horn of Africa, stressing the need for both urgent short-term emergency relief and long-term support to agricultural self-sufficiency and food security.

“While we hurry to deliver life-saving assistance, we must also maintain our focus on the future by continuing to invest in long-term food security in countries that are susceptible to drought and food shortages.”

Clinton announced an additional $17 million in U.S. emergency assistance, with $12 million earmarked for Somalia, bringing total U.S. humanitarian assistance to the region to more than $580 million this year.

“Though food shortages may be triggered by drought, they are not caused by drought, but rather by weak or nonexistent agricultural systems that fail to produce enough food or market opportunities in good times and break down completely in the bad times.

“In other words, a hunger crisis is not solely an act of God. It is a complex problem of infrastructure, governance, markets, education. These are things we can shape and strengthen. So that means this is a problem that we can solve.”

Watch the video of the event here or read the complete transcript of Secretary Clinton’s remarks here.

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Trading moonshine for tequila

Submitted by Rachel Friedman on August 12, 2011

©FAO/Guissepe BizzarriBioenergy sources have increasingly been a topic for discussion by those interested in food prices and food security. Research in the journal Energy and Environmental Science presents a life-cycle analysis for biofuel derived from agave. This assessment of greenhouse gas emissions indicates that agave may offer a more efficient bioenergy feedstock than corn, and in some cases even sugarcane. One other draw of the succulent plant is that it does not compete with edible crops, and thus directly impact food prices. Read more in The Guardian.

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Eight slices of a food security pie

Submitted by Rachel Friedman on August 11, 2011

Photo: ©FAO/Paballo Thekiso / FAO

With famine in the Horn of Africa, global population set to hit 7 billion in October, and environmental degradation threatening to undermine natural and agricultural systems, the challenge of feeding the world is daunting. In the July issue of Nature, author Jason Clay of the World Wildlife Fund sets forth eight strategies to address hunger and food insecurity on a planet with finite resources. He argues the all eight of these “food wedges” must be tackled simultaneously.

Clay’s eight “Food Wedges”:
1. Responsible use of genetics
2. Better agricultural practices
3. Efficiency through technology
4. Rehabilitating degraded land
5. Ensuring property rights
6. Reducing food waste
7. Addressing consumption and malnutrition
8. Sequestering carbon and conserving soil

Read more on the Science and Development Network.

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Digging deeper into soil benefits

Submitted by Rachel Friedman on August 9, 2011

What is out of sight may be out of mind, but in this case it may also be combating climate change. A new study by University of Manchester scientist Douglas Kell explores the potential to breed crops with root structures that sequester more carbon and improve nutrient and water holding capacity in soil. Results from this research indicate that a modest increase in rooting depth, from 1m to 2m, could significantly reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide levels. A calculator developed Professor Kell provides estimates for the amount of carbon sequestered by crops and grasses, and further illustrates the benefit of deep-rooting plants.

Read more about the research and its implications on Science Daily.

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In celebration of markets

Submitted by Rachel Friedman on August 8, 2011

Yesterday marked the start of the 12th annual National Farmers Market Week, running through August 13th. The week follows the USDA’s official release of its 2011 National Farmers Market Directory, which presents statistics on the status and growth of farmers markets throughout the country. While farmers market transactions still only account for less than 1% of food purchases, the number of markets in operation has grown from 6,132 in 2010 to 7,175 this year.

In a similar vein, the Union of Concerned Scientists announced the release of its new report Market Forces: Creating Jobs through Public Investment in Local and Regional Food Systems. The report explores how such local and regional institutions as farmers markets and community-supported agriculture programs can contribute to building the economy and creating jobs. According to the report, “modest public funding for 100 to 500 otherwise-unsuccessful farmers markets a year could create as many as 13,500 jobs over a five-year period.”

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LeafSnap – an app for armchair botanists

Submitted by Teresa Buerkle on August 7, 2011

Citizen scientists have a new mobile app to add to their arsenal, a virtual field guide that allows them to identify tree species by taking a photograph of the tree’s leaves.

LeafSnap, developed by computer scientists at Columbia University and the University of Maryland, in collaboration with botanists at the Smithsonian, uses technology similar to that used in face recognition software. iPhone and iPad users can simply take a photo of a leaf and the app compares it with others in a central library of around 8000 images. 

“To its creators, LeafSnap isn’t just a way to put smartphone or tablet owners more in touch with the flora around them. It could be a way to tap the power of citizen science to map the spread and the diversity of trees in unprecedented detail. “

For now the app only covers trees and shrubs of the northeastern United States, but the developers hope to cover all the trees of North America within a few years.  The free app is available for iPad and iPhone, and an Android version is on the way.

Read more: LeafSnap – The Field Guide on Your iPhone – Popular Mechanics

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Were Granny’s green beans really better?

Submitted by Teresa Buerkle on August 5, 2011

I have a weakness for infographics (and vegetables) so couldn’t resist this Grist post by Natalie Jones, a News21 fellow and graduate student in journalism and public health at the University of California, Berkeley. Jones cites research that Donald Davis, a scientist retired from the University of Texas at Austin, and his colleagues published in 2004 comparing USDA data on vegetable nutrients from 1950 to data from 1999. The study of 43 garden crops found a decline in their nutrient value, particularly for key nutrients like calcium, iron, phosphorus, riboflavin and ascorbic acid.

“Davis believes that the primary reason for the decrease is selective breeding: As growers and researchers have spent the last 50 years trying to produce varieties of crops that yield more fruit, they’ve been ignoring the effects on nutrient content. Davis cites a few studies that compared high-yield varieties to non-high-yield varieties in the same soil and growing conditions, and found decreased nutrient content in the former.”

And the infographic:

What are your thoughts? Anyone with recent research or experiences to share?

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