tagged w/ food production
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To mark the world’s population reaching 7 billion on Halloween 2011, WORLDbytes has launched this hilarious parody of modern day Malthusian thinking. The programme features talented Blood Brothers star and ex-RSC actor James Hirst as the central character, Bill. For Bill the news of 7 billion is a Halloween nightmare. His solutions include: getting rid of ‘thickies’, euthanasia, gelding and paying African women not to have children- a carbon offsetting scheme first proposed by the Optimum Population Trust, now rebranded as Population Matters. Bill is no Daily Mail reader, he gets his over-consumption paranoia from the Guardian and he’s going for the cull. This parody reflects WORLDbytes’ concern to challenge the profoundly anti-human roots of over population ideas.To mark the world’s population reaching 7 billion on Halloween 2011, WORLDbytes... more
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Homes on wheels with dedicated transport highways may sound like science fiction, but Terreform1, a group of artists, scientists and architects based in Brooklyn are developing a project called Homeway, that re-imagines the American suburb as a linear community.
Consider that today’s suburban neighborhoods span several miles outside city centers. This urban sprawl leads to increased energy consumption, higher transportation costs and expensive water and waste management systems. The Homeway project envisions the average suburban home affixed with wheels and capable of traveling between urban centers along existing highways. Likewise power plants, food production areas and waste management facilities will be lined up along the roadways creating an interconnected urban structure where basic amenities are produced and distributed alongside these moving communities.
Moveable houses are just one design concept in the quest for sustainable urban living. How would build an energy efficient urban center?
Homes on wheels with dedicated transport highways may sound like science fiction, but... more
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Global warming has already harmed the world's food production and has driven up food prices by as much as 20% over recent decades, new research has revealed.The drop in the productivity of crop plants around the world was not caused by changes in rainfall but was because higher temperatures can cause dehydration, prevent pollination and lead to slowed photosynthesis.
:http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/may/05/food-prices-global-warmingGlobal warming has already harmed the world's food production and has driven up... more
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suzane
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added this
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9 months ago
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This week, The Washington Post released details on USDA plans to put $60 million toward “three major studies on the effects of climate change on crops and forests to help ensure farmers and foresters can continue producing food and timber while trying to limit the impact of a changing environment.”
One of the studies will focus on corn, a crop that’s become integral to food production, particularly in the United States. This vegetable is one of the key components of today’s typical American diet. Corn may be a popular summer staple, but it’s also used in many other forms, from high fructose corn syrup used as a sweetener in many prepackaged products to feeding the cattle United States citizens consume every day.
Beyond showing various hunting and slaughter practices, “Kill It, Cook It, Eat It,” has shown how several parts of the food chain are connected. From rearing to packaging, from what animals eat to what we eventually cook, the show has helped support the concerns that environmental shifts can also significantly change what whole nations are fed and how consistently.
How has “Kill It, Cook It, Eat It” shed more light on food production alternatives? Can we sustain the amount of livestock raised if the production of produce staples like corn change? What are some of the most interesting facts you’ve learned from “Kill It, Cook It, Eat It” this season?
Relive the journey in the series wrap-up! An all new episode of “Kill It, Cook It, Eat It” premieres tonight at 10/9c.This week, The Washington Post released details on USDA plans to put $60 million... more
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As restaurants take Foie Gras off the menu, in this ‘on the sofa’ discussion, Kirk Leech argues that we shouldn’t worry about eating it and that the detractors have got it wrong. Our intolerance of life style choices is a problem he argues, force feeding ducks is not. Respondents debate the issue and discuss the animal rights angle, reducing humans to the level of ducks, posh food, production and campaign violence. More than a culinary culture war is on the cards.As restaurants take Foie Gras off the menu, in this ‘on the sofa’... more
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A must see!
http://robertkennerfilms.com/films/files/detail_current.php
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11-year-old Birke Baehr presents his take on a major source of our food -- far-away and less-than-picturesque industrial farms. Keeping farms out of sight promotes a rosy, unreal picture of big-box agriculture, he argues, as he outlines the case to green and localize food production.
Birke Baehr wants us to know how our food is made, where it comes from, and what's in it. At age 11, he's planning a career as an organic farmer.11-year-old Birke Baehr presents his take on a major source of our food -- far-away... more
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Manufacturer and marketer of processed foods, primarily canned vegetables, fruit and tomato products.Del Monte, the US food production and distribution company known for its "man from Del Monte" ads, is set to be taken over by a group of private equity ...Manufacturer and marketer of processed foods, primarily canned vegetables, fruit and... more
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The emerging economies of Brazil, India, China and Russia will enjoy an agricultural boom over the next decade as production stalls in Western Europe, a report says.
Agricultural output in the Bric nations will grow three times as fast as in the major developed countries, the joint United Nations-OECD study said.
While overall world net production of commodities is forecast to grow 22%, production among the 30 members of the OECD is estimated at 10%. Production in western Europe alone will stagnate.
This OECD growth rate is almost three times slower than the growth rate of Bric countries, which is forecast to expand 27%. The report also identifies Ukraine as likely to see rapid agricultural growth over the next few years.
Crop prices, in real terms, will rise between 16% to 40% "above their average for the decade".
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/10320149.stmThe emerging economies of Brazil, India, China and Russia will enjoy an agricultural... more
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The Internets are weird, but partly because they expose elements of our world and culture that are odd and otherwise go unseen. For example, take any fetish that exists in well kept secrecy in the real world and expose it to the anonymity of the web, suddenly people with shared interests start connecting with one another in a way they never could before.
So, when tiny nuggets like this story about comfy cows in Norway upping their milk production by 5-6 percent just from lying around on mattresses for approximately half of a given day, it actually makes me reflect. Which is more odd, finding quality returns when providing more comfortable environments for food producing animals, or taking extreme measures to maximize production and output?
You're likely already familiar with the reputation Argentina has when it comes to their high quality, free range beef.
Beef is, indeed, bueno! -- A look at the Argentine beef industry
The secret to the savory flavor of Argentine beef lies in the grass-fed technique. It takes longer, but the finished product is renown. What you might not be privy to is that Argentinean beef has slipped on the international market. Once dominant, the Argentine cattle business is following in the footsteps of other cattle producing countries by switching from grass-fed rearing to feedlot pens. This comes after reports that Argentine beef consumption must lower by 2011 due to cattle shortages.
The method in which I arrived at my personal outlook may not be scientific, but hearing that more comfortable environments helped increase milk production doesn't really surprise me. It also doesn't surprise me that grass-fed cattle produce a higher quality beef product. After all, if I were facing the inevitable (in this case, a trip to the slaughterhouse), I would feel much more relaxed spending my days grazing grasslands. But in fairness, to take that scenario one step further and suppose that I discovered my fate I would more than likely try everything in my power to end up like Maxine the fugitive cow. Not only did she escape from a slaughterhouse, but she also managed to earn her way into a slaughter-free living on a farm. Pretty nice outcome.
A Cow's Dash for Freedom
I'm just saying.The Internets are weird, but partly because they expose elements of our world and... more
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Several times in recent weeks the question has come up in conversation: How are "baby carrots" produced?Several times in recent weeks the question has come up in conversation: How are... more
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YPNation contributor Kate Tighe writes our food production system is in dire need of an overhaul: http://www.ypnation.net/one-reason-go-veg-0
Here's an excerpt: "But this narrative does not address a number of critical factors in our food production system. I spoke with Sushil Pandey, an economist at the International Rice Research Institute here in the Philippines (the group responsible for the first Green Revolution). He laid out for me a few of the many reasons why the cost of rice, specifically, and food more generally, will continue to be high and volatile. Namely, the earth has to produce food for more people than ever before, on less arable land than ever before; that meat-based diets require more grains and feed less people than plant-based diets; and that as China, India, Brazil and other developing nations get richer, more of them will opt for meat-based diets. Dr. Robert Zeigler, director general at IRRI lays these arguments out well in this BBC piece. In addition, I've spoken with Philippine farmers who claim that a changing climate is upending their traditional farming knowledge, and challenging harvests."YPNation contributor Kate Tighe writes our food production system is in dire need of... more
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Britain is to commit itself to a massive increase in domestic food production to feed the population in the next 40 years, The Independent on Sunday has learnt. The UK will announce tomorrow that it intends to "play a full part" in meeting a United Nations target of raising food production by 70 per cent by 2050.
The surge in homegrown crops and meat – which has echoes of the Dig for Victory campaign of the Second World War – is needed to cope with rising global population levels and crop failures and water scarcity caused by climate change.
British officials are increasingly concerned that food supplies will come under strain as a result of rocketing demand from newly prosperous and powerful nations such as China and India. Self-sufficiency has fallen in recent years, and only about 60 per cent of the food British people eat comes from the UK.
Tomorrow, the Secretary of State for the Environment, Hilary Benn, will set out the scale of the problem and challenge farmers to raise output rapidly while cutting greenhouse gases. In the search for a new green revolution, he will say new research is needed to develop new crop breeds and techniques. Manufacturers, retailers and households will be urged to cut current massive levels of waste. Households can help by growing more food in back gardens and allotments.
Civil servants described the new food strategy as a "wake-up call" for farmers, retailers and the public.
Farmers who have long criticised the Government for taking a relaxed attitude towards food security will welcome the focus on domestic production. Wildlife groups, however, fear that further agricultural intensification will hit wildlife. Ripping out hedgerows, growing crops on meadows and dousing fields in pesticides and fertilisers have badly affected farmland birds and animals in the past 50 years.
Numbers of farmland birds such as skylarks, yellowhammers and corn buntings have almost halved and many wildflowers have been left on the brink of extinction. Most of England's hedgerows have been lost since 1947.
The Government's new approach is set out in a new document, the UK Food Security Assessment. It says that Britain's position is currently favourable because agricultural production has risen in recent years, with Britain a major exporter of wheat and barley. But it warns that rising population pressures and a likely worsening environmental picture will pose serious challenges in coming decades.
In a list of challenges to UK food security are the changing climate, floods, drought, soil erosion, water scarcities and the breakdown of ecosystems. Global temperatures may rise two to three degrees in the next 50 years, threatening large-scale crop failure in Africa.
"The Government is monitoring the climate risks to harvests and the potential for more volatility in supplies and prices. We will also examine any implications for animal disease and food safety," the document said. "Other areas of climate-change impacts on our food will include further pressure on fish products from increasing ocean acidification; supply strains on water-reliant crops such as fruit from the Mediterranean; and the impacts of increasing episodes of coastal flooding and erosion."Britain is to commit itself to a massive increase in domestic food production to feed... more
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