World Food Day 16 October 2004
Maintaining biodiversity is key to ending world hunger, UN official says
FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf
15 October 2004 – Biodiversity is vital to the productive use of the world's marginal land, but agricultural production has lost about three-quarters of its genetic diversity in the past century, leaving the world dependent on a dozen crops and a barely larger number of animal species, the Director-General of the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) said today.
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=12244&Cr=food&Cr1=
Secretary-General, in World Food Day message, urges greater attention to role of biodiversity in fight against hunger
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2004/sgsm9539.doc.htm
Food First Announces November Agroecology Trip to Cuba PHOTO SOURCE
http://www.foodfirst.org/cuba/Nov2004trip.html
Why sustainable agriculture ?
asks The Institute of Science in Society
The debate over sustainable agriculture has gone beyond the health and environmental benefits that it could bring in place of conventional industrial agriculture. For one thing, conventional industrial agriculture is heavily dependent on oil, which is running out; it is getting increasingly unproductive as the soil is eroded and depleted. Climate change will force us to adopt sustainable, low input agriculture to ameliorate its worst consequences, and to genuinely feed the world.
But in order to get there, important changes have to be made in international agencies and institutions, which have hitherto supported the dominant model of industrial agriculture and policies that work against poor countries, where farmers are also desperately in need of secure land tenure.
This mini-series is a continuation of many articles that have appeared in our magazine, Science in Society since 2002.
1. Feeding the World under Climate Change
Industrial agriculture contributes enormously to global warming, it is increasingly unproductive and heavily dependent on oil that’s fast running out. Nor can it feed us once climate change really gets going. A very different agriculture is needed, says Edward Goldsmith
http://www.i-sis.org.uk/FTWUCC.php
2. Sustainable Agriculture: Critical Ecological, Social & Economic Issues
Various ecological, social and economic challenges must be addressed if agriculture is to be truly sustainable. Martin Khor, Director of the Third World Network, discusses the choices facing developing countries and policy makers, and suggests some ways forward.
http://www.i-sis.org.uk/SACI.php
3. Restoring Degraded Soils a Matter of Urgency
Lim Li Ching reports
Research has shown that declining crops yields are, in most cases, exponentially linked to loss of soil quality. Soils are threatened by water and wind erosion, nutrient depletion and salinisation, among other things.
http://www.i-sis.org.uk/RDS.php
4. Food for Thought
Toby Risk visits a small, diverse and self-sufficient farm in Britain that means to set an example for the rest of the country
http://www.i-sis.org.uk/FFT.php
The Institute of Science in Society http://www.i-sis.org.uk/
The World Conservation Union http://www.iucn.org/
Maintaining biodiversity is key to ending world hunger, UN official says
FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf
15 October 2004 – Biodiversity is vital to the productive use of the world's marginal land, but agricultural production has lost about three-quarters of its genetic diversity in the past century, leaving the world dependent on a dozen crops and a barely larger number of animal species, the Director-General of the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) said today.
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=12244&Cr=food&Cr1=
Secretary-General, in World Food Day message, urges greater attention to role of biodiversity in fight against hunger
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2004/sgsm9539.doc.htm
Food First Announces November Agroecology Trip to Cuba PHOTO SOURCE
http://www.foodfirst.org/cuba/Nov2004trip.html
Why sustainable agriculture ?
asks The Institute of Science in Society
The debate over sustainable agriculture has gone beyond the health and environmental benefits that it could bring in place of conventional industrial agriculture. For one thing, conventional industrial agriculture is heavily dependent on oil, which is running out; it is getting increasingly unproductive as the soil is eroded and depleted. Climate change will force us to adopt sustainable, low input agriculture to ameliorate its worst consequences, and to genuinely feed the world.
But in order to get there, important changes have to be made in international agencies and institutions, which have hitherto supported the dominant model of industrial agriculture and policies that work against poor countries, where farmers are also desperately in need of secure land tenure.
This mini-series is a continuation of many articles that have appeared in our magazine, Science in Society since 2002.
1. Feeding the World under Climate Change
Industrial agriculture contributes enormously to global warming, it is increasingly unproductive and heavily dependent on oil that’s fast running out. Nor can it feed us once climate change really gets going. A very different agriculture is needed, says Edward Goldsmith
http://www.i-sis.org.uk/FTWUCC.php
2. Sustainable Agriculture: Critical Ecological, Social & Economic Issues
Various ecological, social and economic challenges must be addressed if agriculture is to be truly sustainable. Martin Khor, Director of the Third World Network, discusses the choices facing developing countries and policy makers, and suggests some ways forward.
http://www.i-sis.org.uk/SACI.php
3. Restoring Degraded Soils a Matter of Urgency
Lim Li Ching reports
Research has shown that declining crops yields are, in most cases, exponentially linked to loss of soil quality. Soils are threatened by water and wind erosion, nutrient depletion and salinisation, among other things.
http://www.i-sis.org.uk/RDS.php
4. Food for Thought
Toby Risk visits a small, diverse and self-sufficient farm in Britain that means to set an example for the rest of the country
http://www.i-sis.org.uk/FFT.php
The Institute of Science in Society http://www.i-sis.org.uk/
The World Conservation Union http://www.iucn.org/