Eat insects — fight climate change
Now here’s an interesting suggestion, and perhaps not as bizarre as it might sound at first glance. In SciDev.net, Benjamin Kolb reports on the push to farm insects instead of cows and other large...
View ArticleUnrest in Egypt is also about food, which is about climate change
With Egypt and much of the Arab world in turmoil, it’s important to consider all of the dynamics and driving forces at work here. The uprising is not (never is) just about freedom and democracy. It’s...
View ArticleTwo views on human impact of climate change
Researchers at McGill University have mapped out the longer-term impact of climate change on human health and well-being. If populations continue to increase at the expected rates, the McGill...
View ArticleCorruption investigation of key player in Obama’s plan to fight African hunger
Maybe this is getting so little media attention because it’s in Norway. At any rate, it’s worth noting because: Last week, at the opening of the G8 conference hosted by the United States, President...
View ArticleMalnutrition has a Global Cost: $3.5 Trillion a Year
As if there was any doubt that malnutrition was a bad thing, it now comes with a hefty price tag of $3.5 trillion lost globally every year. That’s roughly the same size as the annual GDP of Germany....
View ArticleWhat does ‘Food Security’ mean anyway?
Just about any story about food or nutrition will contain the rather amorphous phrase: food security. Many, including me, don’t bother to offer much of a definition for food security. Thankfully, the...
View ArticleWhy did Seattle’s “Liberal Congressman for Life” vote against fixing food aid?
Many experts say that the current system of how the U.S. government does food aid is plenty corrupted - at least if you assume the goal is to feed the poor and hungry. The current system requires that...
View ArticleWhy food security and conflict may not be linked
Food prices go up and people revolt, right? Maybe not. Conflict does lead to food insecurity. That makes sense because broken markets means it is harder and more expensive to get food. But what about...
View ArticleThe 10 stories you missed while following the Philippines
The disaster following Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines rightly has dominated the global twenty-four hour news cycle. Humanosphere has devoted more of our reporting time to the issue than anything...
View ArticleAre there trade-offs in feeding the world?
Uganda IamNotUnique A world-wide hunger problem with a continuing growing population means that food is increasingly important. Some 842 million people suffer from chronic hunger. That means one out of...
View ArticleFunding can’t keep up with hunger warnings in sub-Saharan Africa
Women and children wait to be treated at a hospital run by Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) in Leer, South Sudan. AP Photo/Josphat Kasire The UN Children’s Fund issued a warning that...
View ArticleEat insects to save the world: A chat with “Bug Chef” David Gordon
Future shock: Insects are almost certainly going to be a bigger part of your diet in the future. Present shock: Insects are already a part of your diet; you eat bugs, every day, by accident. Shocking...
View ArticleDecline in global hunger threatened by climate change and conflict
There are 209 million fewer people who face hunger today that did in 1990. Hunger has become an issue of the past for some 100 million people in the last decade alone. This progress is exciting, but...
View ArticleFighting worsens as South Sudan keeps famine at bay, for now
The cycle continues. South Sudan has once again traveled to the brink of famine only to see it reversed. A projected famine for early 2015 has been “temporarily averted,” said a senior official with...
View ArticleSahel: Drought, displacement and conflict leave 20 million food insecure
Conflict and drought are working in tandem to leave more than 23 million people food insecure in West Africa. Yet again, there are concerns that the region is on the brink of crisis. And predictions of...
View ArticleRestricted aid access pushes parts of South Sudan back to the brink of famine
Hunger is once again a concern in South Sudan. A 2-year-old civil war leaves nearly 4 million people severely food insecure, according to U.N. humanitarian agencies. And the fighting forces are...
View ArticleEffects of El Niño will persist long after it is gone, projections show
Some good news: the El Niño weather phenomenon that caused drought and food insecurity for tens of millions of people in sub-Saharan Africa is almost over. Some bad news: the problems caused by the...
View ArticleU.S. Congress passes Global Food Security Act
In a rare act of bipartisanship, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Global Food Security Act (S. 1252). It bolsters efforts by the U.S. to eliminate hunger and malnutrition globally by...
View ArticleSurge of migration makes hunger crisis worse in Afghanistan
More than 9 million people in Afghanistan are in need of humanitarian assistance in 2017. The number of people facing hunger is of particular concern, the U.N. has warned. Some 1.8 million people are...
View ArticleVertical farming may not feed the world, but could empower cities
Aware of population growth’s growing impact on global food security, many agricultural experts are debating the use of vertical farming – and its ability to feed the world – but don’t deny its...
View Article