Feed the world, Bob and Bono need not apply

There has been a spate of articles in the popular press recently about ways and means to feed the world but I recently came across a series of articles in the Monthly Review which I think provide a much better narrative, and all downloadable for free. They are:

Can ecological agriculture feed nine billion people? by Jules Pretty

From food crisis to food sovereignty by Eric Holt-Gimenez

Agroecology, small farms, and food sovereignty by Miguel Altieri

Fixing our global food system by Peter Rosset

Some of the above articles are part of a special issue the magazine ran on agriculture and the food crisis in July/August 2009 which is worth checking out. Nice magazine, why not subscribe and support their good work.

A commentary on international agriculture

Uma Lele reviews John Shaw's recent book Global Food and Agricultural Institutions and among her conclusions has this to say,

The institutions Shaw reviews includes multi-lateral organisations such as the Food and Agriculture Organisation, the World Bank, the World Food
Programme, the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, and the International Fund for Agricultural Development. His book does not include bi-lateral organisations such as USAID, US Foundations and Land Grant Universities. Despite a largely common membership there is a lack of coordination among the organisations he reviews.

Can true and effective global cooperation in food and agriculture materialise? Uma Lele argues that the challenges are great and the topic is complex and mired in the larger issues of the aid architecture. This reality has three dimensions, only one of which is mentioned in the book:

1. Vast changes in the international aid architecture in the Post World War II period, particularly in the last 15 years, combined with a decline in long term assistance to food and agriculture, imbalanced allocation withinand across sectors, misallocation, and decline of capacity of bilateral aid agencies concomitant with increased bilateralisation of multilateral aid.

2. Growth in the number of international organisations and programmes, mission creep in the mandates, and changing legitimacy of traditional international organisations with overlaps, gaps, competition as well as cooperation in the ever growing galaxy of aid agencies and programmes, and,

3. The dynamics between and among developed and developing countries influencing global policy and strategy.

Realistically speaking developing countries cannot wait for the international organisations to get their act together, or to be led by them, she concludes.

Read more here.

Why we left our farms to come to Copenhagen

"Tonight is a very special night for us to get together here for the opening of the assembly of the social movements and civil society at the Klimaforum. We, the international peasant movement La Via Campesina, are coming to Copenhagen from all five corners of the world, leaving our farmland, our animals, our forest, and also our families in the hamlets and villages to join you all." Read more.

This land is my land

The people over at GRAIN have posted two new presentations worth a look.

Land Grabbing and the global food crisis and Small farmers can cool the planet

And this is what James Hansen has to say about COP15 Copenhagen. I rather liked what he had to say about cap and trade.

"This is analagous to the indulgences that the Catholic church sold in the middle ages. The bishops collected lots of money and the sinners got redemption. Both parties liked that arrangement despite its absurdity. That is exactly what's happening,"

Brains to burn

Foreign Policy has just published it's list of Top 100 Global Thinkers. I can count the number I would agree with on one hand, well maybe two hands if I'm pushed. I suggest those on the the list who hold dear the neoliberal consensus which has contributed to many of our current global problems, including the recent food crisis and riots and a situation where probably close to half the human race suffer either perpetual hunger and malnourishment or some form of food insecurity, be replaced with the likes of Jules Pretty, Miguel Altieri, Robert Chambers, M.S. Swaminathan, Peter Rosset, Eric Holt-Gimenez, Nils Roling, Gary Nabhan, Pat Mooney to name a few. What's the chances of that?

Taming the wild

There have been many articles describing the increase in foraging for wild plants as a result of the economic downturn. Now a new type of wild entrepreneur is emerging with some top restaurants and chefs paying around 50 pounds a kilo for the likes of wood sorrel. The Forestry Commission in Scotland estimate the annual value of wild foraging to be in the ball park area of 21 million pounds and are concerned that it might start to get out of hand. They have launched a campaign to promote a code of practice for foragers as a first step to address this.

Happening Thang

The Real Food Festival is happening again at the Earls Court Exhibition Centre from 8-10 May.

Where have all the butterflies gone?

Asks Patrick Barkham in today's Guardian. I was asking myself the exact same question yesterday morning on a stroll through the Parco Appia Antica. I saw two in a massive park brimming with spring flowers. What I did see a bit more of was somewild plant foraging by a more common species.

Orchard erosion

Sixty percent of England's traditional orchards have disappeared since the 1950s according to the National Trust with many rare varieties of fruit - some unique to localities - under threat. I am sure it is much the same story in Ireland. All the more reason for initiatives like the 400 Fruit Trees Project. For more on apple diversity and apples in Ireland read here.

Few days later....more on the vanishing orchards from the Guardian, along with some interesting links.

Welcome to Local Food Advisor

A new food website dedicated to championing local food and rare breeds was recently launched and lists the top 4000 award winning regional producers and suppliers in the UK and Ireland.

Revitalising food and agriculture

More on re-connecting with the land, and food, growing locally, the Transition Town movement, community supported agriculture here.

Poached meat

Seems the economic downturn and rising price of meat are contributing to a rise in rustling. Last month , 500 pigs were stolen from a Staffordshire farm while a farm in Lincolnshire lost nine rare breed cattle.

Go on, grow your own

A Public Meeting on How to Grow Your Own Food will be held on Tuesday 31st March 2009, 8pm at Cultivate, 15-19 Essex St West, Temple Bar in Dublin. Speakers will include: Trevor Sargent TD, Minister for Food, Seamus Sheridan - Sheridans Cheese Mongers, Suzie Cahn - Community Gardens, Malcom Noonan - Local Allotments. For more information check out the Culivate Centre website. There will also be a screening of the film Deconstructing Dinner. Get along!

Lasagna and chips

Restaurant owners in the south have reacted angrily to the news that Bord Bia is to scrap its long-standing Guaranteed Irish Feile Bia initiative in favour of a 'Just Ask!' campaign. Feile Bia was a quality assurance initiative whereby customers were guaranteed that participating restaurants used Irish produce. It is to be replaced with a €200,000 'Just Ask!' campaign which aims to encourage diners to enquire about the origin of the food they are served. I am not that familiar with the Feile Bia initiative but it appears similar to the Taste of Ulster initiative up north, which I know a little about. While the Taste of Ulster initiative no doubt promotes local ingredients I am not exactly sure what it does to promote local and innovative cuisine. The couple of Taste of Ulster endorsed restaurants that I have eaten in while probably serving up locally sourced food have not impressed me at all in terms of local or tradition meals with menus that pander to overseas dishes especially the ubiquitous chicken goujons. Having said that, I have just had the most brilliant night of food and wine in the cellar at Fallon and Byrne in Dublin, and not a bloody goujon in sight. Quite possibly the best eating experience I have had in the city.

A taste of Dublin

While the rest of Europe was developing a food culture, we in Ireland were coming to terms with famine and the impact of that has clung to us for hundred's of years. But slowly things are changing and a recent opportunity to particpate on the Dublin Tasting Trail was a an eye-opener to the growing diversity and quality of local food available in this city, much of it off the beaten track. The time spent in Sheridan's Cheesemongers was especially memorable as were the Coolea and Ardrahan cheeses. Most interesting of all though was an opportunity to learn about Myrtle Allen who was a tireless campaigner for Irish food, years before it was fashionable to talk about local food nevermind in Irleand but anywhere.

Save the Lonk

A campaign, highlighted in the weekend Times has begun an attempt to bring rare heritage breeds of sheep to a restaurant near you. Farming chiefs have started talks with leading supermarkets to widen the market for native sheep such the Rough Fell, the Herdwick, the Romney, the Exmoor Horn and of course the Lonk. Most of these heritage breeds are geographically isolated and highly vulnerable. A recent 'special edition' of the New Agriculturalist focuses on the benefits and challenges involved in the sustainable use of livestock genetic diversity.

Later...I don't think I emphasise above enough that the efforts to encourage utilisation of these rare breeds through food production systems and marketing is part of a longer, more sustainable strategy for their conservation.

Join the food train

Fabulous Food Trails are all experiencing fabulous local Irish food: handmade cheeses, delicious fruits and vegetables, exquisite chocolate, fragrant honey, tender grass-fed beef, succulent mountain lamb, freshly baked traditional breads and wonderful seafood such as oak smoked wild Irish salmon as well as mussels and oysters plucked from the sea that very morning.

The burden of proof

Attended a seminar yesterday by Professor Tim Johns, Professor in Human Nutrition at McGill University and former Director of the Centre for Indigenous Peoples’ Nutrition and Environment at McGill. Tim is currently spending a sabbatical period at Bioversity to further develop the Biodiversity and Nutrition initiative and also represents Bioversity on the CGIAR’s Agriculture and Health Research Platform. Tim discussed the evolving Biodiversity and Nutrition strategy in light of work on neglected and underutilized species/leafy vegetables, dietary diversity, public health benefits, market chains, food systems and ecohealth and the unique space that agrobiodiversity occupies between agriculture, health and nutrition and environment. This clearly presents many opportunities which need to be actively pursued, such as the role of agrobiodiversity and HIV/Aids.

The main take home message was the lack of a solid evidence-base for the role of agrobiodiversity in health and nutrition. As Tim highlighted ‘ the case is just not there’ and it needs to be if those of us who work with agrobiodiversity are to change the attitudes of donors and relevant organisations. What is the role of agrobiodiversity in child malnutrition, diabetes, eye health? According to Tim we just don’t really know. There was much talk about building a solid and cohesive body of proof involving convincing cases for the role of agrobiodiversity in nutrition and health. Yes, certainly. But I couldn't help but think that the challenge is even greater than this and one could stress the need to argue the case, or construct a convincing body of proof, for the role of agrobiodiversity in sustainable livelihoods, ecosystem services, agricultural production and stability and resilience of agroecosystems. Data and information certainly exists but wouldn’t it be nice to have it packaged in one form or another that really makes a convincing case so the agrobiodiversity community can counteract the pessimists who argue that such links are tenuous.

By the way, I couldn't help but notice that COHAB was absent from the list of partners, current and potential, in the presentation. I am sure they are in there somewhere, given that Bioversity is a partner in that initiative. Interestingly COHAB currently have a 'request for information' to build a body of evidence for the relationship between biodiversty change and the incidence of certain non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

Hidden gardens - investigating urban agriculture in Dublin

Michael Cullen at Dublin Institute of Technology has recently completed a MSc investigation of Urban Agriculture (UA) in Dublin. This concept encompasses those who are engaged in growing their own in an urban environment. The study investigates why there has been a rise in UA over the past 15 years with the focus of the study being on allotments, a historical form of UA. The objectives of the study include investigating the concept of urban agriculture, to examine the history of allotments in Dublin, to aid an understanding of modern UA in Dublin. The study focuses on the motivations of the allotment holders as well as uncovering the types and varieties of food being produced on their allotments. The methodology of the study was qualitative, which provided rich data sources to inform the discussion. The methods employed were semi-structured interviews and direct observations. Allotment holders at two allotment sites were the population sample interviewed chosen based on the total population of allotments in Dublin, with the majority of the population being located in south Dublin. Along with interviews on allotment sites, the researcher undertook interviews a representative of Dublin City Council and a Minister of the current Government. The findings of the researcher indicated a revival in the interest of allotment holding in south Dublin. Allotments were formerly located on sites due for development; presently they have a fixed tenure in regional parks. There is also an association to represent them at local and national level. Motivations for holders included a desire for fresh food and socialisation around a common interest of food growing. The conclusions of the study illustrate a growth in different forms of UA in Dublin including a revival in allotments, an interest in community gardens and people growing their own in a domestic setting.

Looking for an allotment?

You need go no further than here, Irish Allotments.