Full Coverage: Food

31.05.2005 Près du dixième de la population mondiale consommerait des aliments produits en utilisant des eaux usées. Étant donné la croissance démographique et le fait que davantage d’eau douce est détournée vers les villes pour la consommation domestique — dont 70 % repart en eaux usées —, le recours aux eaux usées est appelé à augmenter, tant en volumes qu’en superficies irriguées.

27.05.2005 The 2nd National Conference on Pulses and Related Industries – 2005 is taking place on August 21 in New Delhi. The theme for this year's event will be the Indian Pulses Industry – Key Issues and Future Challenges.

27.05.2005 Zimbabwe has no funds to buy food for its starving population and President Mugabe refuses to accept food aid. Even if he relented, the World Food Programme has already fully allocated its resources for southern Africa.

27.05.2005 Are politicians in denial on the question of global food security in the face of climate change impacts and unsustainable agricultural practices? Scientists and civil society are joining forces to make recommendations for policy change necessary to achieve sustainable food production.

26.05.2005 The Centre for Science and Environment, which is a New Delhi based NGO, has issued a press release saying that the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is holding its eleventh, crucial and final, meeting to set standards for soft drinks on Friday, May 27, 2005. The issues are critical as BIS is trying to set standards for pesticides, pH and caffeine in the soft drinks.

20.05.2005 Why does a professional athlete have lower levels of toxic chemicals in her blood than a property developer? These celebrities tested by WWF-UK express their frustration that not even they can do anything to prevent the invasion of DDT and PCB pollutants into their bodies.

18.05.2005 The first coordination meeting of the Working Groups on Food Safety, Veterinarian Sciences and Phito-sanitary Supervision was held at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management, in accordance with the decision of the Croatian Government to appoint National Delegation for Negotiations on Croatian accession to the EU.

16.05.2005 From farm to plate, the modern food system relies heavily on cheap oil. Threats to our oil supply also threaten our food supply. Although agriculture is increasingly more energy efficient, as food undergoes more processing and travels farther the amount of energy consumed between the farm gate and the kitchen table continues to rise.

16.05.2005 With all its advantages, Europe has failed to protect its citizens against contaminated Syngenta maize. Zambia is not only determined to maintain its controversial policy to keep out genetically modified (GM) food, but is building a laboratory to monitor imports.

13.05.2005 WASHINGTON, D.C., May 13 (OneWorld) - The United States should press China to help solve one of the world's worst humanitarian crises by ending its policy of repatriating North Koreans, according to a new report from a leading refugee advocacy group.

13.05.2005 A small number of countries led by the US has been able to block attempts to introduce global standards for labelling genetically modified (GM) food products.

12.05.2005 North Korea's food shortages that led to famine during the 1990s persist today, with over six million still facing hunger. A new report examines how North Korea's pursuit for economic and agricultural self-sufficiency--rooted in the country's history of occupation and isolation--is shortsighted, calling on the international community to avoid worsening the situation by isolating, vilifying, or exploiting the country.

06.05.2005 With the election out of the way, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown will have an early opportunity to revisit their stated commitment to Africa. Appeals to the international community for food and aid funds for Ethiopia are massively below target and the situation is worsening with almost 10% of the population in need of emergency food aid.

06.05.2005 Declining fish stocks in the southwest Indian Ocean have prompted the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to set up a panel to promote the development of fishery resources in the region. This move will benefit east African countries bordering the Indian Ocean.

05.05.2005 Many countries hesitate to label genetically modified (GM) food because of the threat of action under discrimination rules of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Campaigners seek a global solution which would enforce labelling on all GM foods.

05.05.2005 Kenya faces serious food security problems caused by drought in the north and east. The World Food Programme is active in these areas and says that it lacks sufficient funds to meet requirements over the summer months.

05.05.2005

Honduran farmer © Food First / Institute for Food and Development Policy

A special documentary photography feature by writer/researcher Michael Courville and photographer Jennifer Tong, "Growing Hunger" explores the contradictions of hunger and poverty in an era of global food production and economic interdependence. The first phase of the project focuses on small farmers in Honduras after a decade of free market agricultural policy. Future phases of the project will include coverage of small farmers in China, the Philippines and the United States.