Bees are responsible for pollinating key crops like apples, and their decline now threatens crop yields. Pikist
Without bees, future generations may not be able to identify with adages like, 'An apple a day keeps the doctor away.'
Crop yields for key crops like apples, cherries and blueberries are down across the U.S. because of a lack of bees in agricultural areas, a Rutgers University-led study published Wednesday in The Royal Society found. This could have "serious ramifications" for global food security, reported The Guardian.
<p>The scientists wanted to understand the degree to which insect pollination, or lack thereof, actually limits current crop production. Surveying 131 locations across major crop-producing areas of the U.S., they found that five out of seven crops showed evidence of "pollinator limitation" and that yields could be boosted with full pollination, the study said. </p>
<p>"The crops that got more bees got significantly more crop production," said Rachael Winfree, an ecologist and pollination expert and the senior author of the paper, reported <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jul/29/bees-food-crops-shortage-study" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>. "I was surprised, I didn't expect they would be limited to this extent."</p><p>The <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2020.0922" target="_blank">research</a> further noted that pollinator declines could "translate directly" to decreased production of most of the crops studied and that wild bees "contribute substantially" to the pollination of most studied crops.</p><p>Declines in both managed honeybees and wild bees raise serious concerns about global food security, the study said, because most of the world's crops rely on pollinators.</p><p>Bees and other pollinators like bats and birds underpin the global food system, but their <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/coronavirus-lockdowns-bees-2646042322.html?rebelltitem=2#rebelltitem2" target="_self">populations are dwindling due to human activity including settlement building, pesticide use, monoculture farming and climate change</a>. This is part of what many are calling the "<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/insect-apocalypse-2634239696.html" target="_self">insect apocalypse,</a>" a precipitous decline in insects across the globe.</p><p>Wild bees, in particular, suffer from loss of flowering habitat, toxic pesticide use, and climate change, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jul/29/bees-food-crops-shortage-study" target="_blank">The Guardian</a> reported, and managed honeybees have fallen to disease. Overall, three-quarters of the world's food crops are dependent up pollinators and could falter due to lack of bees, the news report added.</p><p>According to the <a href="http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/384726/icode/" target="_blank">United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization</a>, crop production has increasingly become dependent upon insects and other pollinators over the past 50 years by 300%, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jul/29/bees-food-crops-shortage-study" target="_blank">The Guardian</a> reported. At the same time, farming has become more intensive to produce enough volume to feed a growing global population, the news report said, by flattening wildflower meadows, spraying insecticides and using monoculture crops ‒ all tactics which damage bee populations.</p><p>"Pollination shortfalls" could cause certain fruits and vegetables to become rarer and more expensive, The Guardian reported. This could trigger nutritional deficits in diets as fresh foods are replaced by rice, wheat and corn, which are pollinated by wind rather than insects.</p>
<p><br></p><p>The <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2020.0922" target="_blank">study</a> estimated that the five limited crops are valued at over $1.5 billion annually, and decreased yields or production seriously undercut that. They also noted that the value of all pollinator-dependent crops is much higher. A 2019 <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/why-biodiversity-loss-hurts-humans-as-much-as-climate-change/a-48579014" target="_blank">UN-backed assessment</a> estimated that pollinator loss could threaten $235-577 billion in annual crop output globally.</p><p>The study suggested adopting better conservation or augmentation methods for wild bees, such as enhancing wildflowers, using managed pollinators other than honey bees to boost crop yields and investing in honey bee colonies, reported <a href="https://www.futurity.org/bees-crop-yields-pollinators-2412322-2/" target="_blank">Futurity</a>. The paper also recommended farmers review how much pollination might be needed to boost crop yields and assess whether pesticide and fertilizer levels used remains appropriate, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jul/29/bees-food-crops-shortage-study" target="_blank">The Guardian</a> reported.</p><p>"The trends we are seeing now are setting us up for food security problems," Winfree told The Guardian. "We aren't yet in a complete crisis now but the trends aren't going in the right direction. Our study shows this isn't a problem for 10 or 20 years from now – it's happening right now."</p>
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Tens of thousands of restaurants closed at the start of the pandemic are still recovering. Unsplash / Michael Browning
By Francesca DiGiorgio
A bipartisan group of lawmakers is working to increase federal aid for emergency food distribution in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
<p>The <a href="https://mikethompson.house.gov/sites/mikethompson.house.gov/files/FEED_Act.pdf" target="_blank">FEMA Empowering Essential Deliveries (FEED) Act</a> will allow local and state governments to partner with restaurants on initiatives that feed people in need. It also calls on the <a href="https://www.fema.gov/" target="_blank">Federal Emergency Management Agency</a> (FEMA) to cover 100 percent of the cost.</p><p>Though FEMA assistance typically <a href="https://www.fema.gov/news-release/2020/03/13/president-donald-j-trump-directs-fema-support-under-emergency-declaration" target="_blank">covers</a> up to 75 percent of emergency and disaster expenses, the FEED Act will waive regulations on this limit.</p>
<p>"If this pandemic has shown us anything, it's the need to innovate," said Representative Rodney Davis, a co-author on the FEED Act, in a <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/house/496183-lawmakers-introduce-bill-backed-by-jose-andres-to-help-restaurants-feed" target="_blank">statement</a>. "This bill helps utilize our restaurant industry ... in a way that's never been done before."</p><p><a href="https://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/operations/nearly-24000-restaurants-are-closed-yelp-says" target="_blank">Tens of thousands of restaurants</a> closed at the start of the pandemic are still recovering. Some will never reopen. The new bill promises to revitalize the industry with funding to rehire staff and expand food distribution infrastructure for vulnerable populations.</p><p>"Too many families are going hungry during this pandemic, and it's not because America is running low on food," said Representative Jim McGovern, another co-author, in a <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/house/496183-lawmakers-introduce-bill-backed-by-jose-andres-to-help-restaurants-feed" target="_blank">statement</a>.</p>
<p>As COVID-19 surges across the nation, food insecurity is increasing. Vulnerable populations including the elderly, young children and communities of color are among the <a href="https://tcf.org/content/commentary/covid-19-lays-bare-vulnerabilities-u-s-food-security/?agreed=1" target="_blank">hardest hit</a>, according to multiple reports by the <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2020/05/06/the-covid-19-crisis-has-already-left-too-many-children-hungry-in-america/" target="_blank">Brookings Institute</a>, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-06-19/the-pandemic-is-exacerbating-america-s-systemic-food-inequality" target="_blank">Bloomberg</a> and others.</p><p>Household food insecurity for mothers with young children surpassed 40 percent in April 2020, a jump from 15.1 percent in April 2018, according to the <a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/pub-details/?pubid=94848" target="_blank">Brookings Institute</a>.</p><p>Congress has already taken a number of steps to address food insecurity during the pandemic. A <a href="https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/temporary-suspension-claims-collections" target="_blank">temporary suspension</a> of certain program requirements for the <a href="https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program" target="_blank">Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program</a> (SNAP) allows more people to qualify for federal assistance.</p><p>In addition, the <a href="https://frac.org/blog/p-ebt-an-update-on-state-plans" target="_blank">Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer</a> (P-EBT) program helps families that qualify for reduced school meals to continue feeding their children while schools are closed. But <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/03/27/822647146/relief-package-a-good-start-say-advocates-for-the-poor-but-more-help-is-needed" target="_blank">administrative hurdles</a> currently prevent all those eligible from accessing the benefits.</p><p>To minimize these barriers, the FEED Act aims to set a new precedent for emergency response by easing restrictions on government aid, said Representative Mike Thompson of California.</p>
<p>Last year, the Congress member worked with Chef José Andrés of <a href="https://wck.org/" target="_blank">World Central Kitchen</a> to feed hundreds of residents displaced by wildfires in his district. The two joined forces again this year to introduce the new bill with other political leaders.</p><p>While the FEED Act won over the House in May as part of the <a href="https://docs.house.gov/billsthisweek/20200511/BILLS-116hr6800ih.pdf" target="_blank">HEROES Act</a>, it still awaits Senate approval. Thompson, who is optimistic about the Bill's prospects, considers it an opportunity for national unity in the face of unprecedented challenges.</p><p>Thompson told Food Tank, "All of the things [the FEED Act] addresses: the need for healthy food, for small businesses to keep their doors open, for employees to have a paycheck, and for those paychecks to be spent in the local community, these are things that we can all agree on."</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://foodtank.com/news/2020/07/new-feed-act-to-address-food-insecurity-with-help-from-restaurants/" target="_blank">Food Tank</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Collecting and organizing genetic diversity as a conservation strategy emerged in the 1960s and now plays an important role in ensuring the world's collective food security. Claire05 / Pixabay
By Katie Howell
More than 6,000 plant species have been cultivated for food worldwide, but only nine account for the majority of total crop production, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). FAO finds that crop diversity is continuing to decline across the globe because of unsustainable agricultural practices, industrialization, and increased urbanization.
<p>Collecting and organizing genetic diversity as a conservation strategy <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1369848615001284" target="_blank">emerged</a> in the 1960s and now plays an important role in ensuring the world's collective food security. Seed saving organizations have helped secure <a href="https://foodtank.com/news/2019/05/how-a-syrian-genebank-secured-over-100000-seeds-during-wartime-maybe-saving-the-future-of-wheat/" target="_blank">over 100,000 seeds</a> during wartime in Syria, preserve <a href="https://www.kew.org/press-media/Kew-celebrates-banking-13-million-seeds-from-UK-native-trees" target="_blank">13 million seeds from over 70 species</a> of native trees in the United Kingdom, and contribute to <a href="https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/7b8e/e7ba0175d418985b43336183d9a24b759969.pdf" target="_blank">over US$77 million</a> in pastoral agriculture revenue in New Zealand. As the climate crisis continues, seed preservation <a href="https://www.bioversityinternational.org/fileadmin/user_upload/The_roles_Vernooy_2017.pdf" target="_blank">may also be critical</a> in research and innovation to help farmers adapt to changing conditions.</p><p>Seed conservation can occur on-site in farmers' fields or protected areas, referred to as <em>in situ</em>, or in off-site collections, known as <em>ex situ</em> conservation. <em>Ex situ</em> collections represent the <a href="http://www.fao.org/3/i1500e/i1500e.pdf" target="_blank">most widespread</a> conservation strategy for plant genetics–it includes seeds kept in cold storage, living plants grown in open field seed banks, or tissue, DNA, embryos, or pollen samples stored <em>in vitro</em>. "Such genebank collections provide a means to make unique biodiversity available cheaply, and effectively, for the long-term," <a href="https://cdn.croptrust.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Impact-Paper_16Dec2015_ks.pdf" target="_blank">according to Crop Trust</a>, a leading organization dedicated to conserving crop biodiversity.</p><p>According to FAO, there are more than 1,750 <em>ex situ</em> seed banks across the world – both international and local – that preserve over 7 million samples of seeds, cuttings, or genetic material. To celebrate these efforts, Food Tank has selected 26 seed saving organizations working to promote seed diversity through seed banks, exchange networks, and educational programs.</p><p>1. <a href="https://aseed.net/" target="_blank">ASEED Europe</a>, <em>Netherlands</em></p><p>Action for Solidarity, Equality, Environment, and Diversity (ASEED Europe) aims to achieve social justice and environmental integrity through grassroots organizing, education, and non-violent direct action. Founded in 1991, ASEED Europe organizes international campaigns focused on the decline of biodiversity in agriculture, the availability of seeds, and corporate concentration in the food system. They offer educational materials and training on topics such as seeds, climate change, trade, and food sovereignty.</p><p>2. <a href="https://www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/Science/Australian-plantbank/Our-collections/Plant-journeys/The-seedbank" target="_blank">Australian PlantBank</a>, <em>Australia</em></p><p>The Australian PlantBank is the largest native plant conservation seed bank in Australia. Housing over 100 million individual seeds in 10,000 seed collections, it has become one of the world's most biodiverse seed banks. Located in New South Wales, the PlantBank uses seed banking, cryostorage, and tissue culture for conservation, horticulture, restoration, and research efforts. They also offer educational tours to teach visitors about the important conservation work of scientists.</p>
<p>3. <a href="https://www.brit.org/research/seedbank" target="_blank">Botanical Research Institute of Texas</a>, <em>United States</em></p><p>Founded in 1987, The Botanical Research Institute of Texas (BRIT)'s mission is to conserve natural heritage by educating the public about the value of plants. BRIT operates the Conservation Seed Laboratory and Seed Bank as a part of their larger Texas Plant Conservation Program. In 2017, BRIT joined the Center of Plant Conservation (CPC) to help Texas organizations protect and preserve rare and endangered native plants. Through community education programs and workshops, research initiatives, and events, BRIT aims to increase awareness about sustainable stewardship and the importance of plant diversity.</p><p>4. <a href="https://secure.cherokee.org/seedbank" target="_blank">Cherokee Nation Seed Bank</a>, United States</p><p>The Cherokee Nation Seed Bank is maintained by The Cherokee Nation Heirloom Garden and Native Plant Site. The bank collects rare, native plants from the Cherokee regions. Representing centuries of Cherokee history, the Seed Bank provides an opportunity to continue traditions of ancestors, as well as educate youth about the Cherokee Nation's agricultural past. Seeds may be requested by community members; varieties include heirloom corn, tobacco, and gourds. Additionally, the organization offers educational materials like planting guides to help growers maintain the plants' genetic integrity.</p><p>5. <a href="https://caminoverde.org/" target="_blank">Camino Verde</a>, <em>United States & Peru</em></p><p>Camino Verde is a United States-based nonprofit with locations in Concord, Massachusetts and Puerto Maldonado, Peru. Camino Verde's mission is to plant trees and encourage future planting through educational programs and public awareness. From 2007 to 2016, Camino Verde worked to establish a Living Seed Bank of over 400 species of trees. With these seeds, they created a restoration forest center, planting over 25,000 trees whose nurseries now produce over 200,000 seedlings each year. The organization also works with farmers and native communities in the Amazon of Peru to help bring back forests to areas degraded by agriculture, gold mining, and ranching.</p><p>6. <a href="https://www.croptrust.org/" target="_blank">Crop Trust</a>, <em>Germany</em></p><p>The Crop Trust is an international organization whose mission is to ensure the conservation and availability of crop diversity for food security worldwide. Through its Crop Diversity Endowment Fund, the Crop Trust funds the world's largest genebanks, including the <a href="http://www.cgiar.org/" target="_blank">Consultative Group for International Agriculture Research</a> (CGIAR) genebank platform, Svalbard Global Seed Vault, and Seeds for Resilience–a project supporting five seed banks in Sub-Saharan Africa. The organization also works to develop government conservation strategies.</p><p>7. <a href="http://www.vir.nw.ru/" target="_blank">Federal Research Center All-Russian Institute of Plant Genetic Resources/VIR</a>, <em>Russia</em></p><p>Located in St. Petersburg, the Federal Research Center All-Russian Institute of Plant Genetic Resources, or the Vavilov Research Institute (VRI), was founded in 1921 and has since expanded into 12 research stations throughout Russia. As the world's oldest and largest seed bank, they house a total of 60,000 seed varieties and their herbariums contain some 250,000 cultivated plant specimens and their wild relatives.</p>
<p>8. <a href="https://kohalacenter.org/hpsi" target="_blank">Hawai'i Public Seed Initiative</a>, <em>United States</em></p><p>The Hawai'i Public Seed Initiative (HPSI) was created by The Kohula Center in 2010 and is funded by the Ceres Trust. The initiative works to identify and save seed varieties best suited for the island's soils and climates. Through community seed networks and workshops, HPSI teaches people to select, grow, harvest, store, and improve seed varieties that can strengthen the state's food security. HPSI holds events to develop seed leaders across the state, including on Hawai'i Island, Kaua'i, O'ahu, Maui, and Moloka'i.</p><p>9. <a href="http://www.irishseedsavers.ie/" target="_blank">Irish Seed Savers</a>, <em>Ireland</em></p><p>The Irish Seeds Savers was founded in 1991 in County Carlow, before moving to Scarriff, Ireland. The organization aims to raise public awareness about the vulnerability of Irish agricultural biodiversity. They provide educational workshops to schools and community groups and aim to facilitate conversations between governments, universities, and gene banks. The Irish Seed Savers maintain a public seed bank with over 600 non-commercially available varieties of heirloom and heritage seeds, including rare vegetables, soft fruit, flowers, grains, potatoes, and apple trees.</p><p>10. <a href="https://ciat.cgiar.org/" target="_blank">International Center for Tropical Agriculture</a> (CIAT), <em>Colombia</em></p><p>Headquartered in Colombia, the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) is a CGIAR research center focused on promoting agrobiodiversity and sustainable agroecosystems in Africa, Asian, Latin America, and the Caribbean. CIAT conducts crop research with its extensive genebank, which holds the largest global collection of beans, cassava, and tropical forages. CIAT provides seed samples free of charge to any individual or organization anywhere in the world for the purposes of research, breeding, or training.</p><p>11. <a href="https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/la/programs/?cid=nrcs141p2_015689" target="_blank">Louisiana Native Plant Initiative</a>, <em>United States</em></p><p>The Louisiana Native Plant Initiative (LNPI) is a multi-agency effort that helps conserve native plants. The National Resource Conservation Service of Louisiana collaborates with their many partners to collect seeds, preserve native varieties, increase flora abundance, and research plant materials for future revegetation projects. The initiative has spearheaded several conservation projects to protect species such as the longleaf pine, switchgrass, big bluestem, little bluestem, smooth cordgrass, eastern gamagrass, and partridge pea.</p><p>12. <a href="https://www.kew.org/science/collections-and-resources/collections/seed-collection" target="_blank">Millennium Seed Bank at Wakehurst</a>, <em>England</em></p><p>The Millennium Seed Bank at Wakehurst is a world leader in on-site conservation of wild plant species. The majority of the seed collections in the Seed Bank at Wakehurst are curated by the larger Millennium Seed Bank Partnership, a seed conversation network active in over 80 countries around the world. Currently, there are more than 92,500 seed collections in the bank, which represent over 40,000 species.</p>
<p>13. <a href="https://www.ars.usda.gov/plains-area/fort-collins-co/center-for-agricultural-resources-research/paagrpru/" target="_blank">National Laboratory for Genetic Resources Perseveration</a> (NLGRP), <em>United States</em></p><p>Located on the campus of Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado, the National Laboratory for Genetic Resources Preservation (NLGRP) is home to one of the world's largest plant and animal gene banks. NLGRP's mission is to support U.S. agriculture in producing high-quality food, feed, and fiber by acquiring, evaluating, preserving, and distributing critical genetic resources. In its plant division, the laboratory manages more than 10,000 plant species in long-term storage and on fields, orchards, and nature reserves.</p><p><em> </em>14. <a href="https://nativefoodalliance.org/" target="_blank">Native American Food Sovereignty Alliance</a><em>, United States</em></p><p><em> </em>Indigenous Seed Keeper Network (ISKN) is an initiative of the Native American Food Sovereignty Alliance (NAFSA), a non-profit organization aimed at leveraging resources to support tribal food sovereignty projects. The mission of the Network is to nourish and assist the growing seed sovereignty movement across Turtle Island. ISKN provides educational resources, mentorship training, outreach, and advocacy support on seed policy issues, and organizes convenings to connect communities engaged in this work.<a href="https://sierraseeds.org/" target="_blank"> Sierra Seeds</a>, a nonprofit sister program to ISKN, also uses mentorship and education to create greater sustainability in food and seed systems by sharing essential practical skills and promoting seed literacy.</p><p>15. <a href="https://www.nativeseeds.org/" target="_blank">Native Seeds/SEARCH</a>, <em>United States</em></p><p>Based in Tucson, Arizona, Native Seeds/SEARCH (NS/S) aims to conserve and promote arid-adapted crop diversity in the southwest United States. Since it was founded as a nonprofit organization in 1983, NS/S has established a reputation as a leader in heirloom conservation. Its seed bank holds nearly 2,000 varieties of crops adapted to landscapes extending from southern Colorado to Mexico. These varieties include traditional crops such as corn, beans, and squash used by the Apache, Havasupai, Hopi, Maricopa, Mayo, and many other tribes.</p><p>16. <a href="http://www.navdanya.org/site/living-seed/navdanya-seed-banks" target="_blank">Navdanya</a>, <em>India</em></p><p>Navdanya is a research-based initiative founded by Dr. Vandana Shiva, a world-renowned scientist and environmentalist. The organization is a network of seed keepers and organic producers that works across 22 states in India. Navdanya has helped set up over 150 community seed banks over the last 30 years. The organization has conserved and promoted undervalued crops such as millets, pulses, and pseudo-cereals and saved over 4,000 rice varieties. They also conduct research on sustainable farming practices and have provided training to over 750,000 farmers on food and seed sovereignty.</p><p>17. <a href="http://www.nycgovparks.org/greening/greenbelt-native-plant-center/conservation-initiative" target="_blank">New York City Native Plant Conservation Initiative</a>, <em>United States</em></p><p>The New York City Native Plant Conservation Initiative began in 2008 as a partnership between the Brooklyn Botanical Garden and the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. In response to declining native plant populations due to increasing urbanization, the initiative works to maximize long-term conservation of diverse native species. Launched with 34 endangered species, conservation efforts include collecting seeds, preparing and implementing protocols for restoration and management of native plant populations, and raising public awareness of the status of native plants in NYC.</p>
<p>18. <a href="https://www.library.pima.gov/seed-library/" target="_blank">Pima County Seed Library</a>, <em>United States</em></p><p>The Seed Library is a collection of open-pollinated and heirloom seeds in Pima County, Arizona. The library works to create local seed stocks that are acclimated to desert climate and support an abundant and genetically diverse landscape. The collection helps to support gardeners and educate community members about how to grow, harvest, and save seeds. Made up of almost 250 types of seeds, varieties include beans, flowers, herbs, melons, and more.</p><p>19. <a href="https://rockymountainseeds.org/" target="_blank">Rocky Mountain Seed Alliance</a>, <em>United States</em></p><p>The Rocky Mountain Seed Alliance (RMSA) is a nonprofit organization working to create a network of seed growers, distributors, and educators in the Rocky Mountain West region of the United States. Founded in 2014, RMSA emphasizes sharing of seed saving knowledge to preserve and promote the use of regionally adapted crops, herbs, wildflowers, and native grass seeds. To create a more resilient food system, the organization provides seed education resources, runs an online seed school, hosts an international seed festival, operates a regional seed vault, and more.</p><p>20. <a href="https://weseedchange.org/see-the-impact/global-impact/" target="_blank">SeedChange</a>, <em>Canada</em></p><p>Formerly USC Canada, SeedChange is working to fight for farmers' rights to fair wages, land, and seeds around the globe. Through partnerships with nonprofits, they support over 30,000 small-scale farmers to restore degraded lands, share seeds, and start businesses. SeedChange projects are rooted in a Seeds of Survival approach, which emphasizes the importance of local seeds and local knowledge. They support about 70 seed banks run by the communities in which they are located, and hundreds of home seed banks cared for by the farmers in their own homes.</p><p>21. <a href="https://www.seedsavers.org/" target="_blank">Seed Savers Exchange</a>, <em>United States</em></p><p>The Seed Savers Exchange is a nonprofit in Winneshiek County, Iowa that focuses on stewarding and sharing a large collection of open-pollinated seed varieties across the U.S. Founded in 1975, the organization works to ensure the preservation of diverse heirloom seeds to guarantee future food security. Today, Seed Savers Exchange has over 20,000 plant varieties and 13,000 members.<em> </em></p><p>22. <a href="https://www.southernexposure.com/about-us/" target="_blank">Southern Exposure Seed Exchange</a>, <em>United States</em></p><p>Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, located in central Virginia, is focused on seed varieties that grow well in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern U.S. Operating as a cooperative, the organization offers 800 varieties of vegetable, herb, flower, grain, and cover crop seeds. Sixty percent of their seed varieties are certified organic and over 60 percent of seeds come from small farmers. Some unique Southern heirlooms they offer include peanuts, okra, naturally colored cotton, butterbeans, and roselle.</p>
<p>23. <a href="https://www.regjeringen.no/en/topics/food-fisheries-and-agriculture/svalbard-global-seed-vault/id462220/" target="_blank">Svalbard Global Seed Vault</a>, <em>Norway</em></p><p>Opened by the Norwegian government in 2008, the Svalbard Global Seed Vault is the world's largest secure seed storage facility. Also referred to as the doomsday vault, the Svalbard Global Seed Vault holds duplicates of seed samples from other regional, national, and international gene banks to serve as backup storage in case of emergency. Svalbard has the capacity to house 2.25 billion seeds, equaling 500 seeds of 4.5 million crop varieties. The seed vault is run by the Norwegian Ministry of Agriculture and Food, Nordic Gene Resource Centre, and the Global Crop Diversity Trust. It currently holds seeds of more than 4,000 plant species.</p><p>24. <a href="http://www.genobank.org/" target="_blank">The Germplasm Bank of Wild Species</a>, <em>China</em></p><p>Created in 2004, The Germplasm Bank of Wild Species has collected over 80,000 seed samples from over 10,000 species of wild plants. The project is operated by the Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and includes a seed bank, DNA bank, microbial bank, animal germplasm bank, and seed biology research center.<a href="https://news.cgtn.com/news/2019-08-04/Seed-Bank-Protecting-plant-biodiversity-IRaTqG6pEY/index.html" target="_blank"> According</a> to one news source, by the end of 2018, the organization's seed storage accounted for one-third of the total wild plant species nationwide, making it the largest in Asia and the second of its kind globally.</p><p>25. <a href="https://avrdc.org/" target="_blank">The World Vegetable Center</a>, <em>Taiwan</em></p><p>The World Vegetable Center was founded in 1971 as the Asian Vegetable Research and Development Center (AVRDC). Today, the Center conducts research, builds networks, and carries out training activities to raise awareness of the role of vegetables for improved health and poverty alleviation around the globe. The Center's Genebank is the world's largest vegetable germplasm collection, holding over 61,000 accessions–plant materials collected from different areas–sourced from 155 countries. Since its founding, the Center has distributed more than 600,000 seed samples to researchers in the public and private sectors in at least 180 countries. Their work has led to the release of hundreds of varieties throughout the world, especially in developing countries. The World Vegetable Center Genebank is part of the global germplasm network, <a href="https://www.genesys-pgr.org/welcome" target="_blank">Genesys</a>.</p><p>26. <a href="http://cintdis.org/vrihi/" target="_blank">Vrihi</a>, <em>India</em></p><p>Vrihi, the Sandskrit word for "rice", was founded by ecologist Dr. Debal Deb and is now the largest folk rice seed bank in Eastern India. In 1997, Vrihi began as a partnership of a nationwide folk crop conservation movement between the Centre of Interdisciplinary Studies (CIS) and Dr. Vandana Shiva's Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology (RFSTE). Since 2000, Vrihi has been an independent organization, working to promote the cultivation of folk rice varieties and reestablish non-commercial seed exchange.</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://foodtank.com/news/2020/07/26-organizations-working-to-conserve-seed-biodiversity/" target="_blank">Food Tank</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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An example of an indoor vertical farm using a hydroponic system. Valcenteu / Wikimedia Commons / CC by 3.0
By Isabelle Gerretsen
"When I told people I was going to grow tomatoes in the desert, they thought I was crazy," Sky Kurtz, founder of Pure Harvest Smart Farms, told DW.
<p>With just an average 12 days of rain a year, less than 1% arable land, a desert location and an 80% import rate for food, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) seems an unfavorable place to set up a farm.</p><p>Kurtz is one of several entrepreneurs using high-tech farming techniques to boost crop production in the Emirates. Pure Harvest built the first climate-controlled greenhouse in Abu Dhabi in 2017. </p><p>Prompted by arid conditions and a desire for greater food security, the country is investing millions in technologies — such as vertical farming — that could make it an unlikely agricultural pioneer. </p><p>Vertical farms can grow a rich variety of different crops by stacking them in layers under LED lighting in climate-controlled greenhouses and watering them with mist or drip systems. The process is tailored to each crop's specific needs, resulting in high-yield, year-round harvests.</p><p>"It takes 30 to 40 days to grow leafy greens out in the field. We can grow that same crop in 10 to 12 days," says Marc Oshima, co-founder of Aerofarms. The company received funding from the Abu Dhabi Investment Office to build the capital's largest indoor vertical farm, with 800 different crops, by 2021.</p>
Water Scarcity and Fossil-Fuel Reliance
<p>The technology uses minimal land and up to 95% less water than conventional agriculture. </p><p>The hydroponics system places the plants' roots directly into a water-based and nutrient-rich solution instead of soil. This "closed loop" system captures and recirculates all the water, rather than allowing it to drain away — useful for a country like the UAE suffering from extremely high water stress.</p><p>Globally, agriculture accounts for 70% of freshwater withdrawals, and UAE is extracting groundwater faster than it can be replenished, according to the International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA).</p><p>"Water is very expensive over in the UAE, but energy is cheap as it is subsidized," says Jan Westra, a strategic business developer at Priva, a company providing technology to vertical farms.</p><p>The artificially controlled environment is energy intensive because the air conditioning and LED lights need a constant source of electricity.</p><p>This bringing forth of life in the desert could come at a high environmental cost. Most of that energy comes from carbon-emitting fossil fuels, even as the Middle Eastern country feel the effects of climate change.</p><p>By 2050 Abu Dhabi's average temperature is <a href="https://benthamopen.com/FULLTEXT/TOASCJ-13-56" target="_blank">predicted to increase by around 2.5°C</a> (36.5 F) in a business-as-usual scenario. Over the next 70 years patterns of rainfall are also expected to change.</p>Integrating Renewable Energy
<p>Although Pure Harvest is building a solar-powered farm in neighboring Saudi Arabia, its UAE operations get electricity from the carbon-intensive national grid.</p><p>Investing more in renewables "is a goal of ours," Kurtz told DW. He said the company has not set a clean energy target but is working on various green power projects, including a plan to integrate solar power generated in UAE into its operations. </p><p>However, Willem van der Schans, a researcher specializing in short supply chains at Wageningen University in the Netherlands, says sustainability and clean energy should be "inherent in the technology and included in plans when starting a vertical farm." </p><p>He argues that many vertical farming companies are not sustainable in terms of energy as they still view clean power as an optional "add-on."</p><p>Ismahane Elouafi, director general of the government funded ICBA in Abu Dhabi, acknowledges that vertical farming has some way to go before achieving "real sustainability," but she believes the innovations are "promising."</p><p>Improved battery storage, increasingly efficient LED lights and cheaper solar panels will help, she adds. </p>Local Solutions
<p>By 2050, the UAE government wants to generate almost half its energy from renewable sources.</p><p>Fred Ruijgt, a vertical farming specialist at Priva, argues that it's important to factor transport and refrigeration into the energy equation. Vertical farming uses more energy to grow crops than traditional agriculture, but because crops are grown locally, they do not have to be transported by air, sea or truck over long distances. </p><p>"The energy saving is difficult to calculate exactly, but the advantages of locally grown crops are huge," he says, adding that those grown in vertical farms not only use less water and pesticides, but that they also have a longer shelf life due to minimal transportation time. </p>Food Security and Coronavirus
<p>In 2018, the UAE set out its vision to become a hub for high-tech local food production.</p><p>Companies and investors have flocked to the region, attracted by the 0% corporate tax rate, low labor costs and cheap energy. With their help, UAE aims to reduce its reliance on imports and make its food system more resilient to shocks like climate change and pandemics. </p><p>Oshima from Aerofarms says the coronavirus pandemic has brought "greater appreciation of how fragile the supply chain is and raised questions about food safety and security."</p><p>When the UAE went into lockdown in April, imported supplies of perishable goods like vegetables fell and business boomed for local suppliers.</p><p>ICBA's Elouafi said they have helped keep the UAE well-stocked during the pandemic.</p><p>"With the help of local food production and adequate imports, there has been absolutely no shortage of food in the UAE," Elouafi told DW.</p><p>Climate change, however, poses an altogether more complex threat to the country in the long-term. Given climate change's likely impact on food production, she says vertical farming has shown it is "an economically viable proposition even with harsh climatic conditions."</p>From Your Site Articles
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Free food is distributed by local charities on April 14, 2020 in New Delhi, India. Pallava Bagla / Corbis / Getty Images
By Michael Fakhri and Ntina Tzouvala
According to a new United Nations report, global rates of hunger and malnutrition are on the rise. The report estimates that in 2019, 690 million people – 8.9% of the world's population – were undernourished. It predicts that this number will exceed 840 million by 2030.
<p>If you also include the number of people who the U.N. describes as food insecure, meaning that they have trouble getting access to food, over 2 billion people worldwide are in trouble. This includes people in wealthy, middle-income and low-income countries.</p><p>The report further confirms that women are more likely to face moderate to severe food insecurity than men, and that little progress has been achieved on this front in the past several years. Overall, its findings warn that eradicating hunger by 2030 – one of the U.N.'s main <a href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/hunger/" target="_blank">Sustainable Development Goals</a> – looks increasingly unlikely.</p><p>COVID-19 has only made matters worse: The report estimates that the unfolding pandemic and its accompanying economic recession will push an additional 83 million to 132 million people into undernourishment. But based on our work serving as independent experts to the U.N. on hunger, access to food and malnutrition, under the mandate of the <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/issues/food/pages/foodindex.aspx" target="_blank">Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food</a>, it's clear to us that the virus is only accelerating existing trends. It is not driving the rising numbers of hungry and food-insecure people.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzQ4MjQwMi9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYwNDg0NTg2NX0.6xLgCjcz33SJjOvF_hb21Qv9ZV62Kkg1l6Tw10CfC-Y/img.png?width=980" id="67fc3" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="6d646384f3bbf90efa461dce0fe9ee96" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
How Much Should Healthy Food Cost?
<p>Experts have debated for years how best to measure hunger and malnutrition. In the past, the U.N. focused almost exclusively on calories – an approach that researchers and advocacy groups <a href="http://archive.wphna.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/2013-Ethics-Int-Aff-Francis-Moore-Lappe-et-al-Counting-hunger.pdf" target="_blank">criticized as too narrow</a>.</p><p>This year's report takes a more thoughtful approach that focuses on access to healthy diets. One thing it found is that when governments primarily focused on making sure people had enough calories, they did so by supporting large transnational corporations and by making fatty, sweet and highly-processed foods cheap and accessible.</p><p>This perspective raises some important issues about the global political economy of food. As the new report points out, people who live at the current global poverty level of US$1.90 per day cannot feasibly secure access to a healthy diet, even under the most optimistic scenarios.</p><p><span></span>More broadly, the U.N. report addresses one of the longest-running debates in agriculture: What is a fair price for healthy food?</p><p><span></span>One thing everyone agrees on is that a plant-heavy diet is best for human health and the planet. But if prices for fruits and vegetables are too low, then farmers can't make a living, and will grow something more lucrative or quit farming altogether. And costs eventually go up for consumers as the supply dwindles. Conversely, if the price is too high, then most people can't afford healthy food and will resort to eating whatever they can afford – often, cheap processed foods.</p><span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="a7be2c0d670900205476c0f6bac1a515"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iteCytv0RqY?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>
The Role of Governments
<p>Food prices don't just reflect supply and demand. As the report notes, government policies always directly or indirectly influence them.</p><p>Some countries raise taxes at the border, making imported food more expensive in order to protect local producers and ensure a stable supply of food. Rich countries like the U.S., Canada, and in the EU heavily subsidize their farming sectors.</p><p>Governments can also spend public money on programs like farmer education or school meals, or invest in better roads and storage facilities. Another option is to grant people living in poverty food vouchers or cash to buy food, or to ensure everyone has a basic income that allows them to cover their fundamental spending. There's a host of ways in which governments can make sure food prices allow producers to make a living and consumers to afford healthy meals.</p>The Human Cost of Cheap Food
<p>The U.N. report focuses on trying to make sure that food is as cheap as possible. This is limited in a number of ways.</p><p>New <a href="https://www.yalelawjournal.org/note/amazons-antitrust-paradox" target="_blank">research</a> highlights that mostly focusing on <a href="https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520299931/a-history-of-the-world-in-seven-cheap-things" target="_blank">cheap prices</a> can promote environmental damage and brutal economic systems. That's because only large corporations can afford to compete in a market committed to cheap food. As our research has shown, <a href="https://www.academia.edu/30170463/Food_for_the_Global_Market_The_Neoliberal_Reconstruction_of_Agriculture_in_Occupied_Iraq" target="_blank">today</a> and in the <a href="https://uoregon.academia.edu/MichaelFakhri" target="_blank">past</a>, people's access to food is usually determined by how much power is concentrated in the hands of the few.</p><div id="68c2c" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="3b52ed2e8c0a86bc4d0075279238dc4a"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1282318358864699392" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">meatpacker #Toennies slaughterhouse in #Germany under fire for requesting government support after #COVID19… https://t.co/RzRN023XIS</div> — Hiro (@Hiro)<a href="https://twitter.com/mnDonotpanic/statuses/1282318358864699392">1594563495.0</a></blockquote></div><p>One current example is <a href="https://news.trust.org/item/20200612121508-ftbpr" target="_blank">meatpacking plants</a>, which have been coronavirus transmission centers in the U.S., Canada, Brazil and Europe. To keep prices low, people work shoulder-to-shoulder <a href="https://theconversation.com/to-understand-the-danger-of-covid-19-outbreaks-in-meatpacking-plants-look-at-the-industrys-history-137367" target="_blank">processing meat at an incredible speed</a>. During the pandemic, these conditions have enabled the virus to spread among workers, and outbreaks in factories have then spread the virus to nearby communities.</p><p>New international standards allow factories to continue to operate, but in a way that <a href="http://www.iuf.org/show.php?lang=en&tid=36" target="_blank">protects workers</a>. In our view, governments are not adequately enforcing these safety standards to stop the spread of the virus. Globally, four corporations – Brazil's JBS, Tyson and Cargill in the United States, and Chinese-owned Smithfield Foods – dominate the meat-producing sector. Studies have shown that they are able to <a href="https://www.iatp.org/blog/leaders-global-meat-complex" target="_blank">lobby and influence government policy</a> in ways that prioritize profit over worker and community safety.</p><p>Our work has convinced us that the best way for governments to make sure that everyone has access to good food is to view a healthy diet as a human right. This means first understanding who has the most power over food supplies. Ultimately, it means making sure that the health, safety and dignity of people who produce the world's food is a central part of the conversation about the cost of healthy diets.</p>
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By Danielle Nierenberg
Since the first episode of Food Talk Live aired on March 19, our twice-daily live conversation series has featured nearly 150 food system experts, advocates, scientists, chefs and more.
<p>This means that, over the past four months, I've probably asked more than 1,000 questions to these folks about the future of the food system. There has been a lot of news to unpack this week alone, between <a href="https://foodtank.com/news/2020/07/with-us3-million-in-grants-refeds-covid-19-fund-is-saving-food-waste-and-feeding-people/" target="_blank">funding food waste reduction</a>, <a href="https://foodtank.com/news/2020/07/little-free-pantries-providing-covid-19-food-relief-in-seattle/" target="_blank">addressing community food insecurity</a>, and <a href="https://foodtank.com/news/2020/07/corporate-accountability-report-details-big-business-influence-on-nutrition-policy/" target="_blank">understanding the influence of the food industry on nutrition policy</a>. And during my live conversations, every question I ask raises even more.</p>
<p>This week, Food Tank is highlighting 15 quotes that address thorny, world-changing questions about building a more sustainable and equitable food system.</p>
How do we rectify racial inequities in land ownership?
<p>"As a result of colonial genocide, land grabbing, USDA discrimination, state-level nativism, lynching, and expulsion, over 98% of the farmland in this county is owned by white Americans today. Ralph Paige of the Federation of Southern Cooperatives put it simply, "Land is the only real wealth in this country and if we don't own any we'll be out of the picture." We need a nationwide commitment to share the land back, so that all communities can have the means of production for food security."</p><p>— Leah Penniman, founder and director of Soul Fire Farm. <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10460-020-10055-3" target="_blank">Read more here</a>.</p>How impactful can collective agricultural labor unions be to protect farm workers?
<p>"In 2019, through our collective bargaining procedures, we resolved cases on wage issues amounting to over US$800,000 dollars. If they were non-union, that money would have been lost to the worker's pocket. If this is what we recoup for workers in the union setting, imagine what must be happening in non-union settings."</p><p>— Baldemar Velásquez, founder and president of the Farm Labor Organizing Committee. <a href="https://foodtank.com/news/2020/06/new-on-the-podcast-baldemar-velasquez-on-amplifying-the-voices-of-migrant-farmworkers/" target="_blank">Listen to more here</a>.</p>What does it mean to support local, regional, and sustainable food by engaging in good food purchasing?
<p>"This is a time I think of as a great reckoning. Seeing the public interest in food and how important food is as a public service is how procurement works — it aligns the purchasing power of government institutions with what the values of the public are. I think an important next step would be to have city or municipal leaders set aggregate purchasing targets and invite, encourage, persuade all large food service institutions to participate in setting these aggregate targets. And then you can really start making accelerated change in the local food economy, which is something we know we need to build back right now. The idea of good food purchasing is to support equity and to support creating economic opportunity for those who have not had that economic opportunity."</p><p>— Paula Daniels, co-founder, chair of the board, and chief of what's next at the Center for Good Food Purchasing. <a href="https://foodtank.com/news/2020/07/new-on-the-podcast-didier-toubia-on-cultivated-meat-and-paula-daniels-on-good-food-purchasing-policies/" target="_blank">Listen to more here</a>.</p>What is the importance of “middle-man” food processors in supporting local farm-based food systems?
<p>"Can we imagine how to circle out of this in a way that is better than what we had before? I want to shine an uncomfortable light on the farm-to-table movement. It turns out to have a very weak link. I don't know that the answer is to return to that moment, because what this shows is that it wasn't as strong in conception of feeding people and a food system moving forward as we would've imagined."</p><p>— Dan Barber, executive chef and co-founder of Blue Hill at Stone Barns. <a href="https://foodtank.com/news/2020/04/dan-barber-and-luke-saunders-on-keeping-the-farm-to-community-connection-during-covid-19/" target="_blank">Listen to more here</a>.</p>What can we do to make regenerative farming not only the norm, but affordable?
<p>"We need to realize that economic justice and the growth of organic and regenerative food and farming and land use go together. We can't have one without the other. That's what's so beautiful about this Green New Deal."</p><p>— Ronnie Cummins, executive director of the Organic Consumers Association. <a href="https://foodtank.com/news/2020/04/cummins-talks-green-new-deal-regenerative-agriculture-covid-19/" target="_blank">Listen to more here</a>.</p>How can traditional resource-management techniques lay the foundation for food sovereignty?
<p><em>"Tagal</em> is a traditional fisheries management practice in [the Malaysian state of] Sabah, in which communities swear oaths to nurture wild fisheries until they teem with river carp, and then open them, by agreement, for communal consumption at special times. During COVID-19 the power of tagal has therefore also become a key topic: how communities who have reinvigorated their culture of river stewardship have been able to access their own protein resources in their places."</p><p>— Cynthia Ong & Kenneth Wilson of Forever Sabah in Sabah, Malaysia. <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10460-020-10082-0" target="_blank">Read more here</a>.</p>What role can mutual aid and distributive food systems play in feeding our communities?
<p>"Resilience and regeneration are not a given, they need to be purposefully nurtured. We therefore need to invest and facilitate the creation of distributive food systems based on local needs and capacities that assure a fair redistribution of value, knowledge and power across actors and territories to deliver sustainable food for all."</p><p>— Ana Moragues-Faus, professor of economics and business, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain. <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10460-020-10087-9" target="_blank">Read more here</a>.</p>How can greater public funding drive food innovation in Latin America and the Global South?
<p>"One of the forgotten links in all these food systems, connections between agriculture, nutrition, and health, is that you need knowledge. You need to do some research, and then you need to innovate. … If we can put trillions and trillions of dollars into good research on safeguarding the economy, we should also be putting in quite a bit of funding for health and food systems."</p><p>— Ruben Echeverria, senior research fellow at International Food Policy Research Institute and research associate at the Latin American Center for Rural Development. <a href="https://foodtank.com/news/2020/05/new-on-the-podcast-john-piotti-discusses-a-farmers-relief-fund-and-ruben-echeverria-talks-global-food-policy/" target="_blank">Listen to more here</a>.</p>What role can entrepreneurs play in building a better food system?
<p>"We have this really beautiful rich, diverse country where we can produce and we can create so much wealth for all of us, and it's now about zooming in and resourcing these gaps that we know exist."</p><p>— Caesaré Assad, CEO of accelerator Food System 6. <a href="https://foodtank.com/news/2020/03/caesare-assad-on-the-food-system-covid-19/" target="_blank">Listen to more here</a>.</p>How do we build a new European community-based sustainable food system that doesn’t replicate the past?
<p>"My vision is for a new food economy with more and more of us growing a percentage of our own food, and preferentially purchasing in season and local food from local and sustainable farmers. This future food system will not be identical to those that I remember from my childhood in the '50s and '60s, since the world has changed since then. The internet and other related digital innovations including on-line marketing, and the emergence of farmers markets and community supported agriculture, are all expressions of the boundless innovation of humanity. So, let us hope that the farming community will prosper and come to play a more central role in our future food systems. Let the new food revolution flourish and thrive!"</p><p>— Patrick Holden, British farmer and founder of Sustainable Food Trust. <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10460-020-10049-1" target="_blank">Read more here</a>.</p>How can we understand and prepare for the connections between COVID-19 and diet health?
<p>"Because [the pandemic of diet-related disease] has happened over 30 to 40 years, we've ignored that equivalent or even larger pandemic. And now they're coming together, and we're seeing that we set up an environment of people with poor metabolic health who are predisposed to COVID. … We have not invested in the science that we should have invested in up until this point, to have answers to these questions. People are talking about stocking personal protective equipment and stocking ventilators and stocking vaccines — but what about stocking science on food and health and nutrition? That would've been incredibly important."</p><p>—Dariush Mozaffarian, cardiologist and dean of the Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy. <a href="https://foodtank.com/news/2020/05/new-on-the-podcast-dr-dariush-mozaffarian-on-creating-healthier-american-diets-and-nutrition-programs/" target="_blank">Listen to more here</a>.</p>How is localized, diverse seed security vital to our food security and national security?
<p>"As the world slowly rebuilds and recovers, we all have a fresh opportunity to regenerate and share a greater diversity of seeds—and to honor and return benefits to traditional seed keepers from many cultures. We would be remiss not to sow true, place-based seed sovereignty in every region and among every culture on this planet, well before a future crisis could uproot us again."</p><p>— Gary Paul Nabhan, ethnobotanist and co-founder of Native Seeds/SEARCH. <a href="https://foodtank.com/news/2020/07/a-call-for-community-based-seed-diversity-during-the-covid-19-pandemic/" target="_blank">Read more here</a>.</p>How has the COVID-19 crisis played into forces of industrialization threatening Iranian smallholder farmers?
<p>"There is an irony in expecting governments to kick into action in an emergency to support people and production systems that they actively undermine in the best of times. This shows that COVID-19 is not impacting food systems in a vacuum, but is in fact a shock to an ongoing struggle for power and survival. Like many smallholder producers worldwide who make a massive contribution to food security, pastoralists struggle against forces that seek to upend their way of life in favor of industrial food systems."</p><p>— Maryam Rahmanian & Nahid Naghizadeh of the Centre for Sustainable Development in Tehran, Iran. <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10460-020-10093-x" target="_blank">Read more here</a>.</p>How do we encourage young Africans to stay on farms and improve agriculture on the continent?
<p>"I would argue that what is missing in the [agricultural] sector is those young people who have access to productive resources and have the knowledge and the skillset that can help improve productivity. … If we want young people to stay in agriculture, then we have to make agriculture profitable for those young people. And for agriculture to be profitable, it has to be productive. Giving them access to those productive resources that will allow them to increase the productivity of agriculture will be critical."</p><p>— Felix Kwame Yeboah, social science researcher and professor of international development at Michigan State University. <a href="https://foodtank.com/news/2020/06/new-on-the-podcast-dr-felix-kwame-yeboah-on-youth-powered-agricultural-development/" target="_blank">Listen to more here</a>.</p>Finally, what will it take to help us use suffering as a springboard into liberation?
<p>"We're all suffering. But at the end of the day, folks, what makes us strong is our belief in one another, that we will come together to help one another get back on our feet. … This is our time, this is our moment to not go back to politics and Wall Street, but to move forward. It's more about people than profits. This is our time to move forward and change the system."</p><p>— Karen Washington, farmer and founder of Rise and Root Farm. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=227538081894588&ref=watch_permalink" target="_blank">Watch more here</a></p>From Your Site Articles
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A new tool called The Food Systems Dashboard aims to save decision makers time and energy by painting a complete picture of a country's food system. Photo courtesy of Dr. Jessica Fanzo and Dr. Rebecca McLaren
By Katie Howell
A new tool called The Food Systems Dashboard aims to save decision makers time and energy by painting a complete picture of a country's food system. Created by the Johns Hopkins' Alliance for a Healthier World, the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), and the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the Dashboard compiles food systems data from over 35 sources and offers it as a public good.
<p>"Trying to fix a food system without data is like trying to fix a car engine without any light in the garage," says Lawrence Haddad, Executive Director of GAIN and one of the contributing partners behind the Dashboard.</p><p>The new Food Systems Dashboard enables government officials, policy makers, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and others to see what is working in their food systems and what isn't.</p><p>The Dashboard has three main objectives — describe, diagnose, and decide. It presents data to describe a country's food system, help decision makers diagnose the problem areas in their systems, and suggest policies, programs, and interventions to address identified issues.</p>
<p>Pulling data on over 180 indicators, the Dashboard presents more than 230 countries' food systems. These indicators, which range from agriculture production factors to diet-related disease rates, are broken down into five broad categories: food supply chains, food environments, individual factors, consumer behavior, and outcomes. Of these indicators, the team also selected 41 measures they deem critical to describe a food system.</p><p>"We hope that the Dashboard not only draws attention to the importance of food systems in shaping development priorities, but that it also can be used as a data-driven problem solving tool for more difficult food system challenges that countries may face," Dr. Jessica Fanzo of Johns Hopkins University and Dr. Rebecca McLaren, global coordinator for the Dashboard, tell Food Tank.</p><p>The layout for each country's page presents information in simple, visual ways so that users are able to quickly understand and take away key messages. Users can then compare their food systems with those of other countries, either by region, income classification, or a food system typology.</p>
<p>The tool also highlights issues like consumer behavior, that require more research to generate usable data. Fanzo and partners hope the Dashboard will simultaneously serve as a tool for data advocacy and lead to more comprehensive global data collection.</p><p>In the future, the Dashboard will continue to develop as the team works to further identify specific challenges countries face, Fanzo and McLaren tell Food Tank. It will also increase focus on recommended policies, programs, investments, and other interventions targeted to those specific challenges, Fanzo and McLaren tell Food Tank.</p><p>"The Dashboard is open to all and will foster much needed cooperation in transforming our food systems," says FAO Director-General, QU Dongyu, "With the threats and opportunities presented by COVID-19, we need more collaboration between stakeholders who care about hunger, nutrition, livelihoods, climate, biodiversity, and sustainable natural resource use."</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from<a href="https://foodtank.com/news/2020/07/new-tool-enables-decision-makers-to-see-what-works-in-their-food-systems/" target="_blank"> Food Tank</a>.</em></p>
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A baby receives limited treatment at a hospital in Yemen on June 27, 2020. Mohammed Hamoud / Anadolu Agency / Getty Images
By Andrea Germanos
Oxfam International warned Thursday that up to 12,000 people could die each day by the end of the year as a result of hunger linked to the coronavirus pandemic—a daily death toll surpassing the daily mortality rate from Covid-19 itself.
<p>April saw the highest global daily mortality rate for Covid-19 thus far with just over 10,000 deaths per day.</p><p>Oxfam's warning comes in a new report entitled <a href="https://www.oxfam.org/en/research/hunger-virus-how-covid-19-fuelling-hunger-hungry-world" target="_blank"><em>The Hunger Virus</em></a>, which the humanitarian group says "shines a light on a food system that has trapped millions of people in hunger on a planet that produces more than enough food for everyone" and that has enabled global food and beverage giants to lavish billions on shareholders since the coronavirus crisis erupted.</p><p>Kadidia Diallo, a female milk producer in Burkina Faso quoted in the report, puts the crisis in stark terms.</p><p>"We are totally dependent on the sale of milk, and with the closure of the market we can't sell the milk anymore," she said. "If we don't sell milk, we don't eat."</p>
<p>The publication says the hunger crisis is set to deepen in already existing "hunger hotspots" like Yemen, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Afghanistan, and Syria. In those locations, the pandemic "has added fuel to the fire of an already growing hunger crisis." But millions of people in other countries are poised to be "tipped over the edge" as the virus rages, with nations including Brazil and India likely to emerge as new hunger hotspots.</p><p>"Covid-19 is the last straw for millions of people already struggling with the impacts of conflict, climate change, inequality, and a broken food system that has impoverished millions of food producers and workers," Oxfam interim executive director Chema Vera said in a <a href="https://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/12000-people-day-could-die-covid-19-linked-hunger-end-year-potentially-more-disease" target="_blank">statement</a>. "Meanwhile, those at the top are continuing to make a profit: eight of the biggest food and drink companies paid out over $18 billion to shareholders since January even as the pandemic was spreading across the globe—10 times more than the U.N. says is needed to stop people going hungry."</p><p><em>Hunger Virus</em> attributes the projected daily death toll to "spiraling unemployment and the economic disruption" as a result of measures to contain the pandemic, citing lost wages; lack of unemployment insurance; an estimated 20% drop in remittances—which are "a lifeline for millions of families that are living in poverty"; insufficient or absent social protection policies; evictions that lead to loss of land on which to grow crops; and restrictions that have slowed or barred the delivery of crucial humanitarian aid.</p>
<p>There also appear to be bad actors exacerbating the crisis. From the report:</p><blockquote>There are also worrying signs that some companies are using the pandemic to take advantage of consumers. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Food Price Index, which tracks the average price supermarkets and other retailers pay for a basket of basic goods, has fallen steadily since January 2020. However, consumer prices are going up in many countries as a result of disruption to local production and supply chains, inflation, panic buying, and potential price gouging (where goods are sold at a much higher price than is considered reasonable or fair). In the USA, for example, consumer prices increased by 2.6% for groceries, on average, but farm income fell.<br></blockquote><p>Many of the issues fueling the fears of starvation existed well before the coronavirus crisis emerged. The report points to "our industrial model of agriculture production, heavily reliant on chemical inputs to grow vast monocrops for export," which "was failing to provide food security and alleviate poverty for millions of people." Further, "the powerful agricultural traders, food and beverage corporations, and supermarkets that dominate the food sector are able to dictate the price and terms of food trade."</p>
<p>The climate crisis was affecting food insecurity before the pandemic, as were conflicts, such as in Syria and Yemen, where millions are facing humanitarian disaster, including insecure, at best, access to food. "Hunger can also be a weapon of war," adds the report. "Warring parties can destroy markets and warehouses, suspend food imports, and cut transportation links to gain power."</p><p>Deep inequality was another standing issue. The report notes:</p><blockquote>[P]rofound inequalities extend to the food system, where unequal access to food rather than insufficient global production is leaving people hungry. Financial investments in large-scale agribusiness are often prioritized, while investments in small-scale producers are woefully neglected. Meanwhile, supermarkets and food and drink companies continue to keep the lion's share of the price consumers pay for their products.</blockquote><p>Urgent action is required, Oxfam says, not only to address the immediate hunger crisis but to "build more resilient and sustainable food systems that work for all people and the planet."</p>
<p>"Governments must contain the spread of this deadly disease," said Vera, "but it is equally vital they take action to stop the pandemic killing as many—if not more—people from hunger."</p><p>The report lays out a number of actions governments should take, including providing emergency assistance; actively engaging women—"the backbone of local food systems"—in joining and leading decisions on fixing food systems; canceling poorer counties' debts, backing U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres's global ceasefire <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/03/24/fury-virus-illustrates-folly-war-un-chief-calls-global-ceasefire" target="_blank">call</a>; and taking swift measures to tackle the climate crisis.</p><p>"Governments can save lives now by fully funding the U.N.'s Covid-19 appeal, making sure aid gets to those who need it most, and cancelling the debts of developing countries to free up funding for social protection and healthcare," said Vera.</p><p>"To end this hunger crisis," she continued, "governments must also build fairer, more robust, and more sustainable food systems, that put the interests of food producers and workers before the profits of big food and agribusiness."</p>
<p class=""><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/07/09/last-straw-pandemic-rages-oxfam-warns-12000-could-die-day-hunger" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Vanguard Renewables has sponsored five milk donation events, donating more than 17,000 gallons of milk to Massachusetts and Rhode Island families in need. Vanguard Renewables
By Meg Wilcox
As U.S. food assistance programs grapple with overwhelming demand during the coronavirus pandemic, some in New England are finding support from unusual partners—renewable energy companies.
<p><br/></p>
<p>Scratch the surface of these partnerships, however, and the connections begin to make sense. The renewable energy companies are already engaged with the food system, and they're joining with food relief efforts to connect more deeply with the communities where they do business at a time of crisis.</p><p>Take <a href="https://vanguardrenewables.com/" target="_blank">Vanguard Renewables</a>, which has sponsored <a href="https://neal.house.gov/press-releases/neal-assists-donation-milk-south-congregational-church-community-food-pantry" target="_blank">five milk donations events</a>, donating more than 17,000 gallons of milk to <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/05/06/metro/local-farms-donate-thousands-gallons-milk-those-need-market-dissolves/" target="_blank">Massachusetts</a> and <a href="https://vanguardrenewables.com/4300-gallons-of-milk-to-be-donated-to-providence-and-pawtucket-families-in-need-on-may-27/" target="_blank">Rhode Island</a> families in need, in partnership with <a href="https://www.dfamilk.com/" target="_blank">Dairy Farmers of America</a> (DFA), <a href="https://hood.com/" target="_blank">HP Hood</a>, <a href="https://www.supercow.com/" target="_blank">Guida's Dairy</a> and various political leaders.</p><p>Vanguard Renewables develops <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/2020/06/16/climate-solutions-manure/?arc404=true" target="_blank">novel on-farm systems</a> that recycle organic food waste and manure into renewable energy that it converts to electricity or sells as gas. The company takes food waste from food manufacturers and grocery stores, and uses it to fuel its six anaerobic digester facilities in New England, which also produce organic fertilizer and bedding for animals.</p><p>When dairy's main markets shuttered in April, Vanguard Renewables Chairman and CEO John Hanselman noted a sudden large influx of raw milk coming into his company's facilities straight from farms. Hanselman, who'd never before seen that, reached out to DFA to ask, "Hey what can we do?"</p>
<p>DFA was already focusing on <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/11/business/coronavirus-destroying-food.html" target="_blank">milk dumping</a>, and through its charitable arm, <a href="https://www.dfamilk.com/our-commitment/dfa-cares" target="_blank">DFA Cares</a>, it raised the money needed to purchase milk from farmers to make the donations. Vanguard Renewables contributed $15,000, as well as time and logistical support. Hood HP and Guida's Dairy processed the milk into gallon jugs, and got it out to the points of distribution. The National Guard helped hand out the milk jugs.</p><p>"It was a hell of an effort, but it really felt good in your soul as people were pulling up and we were putting gallons of milk in their trunks," said Hanselman. "You know that so many families are just a few paychecks away from not having their nutritional needs met, and that's devastating in a country that has such abundance."</p><p><a href="https://bluewavesolar.com/" target="_blank">BlueWave Solar</a>, a <a href="https://bcorporation.net/" target="_blank">certified B Corporation</a> and developer of community solar projects, is taking a different tack to help feed families in need. It's donating a portion of the subscriptions it receives to two new community solar projects—in Hudson Valley, New York and in Massachusetts—to area food banks.</p><p><a href="https://www.seia.org/initiatives/community-solar" target="_blank">Community solar</a> provides homeowners and renters an opportunity to tap into clean energy, at a reduced rate on their monthly electric bills, without installing solar panels on their homes. BlueWave Solar's projects are typically developed on low-value land, such as along a highway, but they're also developed on farms, which helps stabilize farmers' income. Recently, the company began developing innovative <a href="https://civileats.com/2019/01/22/agrivoltaics-solar-panels-on-farms-could-be-a-win-win/" target="_blank">dual use solar farms</a> which Marsch, calls the "holy grail," because the farmer is able to continue farming the land around the solar array.</p>
<p>For each new subscriber to the community solar projects, BlueWave Solar contributes $50 to area food banks. The company has also donated more than $10,000 to four food banks since the pandemic started, according to Mike Marsch, principal, community solar at BlueWave Solar</p><p>"When COVID hit, it was such a clear need. It's such a hard-hit region, food insecurity being what it is," said Marsch. "As a company, we've supported the food bank. A lot of us have volunteered there. We thought a natural extension was to combine that with community solar."</p><p>Donating to food banks to attract new subscribers is also a creative way for the company to gin up business while sales are low—but local food banks are grateful for the support.</p><p>Paul Stermer, director at <a href="https://foodbankofhudsonvalley.org/" target="_blank">Food Bank of the Hudson Valley</a>, said he's seen roughly 50 percent more people in the area who are food insecure and need help since the pandemic struck.</p>
<p>Stermer is concerned that once the coronavirus relief programs phase out—the increased unemployment benefits, rent forgiveness, expanded SNAP, <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/3245-0407-SBA-Form-3508-PPP-Forgiveness-Application.pdf" target="_blank">Paycheck Protection Program</a>—people will struggle even more.</p><p>"Even once we get past the pandemic, … the impact of what we're seeing today is going to be with us for a while," he said.</p><p>Indeed, a <a href="https://www.feedingamerica.org/sites/default/files/2020-05/Brief_Local%20Impact_5.19.2020.pdf" target="_blank">recent analysis</a> by Feeding America found that progress made in the past decade on food insecurity will likely be wiped out by the pandemic.</p><p>Vanguard Renewables is trying to keep its effort going, said Hanselman, noting "we've got 40 million unemployed Americans and it takes a long time to get those folks back to work."</p><p>But he says, it's gotten harder now to get interest, especially now that the dairy supply chain disruption is over.</p><p><span></span>Regardless of whether the companies can maintain food relief efforts, both will continue building on-farm clean energy systems that support farmers and help make their operations more regenerative.</p>
<p class=""><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://foodtank.com/news/2020/06/feeding-families-in-need-renewable-energy-companies-enter-the-mix/" target="_blank">Food Tank</a>.</em></p>
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A man wearing a protective mask searches for leftovers among rotten fruits and vegetables in a dumpster in Corabastos, the main food distribution center of the country on April 17, 2020 in Bogota, Colombia. The mandatory lockdown to prevent the spread of COVID-19 has resulted in many informal workers losing their income. John W. Vizcaino / VIEWpress / Corbis via Getty Images
The United Nations issued a dire warning on Tuesday that the world stands on the brink of the worst food crisis in the last 50 years, according to The Guardian.
<p>The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that the world is facing an "impending global food emergency" that could impact hundreds of millions of people as the coronavirus pandemic threatens already strained supply chains, according to Hong Kong-based <a href="https://asiatimes.com/2020/06/un-warns-pandemic-could-spark-global-food-crisis/" target="_blank">Asia Times</a>. He warned that the recessions that follow the pandemic will put basic nutrition out of reach for millions.</p>
<p>"Our food systems are failing, and the Covid-19 pandemic is making things worse," the UN chief said in a <a href="https://www.un.org/en/coronavirus/we-need-act-now-avoid-worst-impacts-our-efforts-control-pandemic" target="_blank">statement</a> accompanying a <a href="http://www.un.org/sites/un2.un.org/files/sg_policy_brief_on_covid_impact_on_food_security.pdf" target="_blank">report</a> by the UN. "More than 820 million people are hungry. "Some 144 million children under the age of five are stunted – more than one in five children worldwide."</p><p>That's particularly troubling as malnutrition has lifelong consequences. If the number of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/childrens-health">children</a> who suffer from malnutrition grows, it is likely to cause increased stunting and provide a future strain on health care systems.</p>
<p>Guterres warned that "this year, some 49 million extra people may fall into extreme poverty due to the Covid-19 crisis," according to <a href="https://asiatimes.com/2020/06/un-warns-pandemic-could-spark-global-food-crisis/" target="_blank">Asia Times</a>.</p><p>"Unless immediate action is taken, it is increasingly clear that there is an impending global food emergency that could have long-term impacts on hundreds of millions of children and adults," as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/jun/09/world-faces-worst-food-crisis-50-years-un-coronavirus" target="_blank">The Guardian</a> reported. "We need to act now to avoid the worst impacts of our efforts to control the pandemic."</p><p>The UN Secretary-General provided a three-point plan for attacking the hunger crisis: focus aid on the worst-stricken areas to avoid immediate disaster, to improve social safety nets so children, pregnant women and breast-feeding mothers along with other at-risk group receive adequate nutrition, and to invest in healthy and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/sustainability">sustainable</a> food systems and supply chains for the future, according to Guterres' <a href="https://www.un.org/en/coronavirus/we-need-act-now-avoid-worst-impacts-our-efforts-control-pandemic" target="_blank">statement</a>.</p>
<p>The latest data in the report, <a href="http://www.un.org/sites/un2.un.org/files/sg_policy_brief_on_covid_impact_on_food_security.pdf" target="_blank"><em>The Impact of COVID-19 on Food Security and Nutrition</em></a>, found that the food security of 135 million people is at crisis level or worse. That number could nearly double before the end of the year due to the impacts of COVID-19.</p><p>Increasing unemployment and the loss of income associated with lockdowns are also putting food out of reach for many struggling people, the report found, according to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/jun/09/world-faces-worst-food-crisis-50-years-un-coronavirus" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>. While global markets have remained steady, the cost for basic foods has begun to rise in some countries.</p><p>The report also expects harvests to slow down, since many seasonal laborers are unable to work or travel for work. Meanwhile, despite the impending crisis, <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/food-waste">food waste</a> is surging as farmers are <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/food-waste-coronavirus-government-assistance-2645913920.html" target="_self">finding themselves in the unenviable position of dumping perishable food</a> because of supply chain problems, as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/jun/09/world-faces-worst-food-crisis-50-years-un-coronavirus" target="_blank">The Guardian</a> reported.</p>
<p><br>"The Covid-19 crisis is attacking us at every angle," said Agnes Kalibata, the UN secretary general's special envoy for the 2021 food systems summit, as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/jun/09/world-faces-worst-food-crisis-50-years-un-coronavirus" target="_blank">The Guardian</a> reported. "It has exposed dangerous deficiencies in our food systems and actively threatens the lives and livelihoods of people around the world, especially the more than 1 billion people who have employment in the various industries in food systems."</p><p>However, she added that there is an opportunity to improve food systems so they are equipped to handle future shocks.</p><p>"Food has always brought people together and it can again if we build back better as it relates to our food systems," she said, as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/jun/09/world-faces-worst-food-crisis-50-years-un-coronavirus" target="_blank">The Guardian</a> reported.</p>
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Biodiversity – the diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems – is declining globally, faster than at any other time in human history. Csondy / Getty Images
By Marie Quinney
Biodiversity is critically important – to your health, to your safety and, probably, to your business or livelihood.
<p>But biodiversity – the diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems – is declining globally, faster than at any other time in human history. The world's 7.6 billion people represent just 0.01% of all living things by weight, but humanity has caused the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/may/21/human-race-just-001-of-all-life-but-has-destroyed-over-80-of-wild-mammals-study" target="_blank">loss of 83% of all wild mammals and half of all plants</a>. (Biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse is one of the top five risks in <a href="https://www.weforum.org/reports/the-global-risks-report-2020" target="_blank">the World Economic Forum's 2020 Global Risks Report</a>, too.)</p><p>In celebration of <a href="https://www.cbd.int/idb/" target="_blank">the International Day for Biological Diversity</a>, we break down the five ways in which biodiversity supports our economies and enhances our wellbeing – and has the potential to do even more.</p>
1. Biodiversity Ensures Health and Food Security.
<p>Biodiversity underpins global nutrition and food security. Millions of species work together to provide us with a <a href="https://www.cbd.int/health/doc/Summary-SOK-Final.pdf" target="_blank">large array of fruits, vegetables and animal products essential to a healthy, balanced diet</a> – but they are increasingly under threat.</p><p>Every country has indigenous produce – such as wild greens and grains – which have adapted to local conditions, making them more resilient to pests and extreme weather. In the past, this produce provided much-needed micronutrients for local populations. Unfortunately, however, the <a href="http://www.fao.org/3/a-i1620e.pdf" target="_blank">simplification of diets, processed foods and poor access to food have led to poor-quality diets</a>. As a result, <a href="https://www.bioversityinternational.org/research-portfolio/diet-diversity/biodiversity-for-food-and-nutrition/" target="_blank">one-third of the world suffers from micronutrient deficiencies</a>.</p><p>Three crops – wheat, corn and rice – <a href="https://enviroliteracy.org/food/crops/" target="_blank">provide almost 60% of total plant-based calories consumed by humans</a>. This leads to reduced resiliency in our supply chains and on our plates. For example, <a href="http://www.fao.org/3/a-i1620e.pdf" target="_blank">the number of rice varieties cultivated in Asia has dropped from tens of thousands to just a few dozen; in Thailand, 50% of land used for growing rice only produces two varieties</a>.</p><p>People once understood that the conservation of species was crucial for healthy societies and ecosystems. We must ensure this knowledge remains part of our modern agricultural and food systems to prevent diet-related diseases and reduce the environmental impact of feeding ourselves.</p>2. Biodiversity Helps Fight Disease.
<p>Higher rates of biodiversity have been linked to an increase in human health.</p><p>First, plants are essential for medicines. For example, <a href="http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_New_Nature_Economy_Report_2020.pdf" target="_blank">25% of drugs used in modern medicine are derived from rainforest plants</a> while <a href="http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_New_Nature_Economy_Report_2020.pdf" target="_blank">70% of cancer drugs are natural or synthetic products inspired by nature</a>. This means that every time a species goes extinct, we miss out on a potential new medicine.</p><p>Second, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/news.2010.644" target="_blank">biodiversity due to protected natural areas has been linked to lower instances of disease</a> such as Lyme disease and malaria. While the exact origin of the virus causing COVID-19 is still unknown, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5711306/" target="_blank">60% of infectious diseases originate from animals</a> and <a href="https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/631980-Machalaba-Anthropogenic%20Drivers%20of%20Emerging%20Infectious%20Diseases.pdf" target="_blank">70% of emerging infectious diseases originate from wildlife</a>. As human activities encroach upon the natural world, through deforestation and urbanization, we reduce the size and number of ecosystems. As a result, animals live in closer quarters with one another and with humans, creating ideal conditions for the spread of zoonotic diseases.</p><p>Simply put: <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/news.2010.644" target="_blank">more species means less disease</a>.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzMxMDYyOC9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0MDA4MjA5MH0.7QU59zfy44cq0wSAwMxeqjyygJi9ef1aEyYHQZ3gCts/img.png?width=980" id="77368" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="18d555bb10422495fc147f109cb72b3b" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Human activity is eroding biodiversity. World Economic Forum Nature Risk Rising
3. Biodiversity Benefits Business.
<p>According to the World Economic Forum's recent <a href="http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_New_Nature_Economy_Report_2020.pdf" target="_blank">Nature Risk Rising Report</a>, more than half of the world's GDP ($44 trillion) is highly or moderately dependent on nature. Many businesses are, therefore, at risk due to increasing nature loss. <a href="https://wwf.panda.org/our_work/biodiversity/protected_areas/arguments_for_protection/goods_services/medicine/" target="_blank">Global sales of pharmaceuticals based on materials of natural origin are worth an estimated $75 billion a year</a>, while natural wonders such as <a href="https://wwf.panda.org/knowledge_hub/all_publications/living_planet_report_2018/" target="_blank">coral reefs are essential to food and tourism.</a></p><p>There is great potential for the economy to grow and become more resilient by ensuring biodiversity. <a href="http://wedocs.unep.org/xmlui/handle/20.500.11822/31813" target="_blank">Every dollar spent on nature restoration leads to at least $9 of economic benefits.</a> In addition, <a href="https://www.foodandlandusecoalition.org/global-report/" target="_blank">changing agricultural and food production methods could unlock $4.5 trillion per year in new business opportunities by 2030</a>, while also preventing trillions of dollars' worth of social and environmental harms.</p>4. Biodiversity Provides Livelihoods.
<p>Humans derive approximately <a href="https://livingplanetindex.org/home/index" target="_blank">$125 trillion of value from natural ecosystems each year</a>. Globally, <a href="http://www.unesco.org/new/en/natural-sciences/environment/water/wwap/wwdr/2016-water-and-jobs/" target="_blank">three out of four jobs</a> are dependent on water while the agricultural sector employs over <a href="https://www.conservation.org/priorities/livelihoods" target="_blank">60% of the world's working poor</a>. In the Global South, forests are the source of livelihoods for <a href="https://www.conservation.org/priorities/livelihoods" target="_blank">over 1.6 billion people</a>. In India, forest ecosystems contribute <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19915547" target="_blank">only 7% to India's GDP yet 57% of rural Indian communities' livelihoods</a>.</p><p><span></span>Ecosystems, therefore, must be protected and restored – not only for the good of nature but also for the communities that depend on them.</p><p>Although some fear environmental regulation and the safeguarding of nature could threaten businesses, the "restoration economy" – the restoration of natural landscapes – provides more jobs in the United States than most of the extractives sector, with the potential to create even more. According to some estimates, the restoration economy is worth <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0128339" target="_blank">$25 billion per year and directly employs more than the coal, mining, logging and steel industries altogether</a>. Nature-positive businesses can provide <a href="https://www.greenbiz.com/article/10-things-you-need-know-about-restoration-economy" target="_blank">cost-effective, robot-proof, business-friendly jobs</a> that stimulate the rural economy without harming the environment.</p>5. Biodiversity Protects Us.
<p>Biodiversity makes the earth habitable. Biodiverse ecosystems provide <a href="https://www.nature-basedsolutions.com/" target="_blank">nature-based solutions</a> that buffer us from <a href="https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/coral_protect.html" target="_blank">natural disasters such as floods and storms</a>, <a href="https://digital.iucn.org/water/nature-based-solutions-for-water/" target="_blank">filter our water</a> and <a href="https://www.naturebasedsolutionsinitiative.org/publications/the-superior-effect-of-nature-based-solutions-in-land-management-for-enhancing-ecosystem-services/" target="_blank">regenerate our soils</a>.</p><p>The <a href="https://blogs.worldbank.org/voices/miracle-mangroves-coastal-protection-numbers" target="_blank">clearance of over 35% of the world's mangroves for human activities</a> has increasingly put people and their homes at risk from floods and sea-level rise. If today's mangroves were lost, 18 million more people would be flooded every year (an increase of 39%) and annual damages to property would increase by 16% ($82 billion).</p><p>Protecting and restoring natural ecosystems is vital to fighting climate change. Nature-based solutions could provide <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/114/44/11645" target="_blank">37% of the cost-effective CO2 mitigation needed by 2030</a> to maintain global warming within 2°C (35.6 F).</p><p>Natural ecosystems provide the foundations for economic growth, human health and prosperity. Our fate as a species is deeply connected to the fate of our natural environment.</p><p>As ecosystems are increasingly threatened by human activity, acknowledging the benefits of biodiversity is the first step in ensuring that we look after it. We know biodiversity matters. Now, as a society, we should protect it – and in doing so, protect our own long-term interests.</p>From Your Site Articles
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