Blogs
by Danielle Nierenberg on June 3, 2009
I flew into a hazy, hot Mexico City yesterday afternoon. From my hotel room window I can see how the pollution hangs over this metropolitan area of roughly some 20 million people. My new friend Oscar, an environmental educator who works with the Green Party, told me that it takes him two hours by public transportation to get to work each morning because of the traffic-the source of that haze. But I'm not here to talk about air pollution. I was invited by a member of the Mexican Congress to come and help raise awareness among lawmakers of how our food and farming systems can impact public health.
by Brian Halweil on May 11, 2009 This past week, two thoughtful voices from the United
Nations suggested a new direction for global efforts to eliminate hunger.
by Danielle Nierenberg on May 4, 2009 Can I get swine flu from eating hot dogs or other pork products?
by Brian Halweil on May 1, 2009 Listening to President Obama's press conference a couple nights ago reassured me that the U.S. government is doing all it can to prepare and avoid hysterical measures. But few politicians, health officials or farmers are speaking about the broader causes and implications of this outbreak, or how the way we farm and eat could help prevent future outbreaks.
by Danielle Nierenberg on April 29, 2009
As I read about swine flu over the weekend, I was again disappointed by the media's coverage of zoonoses (diseases spread by animals to humans), something I've written about extensively in State of the World 2005 and Happier Meals: Rethinking the Global Meat Industry. While Andrew Revkin of The New York Times did mention in his blog the potential role of industrial livestock agriculture in the spread of zoonoses, like swine flu, most reporters are choosing to focus their attention on small farmers raising pigs in rural Mexico. Most articles have said nothing about the increasing size and intensity of pork production in that country-about half of the pigs raised in the country live on factory farms, with some located very close to cities.
by Danielle Nierenberg on April 22, 2009
I recently posted the blog below on 1well.org, an organization devoted to supporting small scale projects in the developing world that empower communities, protect public health, and ensure sustainable livelihoods (and 1well’s director is my good pal, Dan Morrison). Worldwatch also cares deeply about highlighting the role of gender when we write about environmental issues. State of the World 2009: Into a Warming World highlights the toll climate change will have on vulnerable groups, including poor women in developing countries who are responsible for growing and preparing food and who will likely be the most adversely affected by changes in weather patterns and water scarcity that are results of climate change.
by Brian Halweil on April 15, 2009 NPR's two-part series on the challenges facing India's Punjab region, the nation's breadbasket, offers some nice first-hand cultural color. But the report fell short on offering serious solutions to falling water tables and rising farmer debt.
by Brian Halweil on February 13, 2008 There’s been a lot of talk the last few days about the
"ingredients" that go into making biofuels. Two recent studies have shown that biofuels are actually contributing to climate change and global
warming.
How? The answer is pretty simple.
by Brian Halweil on January 29, 2008 Last week brought a perfect storm of bad PR for the world’s
seafood. Or, it might have actually been good PR from the beleaguered fish’s
perspective.
by James Russell on December 14, 2007 It’s 12:30
in the morning here in Bali. I’ve just returned
to my hotel.
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