Students eat lunch that was prepared with vegetables grown by themselves at the Agustin Ferreira farm school near Minas city. The school has 12 students aged 4 to 11, with only one teacher, and incorporates activities such as milking a cow, planting vegetables and cooking to improve the education of the children. REUTERS/Andres Stapf

How Software Can Ensure a Healthy School Lunch
School lunch may not be the first thing that comes to mind when talking about healthy eating. But with the help of software, a Dutch organization is working to change that. Every school day, a team of professionals from the Netherlands Nutrition Centre visits school cafeterias across the country, reporting on whether they meet guidelines for healthy, safe, and sustainable food choices.

FoodCloud: New App Proves a Nourishing Idea for Wasted Food
Two students with “a love for food and a distaste for waste” built FoodCloud, an app that lets businesses notify charities when they have surplus food available. To use FoodCloud, the retailer simply uploads details of what’s available to the app. Local charities receive that information automatically, collect the surplus food at an appointed time, and distribute it to those in need.

Monsanto Says Next Breakthrough for Farmers Is a Friendly Fungus
Monsanto, a lightning rod for critics of modern agricultural techniques, is introducing a new feature next year for its GM corn seeds that it says will not only boost yields but cut down on fertilizer use and carbon-dioxide emissions. The seed giant, together with Danish company Novozymes, has developed a coating for seeds made from a friendly fungus that helps corn plants in their earliest growth stages.

Early Drought Warning Helps Pakistan's Farmers Prepare for Dry Season
In late October, the Pakistan Meteorological Department informed farmers that no rain was forecast for the crucial wheat-growing months of November and December in parts of northern Pakistan that rely solely on rain-fed agriculture. The warning was one of the first of its kind from Pakistan's weather service, aimed at helping farmers look ahead months, rather than just days, and plan for crops more likely to survive drought.