Big Ideas and Emerging Innovations
Food 2.0: The Future of What We Eat
It was perhaps inevitable that food would become the next industry to face the bright heat of Silicon Valley disruption. The innovation driving the latest wave of food start-ups rests less on the discovery of a brand-new magic ingredient and more on a combination of data science, marketing, and sheer ambition.
Biogas, a Low-Tech Fuel with a Big Payoff
Around the world, household-run operations and industrial-scale facilities are using centuries-old technology to extract a fuel known as biogas from crop waste, manure, kitchen scraps, and even sewage. Proponents cite the benefits of harnessing biogas, such as reducing emissions, cutting waste streams, and saving the lungs of those in poor countries who would otherwise burn wood indoors.
Thirty Percent of World's Food Wasted, New Online Platform Seeks Savings
The Global Community of Practice of Food Loss Reduction web portal allows users to get information about ways of reducing waste. In developed countries, food waste usually occurs in homes or restaurants. Most of the developing world's spoilage happens during storage or transport, as infrastructure for refrigeration and preservation is often inadequate.
Nestlé Milk Factory Shake-up Aims to End Drain on Water Resources
Nestlé’s milk plant in central Mexico is the first of its kind in the world not to rely on external water sources, instead, it runs on “cow water”. By recycling the waste fluid extracted from milk when it is powdered, the company has already slashed its global water use by a third since 2005. Nestlé aims to roll out the zero-water technology in other plants worldwide.
About
The Global Food and Agriculture Program aims to inform the development of US policy on global agricultural development and food security by raising awareness and providing resources, information, and policy analysis to the US Administration, Congress, and interested experts and organizations.
The Global Food and Agriculture Program is housed within the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, an independent, nonpartisan organization that provides insight – and influences the public discourse – on critical global issues. The Council on Global Affairs convenes leading global voices and conducts independent research to bring clarity and offer solutions to challenges and opportunities across the globe. The Council is committed to engaging the public and raising global awareness of issues that transcend borders and transform how people, business, and governments engage the world.
Support for the Global Food and Agriculture Program is generously provided by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Blogroll
1,000 Days Blog, 1,000 Days
Africa Can End Poverty, World Bank
Agrilinks Blog
Bread Blog, Bread for the World
Can We Feed the World Blog, Agriculture for Impact
Concern Blogs, Concern Worldwide
Institute Insights, Bread for the World Institute
End Poverty in South Asia, World Bank
Global Development Blog, Center for Global Development
The Global Food Banking Network
Harvest 2050, Global Harvest Initiative
The Hunger and Undernutrition Blog, Humanitas Global Development
International Food Policy Research Institute News, IFPRI
International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center Blog, CIMMYT
ONE Blog, ONE Campaign
One Acre Fund Blog, One Acre Fund
Overseas Development Institute Blog, Overseas Development Institute
Oxfam America Blog, Oxfam America
Preventing Postharvest Loss, ADM Institute
Sense & Sustainability Blog, Sense & Sustainability
WFP USA Blog, World Food Program USA
Archive
This Week's Edition of the Global Food for Thought News Brief
Check out this week's news brief.
Big Ideas and Emerging Innovations
Highlighting approaches, technologies, and ideas that have the potential to radically advance global food security.
This Week's Edition of the Global Food for Thought News Brief
Check out this week's news brief.
Guest Commentary - For Refugees, Community Gardens Become a Healing Place
In order to ensure food security, good nutrition, and a sense of belonging for this vulnerable population, investments in communal gardens for refugees should be considered as an innovative solution.
Big Ideas and Emerging Innovations
Highlighting approaches, technologies, and ideas that have the potential to radically advance global food security.
This Week's Edition of the Global Food for Thought News Brief
Check out this week's news brief.
Guest Commentary - Want to Make Agriculture Attractive for Africa’s Youth? More Bitumen Please.
Much of the conversation on making agriculture sexy for Africa’s youth is focused on increasing the profitability of the sector. However, new research tends to indicate that it’s not all just about money.
Guest Commentary - Unlocking Women's Business Creativity
For some business women in Liberia, pursuing their most creative ideas is too risky; the margins between prosperity and poverty in this informal economy are paper-thin. What solutions could unlock their entrepreneurship potential?
India’s Emerging Agrarian Crisis
We are pleased to announce a new occasional blog series, Cultivating Tomorrow: Indian Agriculture Challenged, by Marshall M. Bouton, president emeritus of The Chicago Council on Global Affairs. The series will examine the state of Indian agriculture today and its areas of progress and challenge.
Big Ideas and Emerging Innovations
Highlighting approaches, technologies, and ideas that have the potential to radically advance global food security.
Guest Commentary - Blockchain and the Future of Agricultural Markets
Blockchain stands to alleviate poverty while improving food security prospects for everyone, according to Elizabeth Leake of STEM-Trek.
This Week's Edition of the Global Food for Thought News Brief
Check out this week's news brief.
Guest Commentary - Disability and Agriculture
For farmers with disabilities, access to water, land, and essential information about agricultural management is even more difficult. Tatenda Ndambakuwa, a 2018 Next Generation Delegate, asks: How can agricultural opportunities be accessed by a wide variety of people with disabilities?
Guest Commentary - What Can We Learn from Increasing Rice Production in Senegal?
With high levels of unemplyemnet, being a young person in Africa right now isn’t easy. However, opportunities to increase the local production of staple crops could provide much needed employment prospects by creating businesses that add value to the processing of crops.
Big Ideas and Emerging Innovations
Highlighting approaches, technologies, and ideas that have the potential to radically advance global food security.
