November 3, 2014

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

Big Ideas and Emerging Innovations

Highlighting approaches, technologies, and ideas that have the potential to radically advance sustainable and nutritious food security globally.




Big Ideas and Emerging Innovations

Highlighting approaches, technologies, and ideas that have the potential to radically advance sustainable and nutritious food security globally.


Wild about Agricultural Innovation in Botswana

As senior program officer at The Chicago Council on Global Affairs’ Global Agricultural Development Initiative and former student in the fields of plant science, international agriculture, and rural development, I’m intrigued and delighted by innovative approaches to improving rural livelihoods through agriculture. 


Big Ideas and Emerging Innovations

Highlighting approaches, technologies, and ideas that have the potential to radically advance sustainable and nutritious food security globally.




Big Ideas and Emerging Innovations

Highlighting approaches, technologies, and ideas that have the potential to radically advance sustainable and nutritious food security globally.


Secretary Kerry Highlights Chicago Council Report

On Wednesday, June 18, during his remarks at the World Food Prize Ceremony announcing the 2014 World Food Prize Laureate Dr. Sanjaya Rajaram, Secretary of State John Kerry highlighted a recent Council report in his discussion of the threats of climate change on global food security.


Roger Thurow - The Lessons of Aboke

Philosophical statements and encouraging aphorisms, painted in white letters on green pieces of sheet metal, hang on the trees that ring the central courtyard: “Trees make our environment beautiful”; “Be proud of your school and environment”; “Learning to know is my dream and pride.”


Commentary - 2 Million Will Go Hungry If Congress Has Its Way

In the coming weeks, Senators on the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee will have a choice to make: Give a $75 million subsidy to the maritime shipping industry, or ensure that several million people in impoverished and war-torn countries have food to eat.


Photo of the Week

Brigit Soita of Chwele, Kenya, with her newly germinated millet.



Photo of the Week

Diogene Habiyakare of Kavumu, Rwanda, hangs his maize harvest to dry in a storage space near his home.