Bigwigs Have Big Ideas for Cutting Our Food Waste in Half
Two initiatives announced in Davos aim to reduce the environmental and economic cost of wasted food. The first is run by a patchwork coalition including Nestlé, WWF, Unilever, and the AU and aims to cut global food waste in half by 2030. The second is a $130 million project of the Rockefeller Foundation that will target post-harvest spoilage of food in sub-Saharan Africa. The two initiatives’ focus on food lost along supply chains represents a shift away from the classic approach to food waste reduction that targets consumers.
Why the Future Is Bright for the World’s Poorest Farmers
In the past 20 years, digital technology has gradually insinuated itself into poor people’s lives in ways I never could have predicted. For example, about two-thirds of Africans now have mobile phones, and pretty soon cellular coverage will be more or less universal. The power of a phone in every pocket is turning out to be extremely disruptive in exciting ways—and the poor finally have a chance to use technology in ways that solve the real problems they face in their lives.
A Little Drama Can Be Good for You
HarvestPlus is excited to partner with Farm Radio and TRAC FM for a second season of radio drama “My Children,” a program which educates Ugandan farmers about the nutritional benefits of biofortified crops. Last season, listeners were encouraged to try planting orange-fleshed sweet potatoes, and demand for vines outstripped supply after the program aired. Listeners also engaged with the storyline by participating in polls via text. More than 40,000 listeners sent over 100,000 text messages as part of these polls during season 1.
Pass the Dogfish Nuggets? Seafood Industry Rebrands 'Trash'
New England's traditional fish has long been the Atlantic cod, but it has faded in the face of overfishing and environmental changes. Restaurant owners, fishermen, and food processing companies said a growing shift to “trash fish” is helping to fill that void. This shift reflects a broader trend in seafood toward species that are more abundant. Creating a market for underutilized fish species is important because of warming waters and corresponding changes in fish populations.
Researchers Test a Possible Drought Solution by Flooding an Almond Farm
The El Niño rainstorm had already turned Nick Blom's almond orchard into a quagmire. Still, he wheeled open the lid of a massive irrigation pipe. Fifteen minutes later, a gurgling belch heralded a gush of water that surged over the lip of the pipe and spread across five acres of almond trees. Blom is a volunteer in an experiment run by UC Davis that could offer a partial solution to perennial water shortages, and in the process, challenge some long-standing tenets of flood control and farming.
What Mobile Tech Innovation Offers Food Security
In 2012, the WFP’s Department of Vulnerability Analysis and Mapping piloted mobile Vulnerability Analysis and Mapping (mVAM) in the DRC, to collect food security data remotely via mobile phones using short surveys and interviews, texting, and an Interactive Voice Response system. Doing the same job by traditional surveys takes anywhere from four to six weeks; using mVAM takes only one week and is 60% cheaper.