Critical reflections: Contrasting Food Sovereignty with Food Security

Food Security seeks to address the issue of food and hunger through the current dominant food regime, whereas Food Sovereignty challenges this paradigm and seeks to build alternatives, and attempts to address the root causes.

Family Farming in Africa – Handbook Launch

“Family Farming in Africa – Overview of Good Agricultural Practices in Sub-Saharan Africa” launched at the IIED, London.

Food We Want @ Friern Barnet Community Library

A campaign in collaboration with North London based Friern Barnet Community Library was organised a food event on Saturday 8^th March 2014.

Meat Atlas: Reflecting on meat production and the food industry

The recently published report on meat production systems, the relationships of the consumers with the food industries gives facts and figures which help us to take informed decisions on our purchases.

Book Launch: Family Farming In Africa

PENHA in collaboration with IIED are launching a book - Family Farming in Africa - on the 14^th of March 2014 at IIED. 

When it comes to food production, size really does matter!

We import more food than ever, living alongside a time bomb of heart disease, high cholesterol and strokes due to the compromised quality of the food we can now afford to over-eat. A return to small scale agriculture would bring about immense health benefits and a greater localisation of supply.

Waste in a time of crisis

One third of the all food produced for human consumption ends up not being eaten by anyone. It is either lost or wasted. Although both food lost and waste contribute to the decrease of food in subsequent stages of the food supply chain intended for human consumption.

'Our target is cultivating critical young consumers'

As part of the expert speakers interview, Joseph Adamson from the London based AIL TV made consecutive interviews with the Food We Want Project key people.  

SAVE THE DATE: FAMILY FARMING IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

The handbook “Family farming in Africa. Overview of Good Agricultural Practices in sub-Saharan Africa”will be presented the 12^th of February at State University of Milan.

Francesca ''Food is Local but Global''

Francesca Santapaola, Head of Education and Communication Department at Istituto Oikos Italy and also the Food We Want Project Coordinator made an interview with the AIL TV London based TV regarding the food systems and the relevance of the Food We Want project (www.foodwewant.org) to both local and global food security and sovereignty. Please watch an excerpt of the interview.

Obesity rates rise in developing world

Obesity rate soars to an alarming level especially in developing countries, where the number of overweight and obese people is greater than in rich countries

Robust Media: Inevitable in Tackling Food Insecurity

PENHA in partnership with Centre for Development and Emergency Practice (CENDEP) of Oxford Brookes University held media workshop on food security in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) context on 4^th December 2013.

Media and Food Security in the Sub-Saharan Africa

Media Workshop Organised by the Pastoral & Environmental Network in the Horn of Africa (PENHA) hosted by the Centre for Development and Emergency Practice (CENDEP), Oxford Brookes University

Thanet: Responding to Local Food Needs

FWW engaged young people in Thanet, Eastern Kent of England. 

The Agriculture We Want

Mozambique is one of the poorest countries in the world, with over 70% of the population living on less that $1 a day and poverty rates as high as 90% in rural areas. On July 2013 the Food We Want team went to Mozambique to organize three workshops with small farmers from 6 districts from the north area of the country.

The FWW university research on good agricultural practices

An update from the field by the researcher Sara Costa (Faculty of Agriculture, State University of Milan)

What does the future have in store for us?

Three ironic video spots on food waste

Improved Accountability for Food Security – a Rights Based Approach to Food

In a recent UN news release, Olivier De Schutter highlighted the need to understand food insecurity and hunger as a political problem, not just a technical one.

Tesco massive food waste figure is exposed to public: Who to blame?

The latest food waste figures, published by UK’s giant supermarket Tesco revealed of all the bagged salads produced in the country, 68 % are never consumed. 

Press Release: What happens in your fridge?

The fridge and World Food Day!

First Africa Food Security Conference – “Harnessing Ecosystem based Approaches for Food Security and Adaptation to Climate Change in Africa”

The First Africa Food Security Conference held in Nairobi, Kenya, from 20-21 August 2013. International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) has produced a briefing note of the conference on 25th August 2013 which is the main source for this news article.

What Effect do Corporate Land Deals have on the World’s Food Security?

Land acquisitions and the displacement of farming communities, has been occurring for centuries, but it is in recent years that alarms are being raised about the extent of ‘land grabbing’ particularly by large private investors in the global south. 

Grain Reserves – As Strategies to Stabilise Food Prices

How can grain reserves at local, national, regional and international levels fit into food security strategies?.

Can Grain Diversion impact high food price?

Diverting grain from animal feed and industry use to human consumption as a response to spikes in food price

Changing Mindsets – Small-scale farmers in globalised markets

To create a better future for small-scale farmers there is a need to change the mindsets and answering question instead of thinking how to make the market work for the poor, we must look at how the poor make the market work for them. 

G8 New Alliance for food security and nutrition – Hopes and fears

Prior to the G8 summit held in June there was much hope - and concern - for the issues to be discussed in Lough Erne. Amongst them was the so called ‘new alliance’ for food security & nutrition. Some anticipated this to be the next phase of a ‘shared commitment’ by the G8 members & African leaders to “achieve sustained & inclusive agricultural growth & raise 50 million people out of poverty over the next 10 years”. 

Small-scale Farming for Better Nutrition

The State of food and Agriculture 2013 FAO report has greatly emphasized all efforts to improve nutrition and to reduce the unacceptably high economic and social costs must begin with food and agriculture. Thus the FAO report has designed nutrition sensitive food systems interventions to address malnutrition and reduce the social and economic costs nutritional problems. Nutrition-promoting farming systems including small-scale farming are major components of the food systems framework. Initiatives that support home and smallholder production hold potential for improving dietary diversity and it is the key determinant of nutritional outcomes.

Food and Nutrition Security in the post 2015 Development Agenda

Under the umbrella of The World We Want 2015 campaign  the consultation on Hunger, Food and Nutrition Security has co – chaired  by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and World Food Programme (WFP)  together with the other Rome-based agencies, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and Bioversity International, and with support of Special Representative of the Sustainable Development Goals for Food Security and Nutrition. This three phased consultation process has run between November 2012 and April 2013. Among others, Sustainable growth and diversification of food production, with specific attention to productivity of small‐scale producers was one of the main derives for the new framework in food and nutrition security. Building Sustainable Food Systems to address food wastes and promote the effective and efficient utilization of the food produced globally was another strong derives.

OFFICIAL AID AND UNDER-NUTRITION

On Tuesday the 4^th of June the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) held an Event on Nutrition at Westminster panelled by leading nutrition experts. The event presented an all-round assessment of official development funding on nutrition as well as the policy and financial issues facing the effort to improve under-nutrition. It was organised with the intent to engage, inform and discuss this worldwide challenge to parliamentarians. This event was held by The All-APPG on Agriculture and Food for Development in collaboration with Institute of Development Studies and Action Against Hunger. 

Leaping and Learning: Linking Smallholders to Market

London based Overseas Development Institute (ODI) in collaboration with Agriculture for Impact and Farm Africa has successfully organized an event on May 29^th, 2013 launching two comprehensive reports that discuss issues and experience of Sub-Saharan Africa small farm holders.

The Two new reports – launched on that day are: – 1)Leaping and Learning:Linking Small Holders (SM) to Market; and 2) “8 Views for the G8:Business solutions for African Small Holder Farmers (SHFs) to address food Security and Nutrition.”

SILVER BULLET? HIGH HOPES FOR FORTIFIED RICE

Fortification is a post-agricultural process, which requires technical know-how and expertise.  It is generally applied at the processing stage and therefore there is the danger that the discussion around rice fortification may exclude the voice of farmers and market consumers remaining largely in the orbit of governments, corporations and large scale production schemes.

IF Campaign Message for G8

There is enough food in the world to everyone, yet in 8 women, men, and children got to bed hungry every night.

Media and Food Security Workshop at Oxford Brookes University

PENHA in partnership with Centre for Development and Emergency Practice (CENDEP) of Oxford Brookes University would like to invite you to a workshop on media and food security in Sub-Saharan Africa. 

Rio+20: the future we want and food security

In June 2012 Rio+20 - the third Earth summit - heads of states and government delegates from 193 countries convened to renew their political commitment to approve the outcome document, setting the  stage for a new set of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Food security and sustainable agriculture were identified as critical issues which need due attention in the Rio+20 negotiations. This paper analysis the possible implications of the outcome policy document of the Rio+20.

Earth Day - Another time to reflect on the challenges facing pastoralist communities

The 22nd of April ‘Earth Day’ was conceived of by a network originating in the US in the 1970s as part of the modern environmental movement to spread activism and raise awareness of environmental issues and climate change. Expressing a concern for the deteriorating environmental state of our common planet, the aim of the movement is to bring people together from all around the world.

Food as a Commodity, Human Right, or Common Good?

On 9^th April 2013 the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) host a talk by José Luis Vivero, a prominent anti-hunger and social rights activist with extensive experience working in the politics of food security and food sovereignty in Latin America and Africa.  The aim of the seminar as to discuss how different and competing paradigms on how we see food influence our global food system and what influence this has for hunger eradication.

Food Insecurity: Still A Challenge

The issue of food security was discussed by top UN officials in Madrid on April 4. The high level meeting was set on the UN’s vision for its strategy to fight world hunger after the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) deadline of 2015. Reducing the World’s hunger by half was one the eight anti-poverty targets of the MDGs.

Emerging Interconnections between Food Security, Gender and Pastoralism

The celebrations for International Women’s day this month were an important reminder of the gendered dimensions of rural livelihoods, and Pastoralism has been used as an effective entry point to address gender equality and empowerment.

‘Investing in smallholders is important for global food strategies’

In the run-up to this year’s Fairtrade Fortnight, Mike Gidney explains Fairtrade’s latest thinking on food production for the future.

Media Workshop on Food Security Held in London

Media workshop held in London having the participants from the University College London (UCL), School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), local councils, NGOs and other organisations.  

MDGs Assessment in Africa

The United Nations is in the process of assessing the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and developing the Post-2015 development regime. This article looks at the assessment made on the African continent especially in the Sub-Saharan Africa region.

“Waste Not Want Not” – How can we reduce food waste?

The publication of a recent report received media attention in the UK by making the alarming statement that an estimated “30-50% (or 1.2-2 billion tonnes) of all food produced never reaches the human stomach”. Where ‘food crises’, famine and hunger are becoming almost a common feature of the global media this report reveals a shocking reality about our global food system.

Media competition - FAQs

The competition has received considerable attention from the public and we are collecting the first posts. We already received several questions, so we decided to use this space to answer to the most frequent ones.

Media Strategies Workshop of Africa's Food Security in London

PENHA in part in Partnership with Development and Planning Unit of the University College London (UCL) is organising Media Workshop as part of its Food We Want Project activities.  

IF the youth is in action

Are you in England to study? Or do you just live there? Do you want to have fun?  Are you aged between 16 and 25? Then you can’t miss The Power of IF!

Food We Want Media Contest

The Food We Want project is inviting young people to participate in the Media Contest which awards 3750 Euro. 

CAN AFRICA FEED ITSELF?

Within a decade, Africa’s population’s demand for food is expected to double that of current levels. The vast majority of people, who are low income earners, will suffer the inevitable household and social strains.

Reaching Communities in London: Somali Week

The Somali week event took place in London from Oct 20^th to 28^th 2012. This was the 6th year where the event was held. The focus of the Somali Week festival was on arts, culture and music. The main theme of the event was on the Courage of Artists that use their trade to challenge the social and political status quo.

Sustainability

We live in a world of seven billion, one billion starving, 1.7 billion suffering from malnutrition caused illness and an environment more damaged now than ever before.

The Move to Strengthen London Food Network

The autumn gathering of the Tower Hamlets Food Growing Network held on 25^th October 2012. The event which held at Tarling East Community Centre, London was focused more on healthy eating; growing own vegetable herbs or fruits; and initiating own gardens. 

Seeds of Freedom

A land mark film by The Gaia Foundation and African Biodiversity Network, in collaboration with MELCA Ethiopia, Navdanya International and GRAIN has recently produced.

Will we all be vegetarians in 2050?

According to a report from the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI), the world population will have to change to an almost exclusively vegetarian diet by 2050 in order to avoid catastrophic shortages of food.

Time to stop bankers betting on hunger

Watch the video and sign the petition.

Land Grabbing in Africa – FAO says "bring on the sheriff"

José Graziano da Silva, the head of FAO - UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation, has compared "land grabs" in Africa to the "wild west", stating that a "sheriff" is necessary to restore the rule of law.

Food We Want Coordination Meeting 2012

The Food We Want (FWW) partners meeting was held on the 18^th and 19^th October 2012 at the International Institute of Environmental Development (IIED), London. Participating partners from  Istituto Oikos Italy (IOI) , Fundacion IBO Spain, Oikos Portugal (OP) , IGO Poland and PENHA UK were present. The meeting, held in two days over two sessions discussed  and evaluated different activities undertaken by the partners and put forward various action plans.

Global Hunger Index 2012 Launched

Concern Worldwide, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and Welthungerhilfe launched the 2012 Global Hunger Index (GHI). The report combines the most recent available data on national rates of malnutrition, child nutrition and child mortality to give a comprehensive snapshot of how hunger is distributed around the globe.

GLOBAL FOOD PRICES Expected to Rise

The World Food Programme estimates that rising food prices have pushed 44 million people into extreme poverty and hunger since June 2010. The effects of increasingly high and volatile prices of basic foods are felt most by the poorest and most vulnerable people.

870 million people go hungry in the world

Of which the overwhelming majority (98%, 852 million) live in developing countries. These are the figures presented by FAO in its latest report "The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2012." Despite a reduction in the number of hungry people in Latin America and Asia, in Africa, in the last four years, over 20 million people were thrown into a situation of hunger, leading to the fact that one in eight people on the planet suffers from malnutrition.

Food Security in Africa: Critical Issues for Small Scale Producers

PENHA, in partnership with IIED, organised an event on Food We Want – Sustainable, Local, Fair project launch with a discussion on the challenges of food security in Africa. The panelists raised a number of critical bottlenecks of African smallholder producers and suggested implementable policy actions. 

Virtual water - the water we eat

The 1st of October is the Portuguese National Water Day, so it’s the one day in the year when we can really talk about sustainable use of water in the media (the rest of the year water will only be featured in the media if there is a water associated calamity or another rise in the prices for consumers).

United Nations prepare post-2015 Development Agenda

The UN is preparing a new post-2015 Development Agenda which will replace the current Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). To this end a panel of advisors was formed and the UN announced it was likely to hold a Summit on Sustainable Development in 2015. Human Rights, Equality and Sustainability will be the core of this new Development Agenda, in which SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) will replace the MDGs.

To Know More About the Project - Watch It!

This short video shows the importance of the Food We Want project and its contribution towards the global agricultural sustainability. Within about 4 minutes you will get an overview of the project and its intended targets.

Agricultural Outlook for 2012-2021 Published

OECD-FAO published the Agricultural Outlook report for 2012-2021 which focused on achieving sustainable agricultural productivity growth. 

Sustainable Diets - FAO and Bioversity point the way to improve human health and the environment

FAO and Bioversity used the release of the book "Sustainable Diets and Biodiversity" to call for immediate measures to promote sustainable diets and agricultural biodiversity, in order to improve human health and the global environmental situation.

Interview with Nardos Tilahun who Won Global Essay Competition

Nardos Tilahun is the one who won the Global Eassy Competition organized by the Living Rainforest under its Secondary Schools category. Nardos is 15 years old who is living in New Zealand and her excellently written essay under the title of 'Exploiting Consumerism for our Planet' on sustainable globe exceptionally attracted the judges of the competition (out of 577 essays received) and other global leaders. The prize had helped her to attend the global Earth Summit held in Rio last June (Rio+20 United Nations on Conference Sustainable Development).

In her mission to Rio+20, Nardos had a chance to talk with several global leaders including Head of UNHCR and Head of UNDP who was the Prime Minister of New Zealand in strengthening of young participation in the earth's future. A brief interview made with her follows [Picture: Karl Hansen, Director of the Living Rainforest (UK), Nardos and Helen Clark, Head of UNDP and also former Prime Minister of New Zealand]:

What if a country decided to go 100% organic?

During the Rio +20 Summit, Prime Minister Jigmi Thinley said that Bhutan aims to become the first country with 100% organic agriculture.

Black future or green future - the impact of climate change on agriculture

Agriculture is one of the sectors that will suffer the impacts of climate change. As expected, agricultural production in developing countries will be seriously affected pushing millions of people into situations of nutritional deficiency or hunger.

Milk Price Row: UK Farmers called for fair milk price

The UK dairy farmers are revolting for the unfair price allocated to their row milks. That is, the proportion of the price being paid by milk customers doesn’t actually reach on the hand of those producers – farmers.

The role of sustainable agriculture in the mitigation of climate change

A group of 15 scientists published a paper in CAB Reviews in which they analyze the relative contributions of various farming systems to the global emissions of greenhouse gases, and concluded that the agro-ecological practices, often used in family farming, leading to reduced emissions and increase the resilience to climate change.

Tools for assessing the impact of bioenergy on food security

FAO published the report "Impacts of Bioenergy on Food Security - Guidance for Assessment and Response at National and Project Levels", presenting a set of indicators and methodologies for assessing the impacts of biofuels on food security.

Lusophone countries are preparing a common strategy to tackle Food and Nutritional Security

Maputo welcomed the Ninth Conference of Heads of State and Government of the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP) and the assembled leaders focused the debate and resolutions on the hot topic of Food and Nutrition Security in Portuguese speaking world.

‘Dear Mr. UN Secretary-General ...’

Nardos Tilahun from the Auckland Girls Grammar School, New Zealand won the international essay competition prize organised by Living Rainforest in building environmentally sustainable globe.

Sustainable agriculture: a global tool for job creation

During Rio +20, the United Nations submitted a report affirming that a sustained global investment in sustainable agriculture could generate up to 50 million new jobs by 2050.

Food We Want – Sustainable, Local, Fair colourfully launched in the UK

The Pastoral and Environmental Network in the Horn of Africa (PENHA) in partnership with IIED  has launched the Food We Want project colourfully in London, UK on the 29^th March 2012.