RESEARCH REVIEW: Famine Solution….through an Organic Green Revolution

Sat, 05 Dec 2009 00:00:00 -0500

Organic farming, if given even a modest portion of the support that chemical-based agriculture has received during the past 50 years, can address famine in a much more sustainable way. Research reviewed in this paper shows that organic farming can address food security—having enough of the right kind of food for everyone—as it improves human and ecological health. Read how the organic green revolution can succeed while slashing the need for fossil-fuel derived inputs.

Feeding the world sustainably demands new approach to farming and food

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 14:09:53 -0500

Calls mount for shift from commodity outlook to organic, community orientation.

By Greg Bowman

Brazilian city one step ahead in hunger fight

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 16:49:49 -0400

Ten years ago, impoverished Brazilian city Belo Horizonte was given new hope when local government enacted a food-as-a-right policy and a city agency was formed to design a new food system. As a result, the policy ensures each citizen has access to low-priced, quality food, and allots local farmers well-populated areas to sell their produce to city-dwellers. The program has also produced community and school gardens as well as increased nutrition education.

China fears food shortage, halts reforestation project

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 11:51:41 -0400

The Chinese government has ceased plans to reforest cultivatable land in light of food shortage concerns, say government officials. The reforestation project procured farmland in order to combat desertification and water shortages.

World hunger tally to reach 1 billion this year

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 15:29:00 -0400

The FAO has published a report estimating that over 1 billion people will go hungry this year, an increase of almost 11 percent. The unfortunate combination of soaring food prices paired with the veritable nosedive of the global economy has put many developing countries into dire straits. Food is no longer accessible or affordable.

After agro-degradation of Green Revolution, Punjabi farmers find hope in organics

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 10:20:26 -0400

Organic farming is spreading in India as farmers seek a way out of escalating dependence on fertilizer and insecticides. While India has about three times the population of the U.S., it has 30 times more organic farmers (an estimated 300,000) than the U.S.

While the chemical inputs of the Green Revolution pumped up yields for some 20 years, the approach has proven unsustainable. This realization has top agricultural officials in the Punjab state saying farmers have to go organic, and gearing up to have government scientists be able to help them within the next two years.

India’s “Green Revolution” facing collapse as soils die, water table falls

Wed, 15 Apr 2009 16:55:10 -0400

Nobody was surprised when environmental activists started warning years ago that India’sGreen Revolution was heading toward disaster. But they were astonished as government officials started to agree. "Farmers are committing a kind of suicide," warns G.S. Kalkat, the director of the Punjab State Farmers Commission. "It's like a suicide, en masse."

Ethanol hiked prices on food and public nutrition programs

Fri, 10 Apr 2009 14:02:30 -0400

The increased use of ethanol as a fuel led to higher livestock feed prices over the past year, which resulted in higher retail food prices and put the squeeze on many Americans.

Outdated policy in arid Eastern Washington gives free ride for industrial livestock producers’ water needs

Fri, 10 Apr 2009 11:23:32 -0400

A large proposed cattle feedlot is lobbying to move into one of the driest areas of Washington state, near aquifers that currently decline up to 10 feet each year, and would use just under 1 million gallons of water a day during the year’s driest months.

Bitter year likely for North Dakota Farmers

Wed, 08 Apr 2009 14:25:37 -0400

Many North Dakota farmers feel particularly vulnerable after this year’s early spring floods, and worry that a productive year may not be in the forecast. A wet fall followed by a harsh winter brought conditions reminiscent of 1997, which saw a harvest slashed by spring blizzards and record flooding. All bets rest on spring weather for these farmers, since more flooding might bar planting on most fields. Full story: The Bismarck Tribune

Famine Prevention News and Research