A government-appointed group of top nutrition experts, assigned to lay the scientific groundwork for a new version of the nation’s dietary guidelines, decided earlier this year to collect data on the environmental implication of different food choices.
Author: WHES
Why America’s middle class is lost
DOWNEY, CALIF. — One day in 1967, Bob Thompson sprayed foam on a hunk of metal in a cavernous factory south of Los Angeles. And then another day, not too long after, he sat at a long wood bar with a black-and-white television hanging over it, and he watched that hunk of metal land a man on the moon.
In final spending bill, salty food and belching cows are the winners
WASHINGTON — Health insurance companies preserved their tax breaks. Farmers and ranchers were spared having to report on pollution from manure. Tourist destinations like Las Vegas benefited from a travel promotion program.
Boko Haram fuels displacement crisis in Niger’s Diffa region
The September-November harvest season has been favourable across Niger except in Diffa, where food insecurity is a concern especially for displaced and poor families. “The real problem in the long-run is food insecurity,” said Karl Steinacker, UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) Niger representative.
House oks Feed the Future authority
WASHINGTON, Dec. 10 – The House has approved a bill that would provide the first congressional authorization for the Obama administration’s $1-billion-a-year Feed the Future initiative.
How the Midwest food and agriculture sector relies on immigrant labor
Agriculture is an important part of the Midwestern economy, providing billions of dollars in business revenues and supplying thousands of jobs to the 12-state region. The success of the agriculture sector—including dairy farmers in Wisconsin, seed corn producers in Iowa, food processors in Minnesota, apple and cherry growers in Michigan, and equipment manufacturers in Illinois—rests on the shoulders of immigrants. Although many lobbyists and policymakers from across the nation are working to develop new immigration legislation to address the needs of the agricultural industries, Midwest immigration issues are in some cases different from other parts of the country. And even as President Obama’s November 20 announcement of Immigration Accountability Executive Action provides limited benefit to the agriculture sector, it fails to fully address Midwest agriculture’s unique needs for legislative immigration reform. – See more at: http://www.thechicagocouncil.org/publication/employing-agriculture-how-midwest-farm-and-food-sector-relies-immigrant-labor#sthash.z04KEO5y.dpuf
New report shows discrimination against women is major cause of persistent hunger
The 2015 Hunger Report, When Women Flourish…We Can End Hunger, released by Bread for the World Institute, identifies the empowerment of women and girls as essential in ending hunger, extreme poverty, and malnutrition around the world and in the United States
“We have made great strides in reducing hunger and poverty at home and around the world, yet women continue to be treated like second-class citizens,” said Rev. David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World. “Progress towards women’s empowerment has been slow due to discriminatory laws, unpaid work caring for the family, and traditions that demean their capacity as decision makers.”
The 2015 Hunger Report comes at a time when the 114th Congress, which starts in January, will have 100 women legislators – the most ever in U.S. history. Despite the fact that fully 22 percent of the world’s legislators are female, women face barriers that limit their ability to engage fully in economic activity. Women are also more likely to earn less or work in low-wage jobs.
The report also shows that women’s willingness to share men’s breadwinning responsibilities has not been matched by men’s willingness to share unpaid household work or caregiving responsibilities. Though domestic work is a public good in the same way that education, clean water, clean air, and the food supply are, it is not recognized as such. Women constitute half the global population.
“Eliminating barriers and empowering women around the world is key to ending hunger in our time,” said Asma Lateef, director of Bread for the World Institute. “We must not tolerate discrimination against women and instead, demand a comprehensive approach to women’s empowerment that includes applying a gender lens to all programs and policies.”
In many countries, women and girls are more likely to suffer from hunger and malnutrition than men and boys. Poverty and lack of education contribute to this disparity. However, giving women greater control of their income and assets would increase their bargaining power in the household and the market economy. Research has shown that this benefits their families and leads to widespread improvements in a country.
The full report may be accessed at http://hungerreport.org/2015/
Hardship on Mexico’s farms, a bounty for US tables
The tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers arrive year-round by the ton, with peel-off stickers proclaiming “Product of Mexico.” Farm exports to the U.S. from Mexico have tripled to $7.6 billion in the last decade, enriching agribusinesses, distributors and retailers.
Hardship on Mexico’s farms, a bounty for US tables
A Times reporter and photographer find that thousands of laborers at Mexico’s mega-farms endure harsh conditions and exploitation while supplying produce for American consumers.
The vast majority of poor neighborhoods aren’t gentrifying. They’re stuck in poverty.
Despite their ubiquity in the media, gentrifying neighborhoods that evolve over time from low-income to well-off are quite rare. It is far, far more common that once-poor neighborhoods stay that way over time — or, worse, that they grow poorer.
