Feeding ourselves is the first and fundamental task of economic life. How the world produces food is both a problem and a potential answer to both poverty and climate change.
Different ways of growing food and getting it onto people’s plates can either worsen inequality and climate breakdown or work to reduce them. The scientists of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change say that changing how the world farms to focus more on plant-based food has some of the best potential to bring both climate benefits and meet people’s needs. But what people choose to eat, and the best ways for rural people to support themselves, vary hugely from place to place.
Story of change
Food waste is a climate emergency issue: how to chop it across the boardFood waste is alone responsible for an estimated 8% of annual greenhouse gas emissions globally, equal to the amount from tourism. Cutting it back not only helps mitigate climate change but leads...
Recent decades saw a big shift towards heavily industrialised and more meat-based farming – a model with a major carbon footprint not primarily concerned with ensuring that everyone gets enough, good food to eat. But better ways of growing and distributing food, and more sustainable diets, are spreading rapidly; and traditional ways of producing food are being championed too.
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Commentary
Active networks for global-to-local rapid transition
Meet the active networks working from the bottom up
It’s too easy to get depressed by the daily news cycle of wars and the threat of A.I., and to assume...
Resource
Book: The Politics of Green TransformationsBook published in 2015 that explores how 'top-down' and 'bottom-up' green transformations work, and the roles played by different kinds of alliances among...
Report
Climate & Rapid Behaviour Change. What do we know so far?“We’ve shown in the past that surprising changes are possible in how people behave, in smoking, driving, antibiotics, and sexual health. We now know...
Commentary
Community seed banks revive diversity in India’s Kolli HillsWomen farmers showcasing millets cultivated by them in a seed festival, Photo credit: MSSRF Seed diversity is essential not only for feeding a growing...
Story of change
Food waste is a climate emergency issue: how to chop it across the boardFood waste is alone responsible for an estimated 8% of annual greenhouse gas emissions globally, equal to the amount from tourism. Cutting it back not only...
Commentary
Gleaning: fighting food waste and food inequalityFood waste is a huge global problem and tackling it in a variety of ways at all levels will be essential for a rapid transition towards a sustainable food...
Story of change
Growing our way out of crisis: how to dig for victoryThe scandal of food waste is generating headlines and highlights a broken relationship with what we eat. But interest in growing our own is increasing,...
Reset series
Hello good food – goodbye wasteFrom field to plate, around one third of food is wasted creating a huge impact on nature and the climate. But during the pandemic there is evidence that...
Commentary
Hope from the Seed of TraumaThe pandemic years were the pivot for a rapid shift bringing a better new world into being. Andrew Simms travels through time in a special feature for New...