The Meat-Cancer Link In the Media
I’m sure you’ve heard. On Monday, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), part of the World Health Organization, published a heavy anticipated report categorizing the consumption of processed meat as “carcinogenic to humans” (Group 1) on the basis of sufficient evidence for colorectal cancer. Additionally, the consumption of red meat was classified as “probably carcinogenic to humans” (Group 2A). … Continue reading The Meat-Cancer Link In the Media
Global Meat Consumption – The Visual
I’ve been playing around a bit with Tableau, a data visualization tool that is seriously so much fun! It has great interactivity too, except that WordPress doesn’t – womp womp – so click on the image (or here) to head on over for the interactive version. Basically, this shows meat consumption data that I downloaded … Continue reading Global Meat Consumption – The Visual
Please Don’t Stop the Moo-sic: Is Less Meat Still No Option?
As we are approaching our hottest year yet and historical climate talks, meat-free diets are still a political taboo. Even the official sustainable menu of COP21 has eschewed opening this Pandora’s box. Yet, animal agriculture is one of the greatest contributors to global warming and resource overuse. How long can we keep up the pretense? An … Continue reading Please Don’t Stop the Moo-sic: Is Less Meat Still No Option?
Food: Wasted, Celebrated, Fought Over. A Cross-Section.
For cultures of the past facing the vagaries of an unpredictable environment, wastefulness was often dangerous. It invited death. Modernization has largely enabled us to turn our backs on that mindset. We’ve created a decentralized waste machine, easy to overlook at the local scale, but devastating from a larger perspective. Starvation may seem impossible when … Continue reading Food: Wasted, Celebrated, Fought Over. A Cross-Section.
Urban Gardens and Lifestyle Choices
Aaand… back to regular scheduled programming. The past month has been pretty overwhelming with writing assignments, seminars, cross-Atlantic flights and the like. Now I’m back in my Costa Rican garden and a somewhat more relaxed schedule, and have so much to talk about up my sleeve! Thanks for the patience. As a group, the Mercator … Continue reading Urban Gardens and Lifestyle Choices
Quo Vadis, Quota? The EU Milk Protests
The Protests Smoke billows up between the sleek high-rises of the European Quarter in Brussels. The European milk farmers are angry, very angry. Many of them fear for their survival. After 31 years, the European Commission decided to end milk production quotas, to the dismay of many small and mid-scale producers. What with the Russian … Continue reading Quo Vadis, Quota? The EU Milk Protests
The Magical Hunger Numbers
… or how to attain UN millennium goals without reducing hunger by Helena Robling If you follow the news on international development, you know that we are in the midst of some exciting times right now. The era of the UNs Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) has come to an end and it is time for evaluation … Continue reading The Magical Hunger Numbers
Too Strong Coffee? Concentration at the Top and Anti-Trust Concerns
The coffee supply chain is famously shaped like an hourglass (or, if you will, a drip coffee machine): the broad demand at the top is connected to the millions of small producers at the bottom by a handful of powerful roasters. In 2013, the ten largest roasters controlled more than 40% of total world coffee … Continue reading Too Strong Coffee? Concentration at the Top and Anti-Trust Concerns
Fishing Slaves: Hidden Ordeals on the High Sea
If human rights abuses take place where neither laws nor media exist, do they provoke an outcry? Thanks to some intrepid reporting by Ian Urbina for the New York Times, yes, they do. His piece “Sea Slaves: The Human Misery that Feeds Pets and Livestock“, part of his series “The Outlaw Ocean” on crime on the … Continue reading Fishing Slaves: Hidden Ordeals on the High Sea
Food (Policy) For Thought 