The far reaching impacts of climate change on our food security, economic stability, and social inequality is nothing less than overwhelming. Food industries across the globe will have to grapple with the multifaceted impacts of climate change. From the decreased yields seen in commercial fishing due to ocean acidification, to the increasing widespread draughts, there is a shift towards scarcity…. Read more »
One thing that will really struck me over the quarter was learning about Globalization, specifically in the chocolate industry. Chocolate is such a common product in many people’s day to day life. Learning of how much of a disconnect there was between the farmer harvesting the cocoa crops and the product he was making was shocking. As was learning about… Read more »
In recent times there has been an increase in awareness of the downsides associated with industrial agriculture. The loss of soil, inefficient water and resource usage, toxic chemicals, poorly regulated GMO’s, and the inhumane environments for animals. With such a long list of skeletons, it’s no wonder that a range of movements to shift away from this system have… Read more »
Hunger is in effect a systemic issue. Our media over simplifies it to a lack of food or resources when we must in-fact look at a broader system that changes how and why there is hunger in a world where we have enough food to feed everyone. There are an assortment of complex variables at play. First we see… Read more »
I enjoyed reading Karen Litfin’s work in “Thinking Like a Planet.” It goes along with some of the questions I have been asking about using Earth Systems to inform human systems, making them circular rather than linear. It was nice to see ideas and examples of how it is being done, such as virtuous cycles rather than vicious cycles. I… Read more »
To many it is common knowledge that there is a vast disparity of food security across the world. Peter Menzel’s photographic essay, “Hungry Planet”, brings this disparity to life by showing the differing food expenditures of families across the world. Of particular interest to me was the Aboubakar family of the Breidjing Camp in Chad and… Read more »
Between the IMF, the World Bank, and the WTO we begin the journey into acronym ladened globalization lead by the neoliberal policies of Bretton Woods. Although the intentions appeared to be in the best interest of the average person, with trade incentivizing countries to create ties rather than going to war. We began an era of subsidized and industrialized… Read more »
When I consider how globalization and international trade inform one another, the food industry comes quickly to mind: affordability and access. While developed countries greatly benefit financially, some may argue that globalization has many more disadvantages when it comes to developing countries. For instance, globalization affects not only the environment via commodity chains, but culture on a mass global import-to-export… Read more »