The Problem of Food Waste is Being Addressed in France

France has just passed legislation designed to help minimize food waste. Reducing food waste reduces agriculture's environmental impacts including greenhouse gas emissions. Reducing food waste is also an important part of managing world hunger which is destined to worsen as climate change increasingly impacts global food production.

Around 40 percent of the world's land is taken up by food and agriculture and together they produce almost one third of global greenhouse gas emissions. Reducing waste will decrease the amount of food required and by extension reduce some of the adverse environmental impacts associated with agriculture.

Video - Food By the Numbers: Feeding our Hungry Planet

With the recent World Food Day event on October 16th, this video from National Geographic reviews the challenges and solutions to feeding the world. By 2050, the world's population will likely increase 35 percent. In this video National Geographic provides some answers to this crisis beyond simply growing more food.

Showing Support for Family Farmers and Sustainable Agriculture

Family farmers are extremely valuable yet they are under siege and need our support. World Food Day 2014 shines a spotlight on the world's 500 million family farmers. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) reports that based on data from 93 countries, family farmers account for an average of 80 percent of all holdings, and are the main producers of food that is consumed locally. Family farmers are also sustainable farmers. Sadly family farmers are disappearing at an alarming rate. Family farms that used to be an important source of rural jobs.

As explained in a foodtank article

"The world cannot do without the family farmer," says Amy McMillen, Partnerships and Outreach Coordinator for FAO. "It’s because of the family farmer that we eat a variety of healthy foods every day. And yet, family farmers still make up the majority of poor and hungry people in the world. We must do more to incentivize, celebrate and exponentially improve the lives of family farmers to ensure all people have access to fresh, healthy food."

World Food Day 2014: Assessing US Agricultural Risks and Focusing on Family Farms

October 16th is the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations’ designated World Food Day. This event was first celebrated thirty three years ago. The theme for 2014 is Family Farming: “Feeding the world, caring for the earth”, drawing global attention to the importance of smallholder farmers. Family farms are key to improving food security and better management of natural resources. As explained by the CGIAR Consortium, "Family farming plays a significant role in reducing poverty and hunger, by providing the household and communities with nutrition rich food and livelihoods."

The Think Eat Save Student Challenge

Sensitizing children to the ecological impacts of food waste is important and the Think.Eat.Save Student Challenge is a great example of an powerful educational project. Vast quantities of food are wasted each year and this phenomenon is sadly a part of many western cultures. To help reorient children to this issue, UNEP has launched a new campaign that calls schools and students to start a wasteless revolution.

The campaign challenges students and to find out how much food gets wasted in their schools. Then students are encouraged to organize a project and take action to reduce or eliminate food waste.

Event - Responsible Business Forum on Food and Agriculture 2014

The Responsible Business Forum on Food and Agriculture, will take place on July 14th & 15th, 2014, at the Shangri-La Hotel in Makati, Manila. Feeding a global population of 9 billion by 2050 will require transformational changes to our farming and agricultural systems, already under pressure from climate change and water scarcity. This year’s Responsible Business Forum on Food and Agriculture is being held in partnership with WWF.

Video - The Rebirth of Food Waste into Fuel in South Korea

In densely populated South Korea food waste is being reborn as methane. Through a process that reduces climate change causing greenhouse gases, the nation is developing new technologies that are transforming daily waste into energy.

Infographics: Population, Food, Agriculture, Water, GHGs and Solutions (World Resources Institute)

Video - Sustainable Meat: Trailer from the Documentary "American Meat"

American Meat, is a feature documentary about a grass-roots revolution in sustainable farming. This film explains how America arrived at its current industrial system, and shows you the feedlots and confinement houses, not through hidden cameras but through the eyes of the farmers who live and work there. The story shifts to the burgeoning movement of farmers, chefs and everyday folks.

Event - Second Annual Bionutritional Summit

The second annual bionutritional summit will be held on October 23, 2013 at Seelbach Hilton located near the GIE & EXPO in Louisville, Ky. The Summit will be hosted and sponsored by Holganix.

This year’s keynote speaker is Judith Guido, former sales, marketing and strategy executive of Service Master’s TruGreen Landcare. She will focus on how to leverage the green phenomenon and make a profit from it. Guido’s presentation is entitled, Leveraging the Green Phenomenon & Building a Profitable Green Company.

Highlights include, Understanding the size and opportunities with the green market, how to leverage the green opportunities within your market, creating differentiation and a competitive advantage with green and how to build and position an profitable green company.

Insects are a Sustainable Food Source

As the impacts of climate change worsen, extreme weather including drought will make it harder to grow enough food to feed the world. In addition, rising population levels, particularly in urban centers, will put added pressure on already constrained food resources.

By 2030, over 9 billion people will need to be fed, along with the billions of animals raised annually for food and as pets. Meanwhile, land and water pollution from intensive livestock production and over-grazing are leading to forest degradation, thereby contributing to climate change.