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This week's round up of the latest news, research, and policy developments from across global agriculture.
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The Future of Work is Female, Chicago Council on Global Affairs, June 14
When women gain labor force participation, economies grow. But lagging investment in rural infrastructure and education is holding girls back—and holding back economic growth for us all. Rural girls already face numerous barriers to economic participation. If leaders do not act now, we will all be left even further behind.
To Change Africa’s Path, We Need to Support Rural Girls from Day One, Opinion, Joyce Banda & Caroline Lambert, Center for Global Development, June 12
There are still many bright, ambitious village girls full of potential, ready to become the kind of leaders that Africa needs so badly but will not get. All because that potential is not given a chance to thrive. There is no shortage of evidence that when women and girls are given the same education, health, and economic opportunities, and an equal voice in society, the whole country benefits.
‘We Face a Global Emergency’ over Oceans: UN Chief Sounds the Alarm at G7 Summit Event, UN News, June 9
Unless there is a change of course, the amount of plastic waste in the world’s oceans will outweigh the fish that live in them, by 2050, said the UN Secretary-General António Guterres, declaring that the world now faces a “global emergency” over the oceans. Guterres welcomed the G7 Plastics Charter, which is being seen by some observers as a Paris-style watershed moment for cleaning up ocean garbage.
G7 Summit: $3 Billion Pledge for Girls' Education, BBC, June 9
Canada says it plans to provide $2.9 billion with the help of its G7 partners to fund education for the world's poorest girls and women. The money will help fund equal access to education and learning opportunities in countries across the globe.
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GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES
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Experts Question Wisdom That More Food Means Less Hunger, Reuters, June 14
Increasing food production through intensive farming will not necessarily end world hunger. The United Nations has said countries must double the productivity and incomes of small-scale food producers by 2030 to eliminate hunger and ensure all people have access to food. Researchers found that intensive farming might increase production in the short-term but reduce it in the long run because intensification often undermines vital underlying conditions for growth.
South Africa Confronts Confounding Question: Who Gets the Land?, Wall Street Journal, June 13
Twenty-four years after the end of white minority rule, South Africa’s new leader is promising to tackle a problem that has confounded other former colonies: how to redistribute land without hurting the economy. President Cyril Ramaphosa has pledged to pass laws letting the government expropriate land without compensation, a high-stakes move he says is necessary to remake some of the deep inequalities.
UN Says 6 Million Struggling to Get Food in Africa’s Sahel, AP, June 12
The United Nations warned that nearly 6 million people are struggling to get food in West Africa’s Sahel region and severe malnutrition is threatening the lives of 1.6 million children. The plans to respond to the crisis in Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, and Senegal are only 26 percent funded and the UN is urging donors for additional support.
The War in Yemen: UN Warns 250,000 Could Die in Hudaida, Al Jazeera, June 9
The United Nations warns that a quarter of a million Yemenis could die if fighting cuts off crucial supplies coming through the port of Hudaida. Forces led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are within 20 kilometers of the Red Sea port. It is controlled by Houthi rebels and is the main entry point for food and aid shipments.
SEE ALSO: US-Backed Catastrophe Brewing in Yemen, Foreign Policy, June 11
SEE ALSO: Yemeni Forces, Backed by Saudi-Led Coalition, Launch Assault on Country’s Main Port, Wall Street Journal, June 13
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Q&A: OPIC’s Ray Washburne on the Proposed US Development Finance Institution, Devex, June 14
As the BUILD Act makes its way through the legislative process, concerns remain about exactly how the proposed United States development finance institution would work with USAID. If passed, the legislation would create a new agency combining the Overseas Private Investment Corporation and USAID’s Development Credit Authority, as well as expand US development finance capabilities.
US Pursues Action on Poultry, Beef, Biotech Crops in China Trade Talks, Reuters, June 12
US officials pressed China on issues related to poultry, beef, and biotechnology in recent trade talks. China is the world’s top importer of soybeans and a major buyer of other agricultural goods, such as the livestock feed sorghum. President Donald Trump is seeking to close the $335 billion annual US goods and services trade deficit with China.
SEE ALSO: Farmers Will Pay the Price for Tariffs, Opinion, Dan Glickman, Hill, June 12
Japan Ag Trip Packed, DTN Progressive Farmer, June 12
USDA Trade Undersecretary Ted McKinney is leading a trade delegation to Japan with the hopes that the United States and Japan can start moving forward with more formal trade talks. The United States and Japan have been holding an ongoing economic dialogue which is a step short of formal trade talks. Agricultural trade missions are one of the best tools for bringing industry groups and businesses to foreign companies to introduce them to potential buyers of products.
SEE ALSO: US Mounts Charm Offensive to Secure Fourth Biggest Customer Japan, AgriCensus, June 8
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BIG IDEAS AND EMERGING INNOVATIONS
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Why the Blockchain Is Standardizing What It Means to Be Authentic and Sustainable, Forbes, June 13
There needs to be a set of standards for sustainable foods and goods that can be widely used and trusted by consumers. A blockchain system offers in-depth, convergence capabilities. In the future, true authenticity will be rooted in this record through a secure digital identity for an object—creating a one-to-one link between the object and its identity on the blockchain.
A New Animal Farm, Discover, June 12
Aspire Food Group is a team of robots and scientists raising crickets and capturing data in hopes of making the cricket rearing process automated for the most efficient yields. Crickets pack more protein than beef, more calcium than milk, more iron than spinach, and as many fatty acids as salmon. As Earth’s population increases by billions in the coming decades, food production must double to feed everyone, and crickets can be an important factor.
This Farmer Turns Manure into Clean Water and It May Be the Future of Farming, Thrillist, June 11
Austin Allred uses a bio-filter to process cows’ byproducts that strips the manure of its 90 percent water content, separates the nutrients for later use, and also traps gases like ammonia. That manure is then clean enough for use around the farm, no longer a byproduct, but an essential contribution to the farm. Allred emphasizes, “In order for us to be successful in the long term, our practices have to be sustainable.”
A Stampede of Meatless Products Overrun Grocery Store Meat Cases, Wall Street Journal, June 10
High-tech startups are building burgers from plant proteins and compounds that grill and taste more like the real thing. Other firms are using cell-culture technology to grow meat in stainless steel bioreactor tanks. Stakes are high for the roughly $200 billion US meat market. Sales of alternative meat products account for less than 1 percent of fresh meat sales in the United States, but are growing at an annual rate of 24.5 percent.
SEE ALSO: There's the Beef but Where's the Cow?, Forbes, June 12
From Craft Breweries to Cows, NPR, June 9
When Mike Hess Brewing’s craft beer business began to boom, the team needed an efficient and responsible way to dispose of the nearly 20,000 pounds of spent grains produced each week. They found an unlikely partner in the animal agriculture industry. Now Frank Konyn Dairy's trucks pick up the grains from the breweries almost every day. They bring it back to the farm, where a nutritionist mixes it with other grains, leftover bread from local bakeries, fruit pulp from local juice companies, and alfalfa.
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FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL ISSUES
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The Most Effective Way to Save the Planet, Forbes, June 12
Without meat and dairy consumption, global farmland use could be reduced by more than 75 percent – an area equivalent to the Untied States, China, the European Union, and Australia combined – and still feed the world.
Since livestock production is the single largest contributor of emissions around the globe, removing it from our food system could allow the planet to regenerate.
SEE REPORT: Reducing Food’s Environmental Impacts through Producers and Consumers, Science, June 1
Eating Your Greens Could Become More Costly Due to Climate Change, Reuters, June 10
The amount of vegetables produced could fall by more than a third, especially in hot regions like southern Europe and swathes of Africa and South Asia. Hikes in greenhouses gases, water scarcity, and global temperatures lowered the amount of vegetables and legumes produced. Such drastic changes could drive up the prices of vegetables, which would affect poorer communities the most.
Cleaning the Seabed: Divers Halt the Carnage of ‘Ghost’ Nets, AP, June 8
Mostly made of strong plastic, lost fishing gear known as ghost nets doesn’t easily decompose. An estimated 10 percent of all marine litter in the world’s oceans and seas is made up of lost or abandoned fishing gear, while the deaths they cause contribute to the decline of fish stocks. A group of volunteer divers aimed to halt the destruction when they plunged into the depths of the Saronic Gulf to recover some of these ghost nets.
Why a Decline in Insects Should Bug You, Wall Street Journal, June 8
When a recent study documented a 76 percent decline in the abundance of flying insects, it set the bug world abuzz. Losing insects is a concern because bugs affect nearly every aspect of our lives. The fruits and vegetables we eat, the wood-frame buildings we occupy, the cotton and linen we wear, and the garbage we send to landfills are all influenced by insects that pollinate plants and munch on organic matter.
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The Great Egg Debate: Are They Healthy or Not?, Wall Street Journal, June 12
Vilified for years for their high cholesterol content, eggs more recently have broken back into dietary fashion. Nutrition experts today are touting eggs’ high levels of protein, essential vitamins, and nutrients. Government guidelines sometimes contradict nutrition experts’ advice as they play catch up with the latest scientific findings.
To Understand Antibiotic Abuse We Need Data from Farms, Wired, June 11
The Natural Resources Defense Council revealed that pig herds in the United States receive almost as many antibiotics as people in this country do. Most of the pigs receiving antibiotics aren’t sick, but instead are getting the drugs to prevent infections in intensive farming. All those antibiotics are increasing the amount of drug-resistant bacteria that arise on pig farms and that are routinely found on meat. The information we‘re allowed to have about how antibiotics are used in US animals is limited, incomplete, and hostage to commercial interests.
Agriculture Researchers Boost Fight Against Malnutrition with Staple Crops, Thomson Reuters Foundation News, June 11
Currently, almost 2 billion people do not consume enough essential vitamins and minerals required for healthy brain and body development. For people reliant on staple crops and without access to a diverse diet, one avenue of providing more nutritious food is through new varieties of staple crops. These include but are not limited to: quality protein maize, pro-vitamin A maize, and high zinc wheat.
For Ramadan, More Muslims Shape Diets around Physical and Mental Health, NPR, June 10
Ramadan, the holy month of fasting, is an important time around the world for Muslims, who adapt their pace of life to the needs of the month. A growing number of Muslim food bloggers and dietitians are producing creative content to address the shifting needs of young Muslims who are looking to streamline their routines during Ramadan and stay healthy; mirroring heightened consciousness about nutrition and fitness.
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ENVIRONMENT, WATER, AND CLIMATE
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Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Has Promised Not to “Harm” Egypt’s Share of the Nile, Quartz, June 11
Ethiopia’s prime minister has sworn not to harm Egypt’s share of the Nile River. The two countries plan to put together an agreement to set up a mutual fund for infrastructure development. Ethiopia’s $4.8 billion Grand Renaissance Dam will be Africa’s largest hydroelectric dam. As a downstream nation, Egypt says the dam will disrupt the flow of the Nile to its almost 100 million people, potentially crippling agriculture and industry.
Earth's Dismal Water Future, Mapped, Opinion, Jay Famiglietti, Los Angeles Times, June 10
Governments and society are unprepared to cope with the tenuous water future that our research has literally mapped out. The rapid pace and global scope of change requires a response across regions and national boundaries. Few institutions and networks with that kind of authority and reach exist, but they must be fostered, and fast. We need a new water diplomacy that will treat this crucial resource as a vehicle for cooperation rather than conflict.
It’s Time for the Next Wave of Ocean Exploration and Protection, Opinion, Ray Dalio & Marc Benioff, Wired, June 8
While the world below the ocean’s surface is more than twice the size of the world above it and contains an estimated 94 percent of the space where life can exist on Earth, only 5 percent of the world’s oceans have been fully explored. The ocean is critical to human life—more than 50 percent of the oxygen we breathe comes from it. It drives our weather, provides a nutritious food supply, and is a key source of commerce. For those reasons, it deserves our reverence and protection.
#WorldOceansDay: Mediterranean Could Become a 'Sea of Plastic', Al Jazeera, June 8
In a new report, coinciding with World Oceans Day, the World Wildlife Fund said the Mediterranean had record levels of micro-plastics - tiny pieces of plastic less than five millimeters in size which can be found increasingly in the food chain and pose a threat to human health. Plastic represents 95 percent of the waste floating in the Mediterranean and on its beaches, with most coming from Turkey and Spain.
SEE ALSO: We Must Act to Protect the Health and Future of Our Oceans, Opinion, Suzanne Bonamici and Don Young, Hill, June 8
SEE ALSO: Climate Change: Pope Urges Action on Clean Energy, BBC, June 9
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GENDER AND GENERATIONAL INCLUSION
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Child Labor in Agriculture Is on the Rise, Driven by Conflict and Disasters, FAO, June 12
After years of steady decline, child labor in agriculture has started to rise again driven in part by an increase in conflicts and climate-induced disasters. This worrisome trend, not only threatens the wellbeing of millions of children, but also undermines efforts to end global hunger and poverty. FAO stresses that child labor in agriculture is a global issue that is harming children, damaging the agricultural sector, and perpetuating rural poverty.
Fruit and Veg off the Menu for Indonesian Girls as Myths Fuel Malnutrition, Reuters, June 11
UNICEF says Indonesia has some of the world’s most troubling nutrition statistics. Experts say food taboos are part of a wider system of cultural and social habits leading to poor adolescent nutrition, which could impact girls’ education and opportunities.
Ethiopia: Vermiculture- Fertilizing Land Profiting Youth, All Africa, June 10
Vermiculture is the process of using worms to decompose organic food waste. The method reduces the need for synthetic fertilizers, and saves water, energy, and landfills. Vermiculture is creating more job opportunity for youth while fertilizing agricultural land.
Where's the Aid Money Gone? Afghan Girls' Struggle for Education, Al Jazeera, June 10
A 2017 World Bank report suggests that as many as 66 percent of Afghanistan's girls are not in school. And those who are enrolled still struggle to get an education. They have to fight against a society that has long discouraged them, a corrupt system, and a lack of proper facilities that disadvantages them.
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MARKET ACCESS, TRADE, AND AGRIBUSINESS
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Everything but the Squeal: Tariffs and the Pork Supply Chain, Forbes, June 13
Pork is the most widely consumed meat in the world, and the United States is the largest exporter in the world. Mexico’s imposition of 20 percent retaliatory tariffs on US pork and China’s retaliatory raising of tariffs to 37 percent pose threats to the global pork supply chain, which includes food products, healthcare goods, and gelatin.
Food Producer Libstar Bets on Yoghurt to Boost Market Share, Reuters, June 13
South Africa’s Libstar Holdings Ltd is launching a new range of yoghurt in a bid to gain market share from French group Danone and local leader Clover Industries in the country’s competitive dairy sector. Yoghurt makers are increasingly trying to market yoghurt as a health-conscious and nutritious food, which can also be consumed as a snack on the go, tapping into rising demand for convenience food.
China Bought Enough American Cotton Futures to Make 400 Million T-Shirts, Wall Street Journal, June 10
China is re-emerging as a major consumer of US cotton after years of stockpiling the fiber, a shift that together with poor growing conditions in Texas has sent prices surging to a six-year high. China last week offered to purchase nearly $70 billion of US farm, manufacturing, and energy products if the Trump administration abandons threatened tariffs on some $50 billion in Chinese imports across 1,300 categories of products.
A Year after Amazon Devoured Whole Foods, Rivals Are Pursuing Countermoves, Wall Street Journal, June 10
Amazon.com Inc.’s year-old acquisition of Whole Foods is prompting the food industry to retool how it sells fresh food to consumers. Grocery chains have accelerated planned investments in online delivery and pickup services. Many food makers are redesigning their packaging and formulas to better sell through Amazon and Whole Foods, placing an emphasis on online repeat purchases instead of impulse buys.
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