Rural Girls Are on the Front Lines of Climate Change, Chicago Council on Global Affairs, June 7

Conversations on climate change are usually peppered with industrial terms: greenhouse gases, industry offsets, carbon credits. But one of the most powerful levers to reduce climate change remains largely overlooked: empowering girls through education.

Real Change for Girls Requires More Than Words at G7 Summit, Opinion, Michael Messenger, David Morley, & Caroline Riseboro, Globe & Mail, June 5

When we educate and empower children, especially girls, we break cycles of violence and conflict, reduce gender inequality, and promote tolerance and reconciliation. When we don’t, we risk a future full of violence, conflicts, and crises. This year’s G7 summit is an opportunity for Canada and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to shape the future by leading the world in ensuring education for all children, especially girls.

400,000 Children in DRC's Kasai Region Face Threat of Death by Starvation, Devex, June 5

Since early 2017, intercommunal fighting has displaced 1.4 million people, who fled from widespread violence and severe human rights violations in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s southwest Kasai region. The violence has subsided and public services have resumed, but aid workers say they are spread too thin to meet the needs of the returnees and displaced populations, with 400,000 children under age suffering from severe acute malnutrition.

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UN Food Agencies Commit to Deeper Collaboration to Achieve Zero Hunger, FAO, June 6

The three UN agencies tasked with ending hunger and boosting rural development—the FAO, the World Food Program, and International Fund for Agricultural Development—have signed a five-year Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen their collaboration to help countries achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, with a special focus on achieving Goal 2: Zero Hunger.

9 Aid Group Compounds Looted in Central African Republic, NPR, June 6

At least nine humanitarian compounds have been looted in recent weeks amid a new wave of violence in the Central African Republic (CAR)'s second-largest city of Bambari—prompting many NGOs to temporarily suspend or curtail assistance to an already-struggling civilian population. More than half CAR’s population of around 4.6 million is in need of urgent humanitarian assistance. Against that backdrop, the international humanitarian response plan for CAR is just 16.4 percent funded.

The UN Goal That Doesn't Get a Lot of Respect, NPR, May 31

A new survey of 3,500 leaders in developing countries found that marine conservation is almost universally considered the least important of the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Only 5.4 percent of the respondents included Goal #14 “Life Below Water” in their top six priorities, compared to 65.2 percent for quality education or 60 percent for decent work and economic growth.

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As Aid Dries Up, Gaza Families Pushed Deeper into Poverty, AP, June 7

Large numbers of Gaza families have been pushed deeper into poverty in recent months by Palestinian political infighting and the freezing of US aid. With the exception of the funds already spent this year, all US assistance to the Palestinians is under review. This includes projects funded by USAID and the State Department, including health, education, good governance, and security cooperation programs.

The Problem with Betting American Agriculture on Exports, Opinion, Ben Lilliston, Hill, June 5

An unspoken assumption in the farm bill is that in most years farmers will lose money from the market. Congress tacitly accepts these routine financial losses through its support of a variety of farm subsidy programs designed to soften the blow. As it writes a new farm bill, Congress should chart a new course by supporting a transition toward emerging, more profitable markets for farmers.

Puerto Rico's Push for Food Independence Intertwined with Statehood Debate, NPR, June 4

Before the Hurricane Maria struck in September 2017, Puerto Rico imported about 85 percent of its food. And to make matters worse, Maria wiped out 80 percent of crops on the island. Organizers of the Puerto Rican food movement say the hurricane has made the public aware of the shortcomings of the mainland US government and more receptive to the need to produce healthy food locally.

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Veteran Tesla Engineer Leaving for Greener Pastures: AgTech Startup Plenty, Forbes, June 7

Nick Kalayjian, a high-ranking Tesla engineer, is joining Plenty, a San Francisco-based ag-tech startup. Co-founded by CEO Matt Barnard, Plenty is a unicorn in the fast-developing indoor agriculture space, luring Silicon Valley talent and capital to create high-yield vertical farms that use a fraction of the energy and water needed for field-grown crops.

How AI Might Create More, Not Less, Work Opportunity, Forbes, June 6

A very near-term benefit of AI is to help reduce the labor shortage in labor-heavy industries such as manufacturing and agriculture. What’s happening in these industries is that there’s actually too much work that people don’t want to do. Agriculture, for example, is the least digitalized industry. This is a clear opportunity for innovation.

Now Cropping Up: Robo-Farming, Wall Street Journal, June 1

Manufacturers are racing to develop what they see as the future of farming: robo-tractors and other farming equipment to help produce more food, more sustainably at a lower cost. The next generation is tractors that can drive entirely by themselves. After that: ones that can plant, fertilize, and spray pesticides.

Experts Say Algae Is the Food of the Future. Here's Why., CNN, June 1

The United Nations project food production will need to increase as much as 70 percent by 2050 to feed an extra 2.5 billion people. To survive, we need to reinvent the way we farm and eat. Experts say algae could be a possible solution. Unlike most crops, it doesn't require fresh water to flourish. About 70 percent of the planet's available fresh water goes toward crops and raising livestock.

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Farming, Food, and Education Benefit as Investing for Good Booms, Reuters, June 5

The amount of money invested in projects with a social or environmental benefit has doubled in the last year to $228 billion, with strong growth in education, food, and agriculture. Three years after the UN Sustainable Development Goals were adopted unanimously by member nations in 2015, three quarters of investors reported tracking their investments to them, or planning to do so in the future.

SEE REPORT: Annual Impact Investor Survey, Global Impact Investing Network, June 5

Revealing Food’s Hidden Costs: New Framework for Food and Agriculture, Food Tank, June 4

To ensure the sustainability of agriculture and food systems, an important step is to account for externalities through market mechanisms. By creating a more comprehensive evaluation framework, decision-makers can better compare different policies, programs, and strategies, while the market can more accurately value food.

Paraguay Soybean Exports to Top Argentina's for First Time, Reuters, June 4

Paraguay is forecast to export more soybeans than neighboring grains powerhouse Argentina for the first time this year, as growers in the smaller country push to increase output and fill the supply gap left by a drought on the Argentine Pampas. If heat-tolerant varieties can be adapted to the region, soybean acreage in Paraguay could more than double for the next crop year.

A Blueprint to Slash Farming's Staggering Environmental Toll, Axios, May 31

Producing food for the world's 7.6 billion people creates about 13.7 billion tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions per year, plus other major environmental effects. If people were to switch to plant-based diets, we would reduce food's emissions by up to 70 percent and slash the amount of land devoted to agricultural use by about three-quarters.

SEE ALSO: This Is the Single Biggest Thing You Can Do to Reduce Your Impact on Earth: Avoid Meat and Dairy, Forbes, June 7

SEE REPORT: Reducing Food’s Environmental Impacts through Producers and Consumers, Science, June 1

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Think Frozen Vegetables Are Inferior? Think Again., Washington Post, June 4

Consumer Reports’ food testers sampled a variety of frozen vegetable products, rating them for nutrition, flavor, and texture. Some innovations missed the mark in terms of taste and others lost points for excess sodium or other concerns. But overall, the testing team found plenty of products to be both healthy and tasty.

SEE ALSO: Why the Frozen-Food Aisle Is Hot Right Now, Wall Street Journal, June 7

Diet Drinks May Seem like a Good Idea, but Their Effects May Surprise You, Washington Post, June 3

To date, the FDA has approved six types of artificial and two types of natural nonnutritive sweeteners for use in food. That’s been great news for those working hard to curb their sugar consumption. However, recent medical studies suggest that these sweeteners may be contributing to chronic diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.

The UK Plans to Ban Grocery Stores from Selling Candy in Checkout Aisles, Quartz, June 2

The UK government is plotting to ban grocery stores from stocking checkout lanes with sweets. That’s just one of several measures included in health secretary Jeremy Hunt’s new strategy for fighting childhood obesity. One in five children between the ages of 10-11 in the United Kingdom are classified as obese.

US Blocks UN Health Panel from Backing Taxes on Sugar Drinks, AP, June 1

The Trump administration has blocked a plan to recommend higher taxes on sugary drinks, forcing a WHO panel to back off the UN agency's previous call for such taxes as a way to fight obesity, diabetes, and other life-threatening conditions. The move disappointed many public health experts, but was enthusiastically welcomed by the International Food and Beverage Alliance.

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Water Day Zero Coming to a City near You, Forbes, June 7

The Cape Town water crisis is not an anomaly. Mexico City, Melbourne, Jakarta, London, Beijing, Istanbul, Tokyo, Bangalore, and the American State of California are among the areas that have struggled with water shortages. Global demand for water has increased by 600 percent in the last century, more than twice the rate of population growth. At this rate, global water demand will surpass supply by as soon as 2030

India Must Treat Groundwater as a Common Resource, Not Private Property, Quartz, June 6

India is the highest user of groundwater in the world, using 25 percent of all groundwater extracted globally, ahead of the United States and China. If India wants to ensure that the access to water is adequate, equitable, and sustainable, it must look at both science and community participation for answers, rather than building more and more infrastructure in pursuit of visibility.

NASA Satellites Show How Earth's Water Supply Is Changing, Forbes, June 5

A recent NASA study has revealed that freshwater supply is changing all over the Earth, including the United States. In a first-of-its-kind study, scientists used various satellite data and information on human activity to understand the reasons why such shifts are happening. Here is a spoiler alert: It is human activity, natural variability, and climate change.

SEE REPORT: NASA Satellites Reveal Major Shifts in Global Freshwater, NASA, May 16

Morocco: Oasis on the Front Line of Climate Change, Al Jazeera, June 4

The M'hamid El Ghizlane oasis of southeast Morocco is a fragile ecosystem that finds itself vanishing. Palm trees are sparse and, on the outskirts of the oasis, only treetops stick out of the sand dunes. The oasis started to receive less rain and, sometimes, even none at all. These changes made agriculture an unreliable source of income and a lot of people abandoned their lands. Studies show the Sahara has expanded 10 percent in the past century.

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Why Grandmothers May Hold the Key to Human Evolution, NPR, June 7

In a study of foraging societies, it turns out, grandmothers and mothers were more important to child survival than fathers. Researchers were surprised to discover that the women, both young and old, were providing the majority of calories to their families and group-mates. Mostly, they were digging tubers, which are deeply buried and hard to extract. The success of a mother at gathering these tubers correlated with the growth of her child.

These Sisters Are Using Sustainable Dairy Farming to Create Delicious Treats, Thrillist, June 7

When their family’s seventh-generation dairy farm in Greenville, Illinois was about to be sold, the Marcoot sisters, who had pursued degrees in counseling and therapy, joined forces to preserve their heritage. Together with the descendants of their ancestor’s original Jersey cow brought from Switzerland, they created Marcoot Jersey Creamery, a cheese-making operation that seeks to lower its carbon footprint and reduce food waste created in production.

Vulnerable Women Farmers in Rwamagana, Rwanda Empowered through Maize Production, New Times, June 6

In the Rwamagana District, rented land by Rwanda’s Social Security Board has transformed the lives of a group of women who did not have their own source of income, and for long, relied on their husbands, or begging, for survival. With the new plot, a group of 30 women created the Cohunya cooperative, which now involves 68 members and produces more than 110,000 pounds of maize per season. Through the cooperative, the women pay school fees, health insurance, and also fight malnutrition and famine in their homes.

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Mexico and Canada Add to Nations Striking Fear in US Farmers, Wall Street Journal, June 6

Mexico imposed tariffs on major US exports such as cheese and pork, while Canada and the European Union are considering tariffs on imports of US food and farm goods from corn to orange juice to peanut butter. The move is in response to the United States placing tariffs last week on steel and aluminum imports from those countries. In addition, analysts say, China could target other crops and products after US officials last week outlined potential tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese goods.

SEE ALSO: Trump and Trudeau Spar as US-Canada Ties Sour over Tariffs, Wall Street Journal, June 2

SEE ALSO: Mexico Makes Good on Threats to Impose Tariffs on $3 Billion Worth of Us Cheese, Pork, and Other Products, Washington Post, June 5

Food Companies Can’t Figure Out What Americans Want to Eat, Wall Street Journal, June 5

Four broad trends are coming together in the food industry: Consumers are shifting toward fresh produce and meat, and away from packaged foods heavy on carbohydrates and sugar; digital advertising and e-commerce are allowing small brands to effectively reach big audiences; rising sales of prepared foods and meal kits are giving packaged brands added competition; and a group of aggressive new competitors in supermarkets are pressuring margins across the industry.

Who Should Feed the World: Real People or Faceless Multinationals?, Opinion, John Vidal, Guardian, June 5

The path has been cleared for Monsanto, the world’s largest seed company, to be taken over by Bayer, the second-largest pesticide group, for an estimated $66 billion. Bayer-Monsanto will effectively control nearly 60 percent of the world’s supply of proprietary seeds, 70 percent of the chemicals and pesticides used to grow food, and most of the world’s genetically-modified crop traits, as well as much of the data about what farmers grow where, and the yields they get.

Monsanto No More: Agri-Chemical Giant's Name Dropped in Bayer Acquisition, NPR, June 4

Bayer, the German pharmaceutical giant and pesticide powerhouse, announced in 2016 it would be buying Monsanto in an all-cash deal for more than $60 billion. Now, as the merger approaches, Bayer has confirmed what many suspected: In the merger, the politically charged name "Monsanto" will be disappearing. The combined company will be known simply as Bayer, while product names will remain the same.

SEE ALSO: Why ‘Monsanto’ Is No More, Washington Post, June 4

SEE ALSO: Monsanto Is about to Disappear. Everything Will Stay Exactly the Same, Quartz, June 5

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EAT Stockholm Food Forum 20118

Date: June 11-12

Location: Stockholm, Sweden

International Agricultural and Food Exhibition Farmer Expo

Date: August 17-20

Location: Debrecen, Hungary

The International Civil Society Conference on the Sustainable Development Goals

Date: September 11-13

Location: Yaoundé, Cameroon

2018 SCRA Nuts and Bolts Workshop

Date: October 3-5

Location: Riverdale, Maryland

International Phytobiomes Conference 2018

Date: December 4-6

Location: Montpellier, France

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