A monthly update on the Worldwatch Institute's Food and Agriculture program's latest publications, events, and research on environmental, food, and sustainable development topics.
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Featured Report
Land makes up a quarter of Earth's surface, and its soil and plants hold three times as much carbon as the atmosphere. More than 30 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions arise from the land use sector. Thus, no strategy for mitigating global climate change can be complete or successful without reducing emissions from agriculture, forestry, and other land uses.
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Tweet of the Month
In China, rising incomes and urban populations are going hand in hand with a growing food waste problem. http://bit.ly/Y52HLW
February 11, 2013.
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Food and Agriculture Internship
Click here to see how you can participate in an internship with Worldwatch's Food and Agriculture program.
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Dear Naresh, 
Worldwide, 30 to 40 percent of all food produced is either lost or wasted between the stages of production and consumption. In developing countries, postharvest crop losses (i.e. crops that spoil before reaching the market) contribute to malnourishment and food insecurity, which stymie both human well-being and economic development. In all countries, food waste (i.e. food that is purchased and thrown away) contributes to global methane emissions, which are 20 times more environmentally harmful than carbon dioxide emissions, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Although food waste is a global concern, it occurs primarily in high- and medium-income countries. In China, for example, over 200 billion Yuans (US$32 billion) worth of food is thrown away annually, even as 128 million Chinese live below the poverty line. And in the United States, consumers generate enough food waste annually to satisfy "every empty stomach" in Africa, according to the UN World Food Programme.
In addition to its humanitarian implications, food waste has a sizeable environmental footprint. According to the EPA, food waste is the number one material in U.S. landfills, which are in turn responsible for 34 percent of national methane emissions. Wasting food also means wasting the resources that were used to produce it, such as land, water, and fossil fuels (i.e. for farm machinery, transportation, and the production of fertilizer). This unnecessary resource consumption contributes to environmentally harmful outcomes, including deforestation, water scarcity, pollution, and climate change.
As a consumer, have you found or heard of innovative ways to curb food waste? Send your comments tofoodandag@worldwatch.org, and we'll incorporate your ideas into a Nourishing the Planet blog!
All the best,
Laura Reynolds and Sophie Wenzlau
Food and Agriculture Program
Worldwatch Institute
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Despite the growing worldwide demand for organic food, clothing, and other products, the area of land certified as organic still makes up just 0.9 percent of global agricultural land. In 2010, the latest year for which data are available, 37 million hectares of land were organically farmed-an area that has grown more than threefold since 1999. Reliable data are lacking for land that is farmed using organic principles but that is not certified organic. Many farmers, particularly subsistence farmers or those selling to local markets, farm organically but do not acquire organic certification.
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As household incomes, urban populations, and overall food consumption in China continue to rise, the country faces serious problems of food waste, natural resource scarcity, and overflowing landfills. Currently, over 200 billion Yuan's (US$32 billion) worth of food is thrown away annually nationwide, even as 128 million Chinese live below the poverty line and often lack sufficient food. Fortunately, some organizations and individuals are taking steps to ensure that less food goes to waste.
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Nourishing the Planet recently spoke with Ela R. Bhatt, the founder of India's Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA) and several other organizations that work to economically empower women. A Gandhian practitioner of non-violence and self-reliance, Bhatt has dedicated her life to improving the lives of India's poorest and most oppressed women workers. SEWA helps women working in informal sectors, such as agriculture or childcare, gain the same rights, securities, and self-reliance as those who are formally employed.
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Around the world, gardens provide food for local communities, serve as educational tools, and empower the poor. In sub-Saharan Africa, where 22.5 million people live with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), humanitarian and environmental organizations are turning to community gardens for nutritional and social benefits for HIV patients. By disseminating resources and information, organizations are helping to increase access to healthy foods for the poor, hungry, and sick, and enable families to develop productive and sustainable food gardens just outside their front doors.
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Sea buckthorn, also known as Siberian pineapple, sea berry, sandthorn, or swallowthorn, is a deciduous shrub that grows natively across northern Eurasia. As its name suggests, sea buckthorn's branches are dense, stiff, and thorny, but its berries can provide nutrition for both people and wildlife. Beyond its human health benefits, sea buckthorn also boosts the health of the environment in which it grows. Because its extensive root system can bind together even sandy soils, sea buckthorn prevents water and wind erosion on slopes and in open areas.
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