The Coming Food Shocks: Averting Crisis - Geopolitical Monitor

The Coming Food Shocks: Averting Crisis - Geopolitical Monitor: "The international community currently stands at a crossroads, and the path we choose will impact food security for the next 50 years. What we do now could mean the difference between building a resilient, secure global food system that stands the test of time or descending into resource nationalism and a cycle of famine."

How Safe is Your Food? GMO, Foodborne Illnesses and Biotechnology

How Safe is Your Food? GMO, Foodborne Illnesses and Biotechnology

How the G-20 Can Prevent a Food Crisis - By Bruno Le Maire | Foreign Policy

How the G-20 Can Prevent a Food Crisis - By Bruno Le Maire | Foreign Policy: "In 2008, the explosion in the price of commodities prompted hunger riots in several African countries. Preoccupied by the financial crisis, we didn't do anything to prevent such a situation from happening again. Two years of plentiful harvests in 2008 and 2009 were enough to conceal the problem. Today, however, the situation has once again become a cause for concern"

Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan - Holistic approach needed to curb food insecurity, poverty

Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan - Holistic approach needed to curb food insecurity, poverty: "There is a dire need to adopt a holistic approach while taking on the looming threats of food insecurity, poverty, and militancy in order to guarantee human security, it was stressed at a consultative meeting with civil society on relationship between food insecurity, poverty, and Conflict, organized by Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) on Monday."

High food prices are pushing millions into poverty. - swissinfo

High food prices are pushing millions into poverty. - swissinfo

The impact of oil prices on food and farming was one of the factors covered by both the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to food and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) at media conferences in Geneva this week.

As states attempt to address the recent food price spikes, Special Rapporteur Olivier de Schutter, called for a radical long-term shift to ecological agriculture to reduce farmers’ dependence on oil.

Small-scale farms could abate world hunger

AFP: Small-scale farms could abate world hunger: UN

Small-scale "eco-farming" could double food production in many of the world's poorest regions and also help fight climate change, according to a United Nations report unveiled Tuesday. The spectre of world hunger looms ever larger as the global population continues to balloon, especially in the least developed nations. Today more than a billion of the planet's nearly seven billion people live at the edge of subsistence on less than a dollar per day. Food prices have flared in recent years due to climate-related natural disasters, with the cost of several staple foods reaching unprecedented levels last month, according to the UN's food price index. By mid-century, when the global population is expected to surpass nine billion, food shortages will become even more critical as will the need for additional output.

Why world food prices may keep climbing | Environment | guardian.co.uk

Why world food prices may keep climbing | Environment | guardian.co.uk

n February, world food prices reached the highest level on record. Soaring food prices are already a source of spreading hunger and political unrest, and it appears likely that they will climb further in the months ahead.

Robyn Griggs Lawrence: Food Prices May Soar to Crisis Levels

Robyn Griggs Lawrence: Food Prices May Soar to Crisis Levels

Record-high food prices have already caused hunger and political unrest across the globe, and several trends indicate that the world is headed toward a food security crisis, Earth Policy Institute president and World on the Edge author Lester Brown said in a teleconference today.

Robyn Griggs Lawrence: Food Prices May Soar to Crisis Levels

Robyn Griggs Lawrence: Food Prices May Soar to Crisis Levels

Record-high food prices have already caused hunger and political unrest across the globe, and several trends indicate that the world is headed toward a food security crisis, Earth Policy Institute president and World on the Edge author Lester Brown said in a teleconference today.

Hunger summit dialogue threads path between hope and...

GuelphMercury - Hunger summit dialogue threads path between hope and...: "In two hours, speakers that included UNESCO special envoy to Haiti Michaëlle Jean and Senator Pamela Wallin touched on a range of subjects from the desensitization of Westerners to the plight of the hungry to the role of democracy in bringing about food security and the notion of a “fat tax” on unhealthy foods."

An introduction to ecological immunology

An introduction to ecological immunology - Martin - 2011 - Functional Ecology - Wiley Online Library

World hunger best cured by small-scale agriculture

World hunger best cured by small-scale agriculture: report | Environment | guardian.co.uk: "A move from industrial farming towards local food projects is our healthiest, most sustainable choice, says Worldwatch Institute"

PAHO: Advocating for Ecohealth: International Development Research Centre

PAHO: Advocating for Ecohealth: International Development Research Centre

ScienceDirect - Ecological Economics : Can domestication of wildlife lead to conservation? The economics of tiger farming in China

ScienceDirect - Ecological Economics : Can domestication of wildlife lead to conservation? The economics of tiger farming in China

Tigers are a threatened species that might soon disappear in the wild. Not only are tigers threatened by deteriorating and declining habitat, but poachers continue to kill tigers for traditional medicine, decoration pieces and so on. Although international trade in tiger products has been banned since 1987 and domestic trade within China since 1993, tigers continue to be poached and Chinese entrepreneurs have established tiger farms in anticipation of their demise. While China desires to permit sale of tiger products from captive-bred tigers, this is opposed on the grounds that it likely encourages illegal killing. Instead, wildlife conservationists lobby for more spending on anti-poaching and trade-ban enforcement

ScienceDirect Spatial wildlife-vehicle collision models: A review of current work and its application to transportation mitigation projects

ScienceDirect - Journal of Environmental Management : Spatial wildlife-vehicle collision models: A review of current work and its application to transportation mitigation projects

In addition to posing a serious risk to motorist safety, vehicle collisions with wildlife are a significant threat for many species. Previous spatial modeling has concluded that wildlife-vehicle collisions (WVCs) exhibit clustering on roads, which is attributed to specific landscape and road-related factors. We reviewed twenty-four published manuscripts that used generalized linear models to statistically determine the influence that numerous explanatory predictors have on the location of WVCs. Our motivation was to summarize empirical WVC findings to facilitate application of this knowledge to planning, and design of mitigation strategies on roads. In addition, commonalities between studies were discussed and recommendations for future model design were made.

World Bank`s Shantayanan Devarajan on Africa - The AfricaNews articles of smajek

AfricaNews - World Bank`s Shantayanan Devarajan on Africa - The AfricaNews articles of smajek: "Mr. Shantayanan Devarajan, the Sri-Lankan-born Chief Economist of the World Bank's (WB) Africa Region whose research covers public economics, trade policy, natural resources, the environment, and general equilibrium modeling of developing countries is a sought after authority on Africa.

Although there are many “unofficial authorities” on Africa at the WB, his name is the only one listed on the World Bank’s website as their expert on Africa."

Horizon scan of global conservation issues for 2011

ScienceDirect - Trends in Ecology & Evolution : Horizon scan of global conservation issues for 2011

This review describes outcomes of a 2010 horizon-scanning exercise building upon the first exercise conducted in 2009. The aim of both horizon scans was to identify emerging issues that could have substantial impacts on the conservation of biological diversity, and to do so sufficiently early to encourage policy-relevant, practical research on those issues.

Disease-related conflicts in mammal conservation

CSIRO PUBLISHING - Wildlife Research: "Diseases pose a major direct or indirect threat to the conservation of endangered species, and can be a source of conflict among the stakeholders in conservation efforts. We aim to provide examples of disease-related conflicts in conservation, and information that can be used to identify means to reduce existing conflicts and avoid potential new ones. After introducing how diseases can affect conservation efforts, we have provided examples of different types of disease-related conflicts,"

Research Areas & Approach: International Development Research Centre

Research Areas & Approach: International Development Research Centre: "IDRC has been contributing to building the field of ecohealth since 1996. Results include improved health and ecosystems, improved research capabilities in developing countries, and in many cases, positive changes in policies and common practices.
The Program supports many Communities of Practice in Ecohealth (COPEH) and other networks, the International Association for Ecology and Health and its journal, EcoHealth. It has also organized two international Forums to share knowledge between different groups,while strengthening and challenging the field."

East Africa gets ready for looming famine in 2011

The East African: - News |East Africa gets ready for looming famine in 2011: "During a meeting in Arusha last week that brought together senior officials from the five East African Community governments and the private sector that deal with agriculture and climate change, it was established that the big three — Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania — have common problems mitigating against maximising production and distribution of food."