Few who are alive today remember the "great depression" and "dust bowl" of the 1930's or the food rationing of World War II in the 40's. American's, Briton's and other citizens of the highly developed countries have enjoyed an almost unprecedented abundance of the earth's blessings for over half a century. How long can it continue?

The World population has only recently grown to six billion (6,000,000,000) and is still growing! Norman Borlaugh was born in the midst of the "Great Depression" and attended the international "Limits to Growth" conferences in the early 70's when the world's population was about 3.5 billion and doubling approximately every 37 years. How long can this earth take care of it's mushrooming population? (Via CGCA)

Overcoming the world food and agriculture crisis through policy change and science

World food situation is shaped by volatility of food prices, low growth in agricultural productivity, and severe constraints on access to investment capital for agriculture. The crisis, however, also renewed the focus on food and agriculture in national and global agendas, after decades of policy neglect and underinvestment in agricultural science, rural infrastructure, and rural institutions. India has responded particularly strongly to the challenges in the world food system with policy actions that will be discussed here in a global context. (Via IFPRI)

Bees in Crisis: A Look at Colony Collapse Disorder

Bees & Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD)

Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) in recent years, a mysterious condition in which a large proportion of seemingly healthy bee colonies take a nosedive. Worker bees start vanishing. Farmers worry about finding enough pollinators for many crops, and often find themselves trucking hives around to do the job, across greater distances than ever before. (Via TFG)

The Crisis in Agriculture Is a Crisis of Culture

By Ian Hunter and Celia Larner

Littoral/Project Environmentis a U.K. nonprofit arts trust that aims to develop new arts projects in response to issues about social, environmental and cultural change. In a new initiative addressing what they see as a crisis in agriculture, Littoral will present a one-day forum in March and a three-day conference in May in England (see details below). They are anxious to hear from other groups involved with or interested in this new area of work, including suggestions from farmers, rural communities, agricultural agencies, artists and arts groups in the U.S. and elsewhere (e-mailsealion@projenv.demon.co.uk).

Littoral is interested in opening up new critical territory for contemporary art practice in the context of agricultural and rural change. We support organizations and artists interested in working on arts projects to do with agriculture, farming and other rural issues.

Critics Roger Scruton and John Berger have pointed to the crisis in agriculture as evidence of a deeper crisis of culture, involving issues of national identity, cultural diversity, public health, animal welfare and bioethics and public access to the countryside. Artists have always sought to work at the critical edges of culture in the unfixed margins of society, as a suitable place from which to re-image society, environment and culture. (Via CY)

HUNGRY FOR A SOLUTION TO RISING FOOD PRICES

As the Tunisian dictator Zine el Abidine Ben Ali discovered in January, there is no surer route to political oblivion than to deny people access to affordable food. On Dec. 17, after Tunisian police assaulted a street vendor named Mohamed Bouazizi and seized his produce cart because, according to his family, he couldn't afford to pay bribes, the 26-year-old Bouazizi doused himself with accelerant and lit a match. He died two weeks later. The riots that ensued—propelled in part by anger over high food prices—drove Ben Ali from power and spread to Egypt, Jordan, Yemen, and Algeria. Ben Ali may be remembered as the despot who was toppled by a vegetable cart. (Via BM)

Citations

Agricultural Crisis, Past and Now

Overcoming the world food and agriculture crisis through policy change and science

Bees in Crisis: A Look at Colony Collapse Disorder

Bees & Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD)