CIHEAM Press Review

Brazil, set to host the COP30 climate conference later this year, lost the largest area of tropical forest in 2024.

The growing influence of corporations on the governance of food systems, and how to counter it
Who decides what you eat? In the third of our briefing note series on food systems governance, IPES-Food documents a history of growing corporate influence over our food, and proposes transformative solutions to democratize governance to serve the public interest. 

Ardi Ardak—which translates to my land, your land in Arabic—is a grassroots national food security initiative working to revive the Lebanese food system through projects that foster agricultural self-sufficiency. The initiative is a collaboration among The Environment and Sustainable Development Unit at the American University of Beirut, the Lebanese League for Women in Business, the Food Heritage Foundation, and Zico House.

The Global Seafood Alliance is ramping up efforts to engage eaters with the launch of its new Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) consumer-facing website. The site is part of a broader campaign to encourage the consumption of sustainably sourced seafood.

The research opens the way for bioengineering plants to improve their yields

One reason for this is climate change, which is causing lower crop yields in places like Africa. However, thanks to a breakthrough by scientists in the United States food crops could soon be made to increase their yields through a simple tweak: by boosting plants’ ability of photosynthesis.

Grain prices have shot through the roof because the war has disrupted harvests and exports from Russia and Ukraine. The two countries together account for a quarter of the world’s wheat, and 80 percent of sunflower oil exports. On top of that, droughts since last year in South America hurt the harvests of soybeans and maize, and the shortfalls increased prices. As if that weren’t bad enough, the exploding prices of fertiliser – Russia is the world’s leading exporter – cut into farmers’ profits.

Photo credi - Aljazeera

From vast grain stores stuck in Odesa to famine risk in Yemen, a visual guide to the far-reaching effects of Russia’s block on exports

Major international organizations issued an appeal Wednesday for urgent measures to deal with rising food insecurity in poor countries, including financing to support farmers and increase food supplies.

Over the last year, Covid-19 has undone the economic, health and food security of millions, pushing as many as 150 million people into extreme poverty. While the health and economic impacts of the pandemic have been devastating, the rise in hunger has been one of its most tangible symptoms.

From price-fixing probes to farmer stress and climate politics, this roundup has the week’s essential food stories.

Climate change is impacting everything from the sex and size of animals to the state of wine and coffee crops. It’s also making flights a lot bumpier.

World food prices reached a record high in 2022, surging after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

World food prices eased in December marking the ninth consecutive monthly fall, but gained more than 14% in 2022 compared to the previous year, to reach the highest since records began, the U.N. food agency said on Friday.

WWF reports that a food systems approach is necessary to address biodiversity loss and limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.

If global temperatures rise beyond 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, the planet will begin to undergo as many as 16 tipping points. Worse: many of those tipping points are already a risk, whose likelihoods will increase with each tenth of a degree of further warming.

As we consider the future of world food security, active global cooperation will be necessary to prevent widespread hunger and starvation.

Rising global temperatures are posing a threat not only to people and wildlife but plants as well. The question of why many plants succumb as the heat increases is now better understood, thanks to a team of scientists who have identified the mechanism in plant cells that regulates their immunity.
It has long been known that increased temperatures compromises plants’ ability to make a defense hormone called salicylic acid, which boosts their immune system against invaders. However, how this defense mechanism works at the molecular level wasn’t well understood.

Freshwater scarcity is a fact of life for people across much of the planet with agricultural production severely affected as irrigation at croplands already accounts for 70% of water use globally.
Much worse is to come, however, scientists warn. By the middle of the century, say the authors of a new study, water scarcity in agriculture will likely increase in a staggering 80% of the world’s croplands.

A WLE-hosted webinar series discussing the critically important role of research and innovation to secure more inclusive, sustainable and resilient futures.

A new report from the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says some of the causes of cli­mate change may also be alter­ing the nutri­tional com­po­si­tion of food.
Climate affects a range of bio­log­i­cal processes, includ­ing the meta­bolic rate in plants and ectother­mic ani­mals,” the IPCC report said.