Amongst all the current – and long overdue – discussion of global food security, a new mantra is increasingly heard: food production must double by 2050 if a projected world population of 9 billion is to be fed. But the world is already producing more than double the food we actually consume: we don’t need another Green Revolution, just to eliminate profligate waste.
Comparing global pig population densities in 1922 and 2005: the FAO’s Gridded Livestock of the World 2005 and USDA 1922 Yearbook’s global pig maps
Every day, the world’s food system has 6.5 billion mouths to feed. It’s humanity’s single biggest undertaking: 1.3 billion farm-workers work 4.9 billion HA to produce 356 kg of grain each year for every person alive. Still the system isn’t working: “2 billion people suffer from chronic under-nutrition and 18 million die each year from hunger-related diseases”. Understanding the world’s food system better is essential if we’re to face move towards a more equitable and sustainable way of feeding ourselves. Tim Lang and Erik Millstone’s updated edition of The Atlas of Food in an invaluable guide to the complexities and scale of world food.
Ever wondered how Easter eggs are made? Cadbury opens the doors of its Bournville factory, which produces about half the UK’s Easter eggs, 40 million a year. This short BBC film provides a fascinating insight into the process behind the jauntily packaged eggs we devour every Easter.
There’s a surreal fascination in the endless eggs proceeding smoothly along conveyors belts – sometimes marching along in neat rows, later whizzing in single file towards the robot arms that fit the half-shells together with faultless precision. When the egg is complete, it’s wrapped and spun under a roller to smooth its foil. After all this automation, it comes as a surprise to see real people adding the bags of chocolate buttons to each packet.
A simple approach to real bread – the best ingredients, the simplest of recipes and plenty of time are all it takes to make good, honest English bread.
FSA publishes complete list of meat processors and companies affected by Irish pork contamination alert. FSAI and FSA confirm contamination of beef but offer reassurance of lower risk.
The contamination of some Irish pork with carcinogenic dioxins has led to the recall and withdrawal of almost all pork products from both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Both the UK Food Standards Agency and the Food Safety Authority of Ireland are advising the public not to consume any raw or cooked pork [...]
Nikolaus Geyrhalter’s revealing and disturbing Our Daily Bread goes behind the scenes of food industry, revealing the story of food from hatchery to abattoir
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