Profitable organic farming is a contribution of colleague Ina Horlings the ‘The Broker online‘ blog on food security. The Broker has four interesting blogs from a manyfold of people across the world.
Author Archives: Dirk Roep
A Place At The Table – documentary on food insecurity in the USA
From today on, March 1, the documentary ‘A Place At The Table: one nation. underfed‘ on food insecrurity in the USA is launched:
50 million people in the U.S.-one in four children-don’t know where their next meal is coming from, despite our having the means to provide nutritious, affordable food for all Americans. Directors Kristi Jacobson and Lori Silverbush examine this issue through the lens of three people who are struggling with food insecurity: Barbie, a single Philadelphia mother who grew up in poverty and is trying to provide a better life for her two kids; Rosie, a Colorado fifth-grader who often has to depend on friends and neighbors to feed her and has trouble concentrating in school; and Tremonica, a Mississippi second-grader whose asthma and health issues are exacerbated by the largely empty calories her hardworking mother can afford.
Their stories are interwoven with insights from experts including sociologist Janet Poppendieck, author Raj Patel and nutrition policy leader Marion Nestle; ordinary citizens like Pastor Bob Wilson and teachers Leslie Nichols and Odessa Cherry; and activists such as Witness to Hunger’s Mariana Chilton, Top Chef’s Tom Colicchio and Oscar®-winning actor Jeff Bridges.
Ultimately, A Place at the Table shows us how hunger poses serious economic, social and cultural implications for our nation, and that it could be solved once and for all, if the American public decides-as they have in the past-that making healthy food available and affordable is in the best interest of us all. See more at: http://www.magpictures.com/aplaceatthetable/#sthash.mcOOhFcB.dpuf
Link
Do you want to know what the EU Common Agriculture Policy is about? Have a look at the website 50 year of CAP, available in all EU languages.
Growing farmers – video on new farmers in Long Island
This is a 16-min video about the developments in farming in Long Island. Having great soils and an agriculture history, the setting lends itself for farming activities. However, land prices are a clear barrier for newcomers. The video also talks about new farmers trying to make it in the agricultural world from making a living, facing their romanticized preconceptions of life as a farmer, to breaking stereotypes of who can be a farmer.
Origin Food: a market for identity – course starts March 11, 2013
Monday March 11, 2013 the course Origing Food: a market for identity will start again.
The main aim of the course is to provide for a broad and scientific understanding of the growing importance of food products with an indication of origin within the globalising agro-food system. The course is obligatory in the specialisation Gastronomy of the Master Food Technology. No specific prerequisite knowledge is asked. The course is open to students from other Masters. The different educational backgrounds is stimulating for multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary study of OPFs in groups. Language of instruction and examination is English.
Montepulciano d’Abruzzo
Food products with a geographical indication are becoming more important worldwide, both in economic and cultural terms. In the course a distinction is made between Origing Food Products with a protected geographical indication (PDO, PGI or TSG) based on EU-regulations such as Parma ham, Boerenleidse kaas, Café de Colombia and not officially acknowledged Origin Food Products locally sourced by e.g. restaurants, shops or online box schemes.
The course deals with a range of questions on OFPs organised in five themes: 1) Linking people, place and product: the construction of distinctiveness; 2) Regulation and legislation; 3) Marketing and branding; 4) Sustainability impact; 5) Consumers’ appreciation, regional gastronomy and food tourism.
The course consists of a combination of lectures, group assignments to study some Origin Food Products more in detail and a gastronomic excursion, often seen the higlight of the course.
Students interested in the course can ask for the Course outline for this year. Contactperson: Dirk.Roep@wur.nl
Rural Sociology Wageningen University 