In the face of a burgeoning global population, the sustainability of our food systems has come into sharp focus. As we grapple with the daunting task of feeding nearly 10 billion people by 2050, it is imperative to question the long-term viability of our current food production and consumption practices. The sustainability of our current food systems is a complex and multifaceted issue, encompassing environmental, social, and economic dimensions. Environmental Impact: Our current food systems are exerting a significant toll on the environment. Intensive agricultural practices, such as the excessive use of fertilizers and pesticides, are contributing to soil degradation, […]
Category: Sustainability
Understanding Food Environment Dynamics
In a world grappling with rising food insecurity, nutritional imbalances, and environmental degradation, understanding the dynamics of the food environment is paramount. The intricate interplay between our food choices, the physical surroundings where food is acquired and consumed, and the broader social, economic, and political forces at play shape our dietary patterns and influence the sustainability of our food systems. Understanding the dynamics of the food environment is not merely an academic pursuit; it is an urgent call to action, a quest to unravel the complex interplay of factors that shape our dietary habits and determine the fate of our […]
Importance of Food Policy
Food policy is crucial for countries and global society as it plays a pivotal role in ensuring food security, promoting sustainable agriculture, and fostering economic development. It encompasses a wide range of measures and strategies aimed at regulating and guiding the production, distribution, and consumption of food. Effective food policies can contribute to addressing various challenges such as hunger, malnutrition, poverty, and environmental degradation. Importance of Food Policy for Countries Ensuring Food Security: Food security is a fundamental human right, ensuring that all people have access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food at all times to meet their dietary needs […]
Preventing Food Waste for A Better Environment
Food waste is a global problem with serious environmental and social consequences. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), one-third of all food produced for human consumption is wasted each year. This wasted food could be used to feed the millions of people who go hungry every day. Food waste also has a significant negative impact on the environment. Food production requires a significant amount of land, water, and energy. When we waste food, we are also wasting these precious resources. Additionally, food waste that ends up in landfills decomposes and produces methane, a greenhouse gas that […]
Environmental Issues of South Asia Region
South Asian countries have been dealing with several issues of social, political, cultural, and economic nature among many others. The environmental issues however are slowly becoming more and more pronounced in the region, with the rise in natural catastrophes, energy crises, and scarcity of resources. Mainly consisting of developing nations of India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, this region since the early 20th century, first, most of them as a colony and later as independent states, have been experiencing economic upheavals. Notably, most of the environmental issues surged post-1960s due to high economic activities, industrialization, population […]
The Unlikely Vaccine for Environment- Corona
The world is facing a common enemy scenario, where people today are ready to look beyond the borders, religion, caste, class and other social boundaries. A novel virus which keeps inside our homes is already reorienting our relationship with our environment, government, work and even to the society at large. While these changes are unfamiliar and unsettling, yet no one can deny the positive impact it has had on the environment. If reports are to be believed the earth seems to be recovering amidst COVID-19 spread. In these extraordinary times, several countries have implemented restrictions upon public interaction, suspending public […]
Water Scarcity & Indian Agriculture
Water scarcity in India is changing everything, from what we eat to the way of our living. Water is the existential need of our body & society alike. Though, over the years it has also become an over-the-top abused commodity, without having received any serious attention from planning commissions, until recently. Time and again, early societies stressed upon the importance and need for water and ably planned their lives around it. Civilizations, like Mesopotamia, Egyptian or our very own Harappan, were built or lost on account of water. Today, while we have this knowledge, as a society we fail to […]
Earth Day- Past & Present
The earth day is commemorated on 22nd April world over with several events. Every year, it comes as a reminder of things that have come to be and things that can be with respect to environment, and what can we as earthlings do to protect our earth better. This year’s theme is “protect our species” with the agenda of raising awareness about rate of extinction of species. The earth day celebrations were first initiated in 1970 by a US Senator from Wisconsin Gaylord Nelson. He proposed the initiative after having witnessed the enormous oil spill of Santa Barbara, California in […]
Cultural Heritage Has a Lot to Teach Us About Climate Change
While cultural heritage sites are under threat from rising sea levels and melting permafrost, indigenous knowledge such as that of Assam’s Majuli communities can provide the key to unlocking adaptive climate change strategies. (Republished from The Conversation and The Wire) Museums, archaeological sites and historical buildings are rarely included in conversations about climate change, which tend to focus on the wider impact and global threats to our contemporary world. Yet these threats impact everything, from local cultural practices to iconic sites of outstanding universal value. In light of this, it’s worth exploring the relationship between our heritage and the changing […]
THE POLITICS OF SUSTAINABLITY
The years 1992 and 2015 are historic for the environment movement, wherein each of the years witnessed important treaties and conferences, redefining plethora of academic and policy initiatives of past, present and future. Be it the Sustainable Development Goals, Paris Climate Treaty, Agenda 21 or Rio Declaration on Environment and Development among others. These signal to a major shift in international commitments to both sustainability and development. Conversely, pinning down the technical, normative or political definitions of sustainability is a difficult prospect. Over the years, especially due to rising incidence of natural catastrophe, it has come to resonate more with […]