Blog for People, Food and Nature

It’s time to ask hard questions as we lead up to the 2014 International Science and Policy Conference on the resilience of social and ecological systems. Just as this event calls on us to mobilize for transformation of development to include resiliency, our agricultural experts are exploring these ideas in the palm oil, soy and […] ...

This year’s 9th annual Roundtable on Responsible Soy (RTRS) conference (May 7th-8th) took place at a critically important time for the industry. With relatively high prices, increasing overall demand from China, and another year of drought in palm oil production areas, the emphasis on increasing production is strong. The question then for participants at the RTRS […] ...

By Madeline Blasberg, Certified Wine Consultant for Etching Expressions   Winemaking, when all things are considered, can be a very dirty business. Chemical pesticides, fertilizers, weed killers, and hours of diesel-burning machinery add up to a considerable social and environmental impact. Around the world, wineries are implementing eco-friendly practices, conceptualizing the ...

Farmers are wearing a lot of hats these days, as they try to increase yields, reduce soil degradation, adapt to climate change, and mitigate it at the same time. Investors, research organizations, and NGOs are teaming up to help farmers receive additional funding for these noble efforts via the carbon market. A few years ago, […] ...

The environmental impacts of commodities have been a hot topic lately, from haze in Indonesia, carbon emissions from Brazil, and environmental degradation and poverty in Cote d’Ivoire. What do these stories have in common? They are all intertwined in global value chains for major agricultural commodities: palm oil, soy, and cocoa. Areas of production of […] ...