UYDO :: UYDO :: Shoutbox :: Sustainable Agriculture and development: Where do - View Topic
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| ekgade
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| | Sustainable Agriculture and development: Where do (26th Jun 09 at 8:37am UTC) | | Though many believe the affluent USA to be immune the problems of hunger and poverty, they persist even in the world’s most vibrant economy and model democracy. To me, this fact points to the true pervasiveness of inequality and poverty in our world today, and the ineffectiveness of traditional economic development in solving them. It emphasizes the need for Muhammad Yunus and his Grameen Bank, or UYDO's microloans, provide a viable alternative means of credit and, as Amartya Sen would say, access and entitlements.
Among the most promising applications of these loans has been in the form of sustainable agriculture. Unique in its combination of environmental action and poverty reduction, sustainable agriculture simply means that a farm can support its stewards indefinitely without environmental degradation. Buying your food from farmers who practice sustainable agriculture furthers these goals.
I spent a winter working for a non profit centered around sustainable agriculture, Heifer International. It's headquartered in a small community in Arkansas, in the southern United States. Heifer is an American based non-profit providing sustainable agricultural opportunities to the rural and urban poor around the world. As an initiative, Heifer has freed literally millions of people from hunger and poverty.
In addition to political action, awareness, volunteering, and support, an understanding of where your food comes from and the effects of what you consume can go a long way in furthering equitable pricing, allocation of resources, access to markets, and environmentally sound farming practices.
For further reading check out The Omnivore's Dilemma, or Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. For more information about Heifer see www.heifer.org.
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| Espen
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| | I find the issue of food (27th Jun 09 at 8:14am UTC) | | I find the issue of food availability, allocation, and delivery extremely interesting. Our main aim is to improve the lives of those in need, but we have to remember that there is a limited amount of resources on this planet. So the question is not only how we ensure that those who need it the most get food, but also, how do we make sure that it is sustainable. The first (and by far the most ethical) idea is to limit consumption in the north, but that is far easier said than done sadly.
But I think that you are absolutely done, with the food crisis so recent in mind, what we need to do is to assist in developing effective and sustainable agriculture. We can substantially increase food-production just by better know-how, technology, and techniques.
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