Lockdown, leftovers, and how food frugality is a climate boon, Reuters (August 18, 2020): Many households are reportedly using up all their leftovers during the COVID-19 pandemic. In Britain, surveys indicated 10% less food is wasted than before - with bread, chicken, milk, and potatoes most commonly thrown away. Even as lockdown restrictions lift, most people want to continue their improved thriftiness in the future. Since food waste contributes 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions, though not all from the consumer, reducing food waste at a household level is a powerful, encouraging boost to tackling global climate change.
The Mountains where Manna Flows from Trees, Atlas Obscura (August 25, 2020): In the mountains of Sicily, manna still comes from the heavens. An ancient cultivation technique of collecting sap from an ash tree yields a sweetener, crystallized after it is harvested and dried. Guilio Gelardi’s family are among the last to know the trade. They formed a collective to save their heritage and local bakeries and chefs are taking notice. Though still relatively unknown internationally, it is now one of the most valuable agricultural products in Sicily.
The Right to Food: Building on “Building Upon Food as Medicine”, American Journal of Preventive Medicine (August 12, 2020): As evidence shows that nutritionally adequate diets can promote better long term health outcomes, a movement to provide prescriptions food insecure individuals has gained steam, in order to improve access to fruits and vegetables. The authors of this paper explain limitations to this “food and medicine” movement and outline the ways that the “right to food” concept (based in international law) might inform and improve upon these efforts, particularly within the healthcare sector. Outlining five tenets in the right to food, the authors offer several practical suggestions that help health workers and advocates to promote more systems-oriented and equitable strategies.