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by Amy Lupica, ODP Staff Writer A new study published last week found that rising global temperatures impact childhood malnutrition at similar rates to poverty, insufficient sanitation, and poor education. The 19-country study, which observed 107,000 children aged 5 and under, reviewed the impact of rainfall and temperature on children’s diet diversity. The findings shocked […]
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According to a new study in the journal Nature Communications, the development of natural habitat for agriculture and urbanization, as well as the transformation of habitat caused by climate change, are “major causes of the decline in range sizes, and two of the most important threats to global terrestrial biodiversity.”
Why This Matters: Food production processes emit lots of carbon, and now we see that food production also drives loss of habitat and thus species’ extinction.
Continue Reading 417 wordsDanielle Leoni is the Co-Owner and Chef of The Breadfruit & Rum Bar in Phoenix and a leader in the sustainability movement in the food world. She is also a nominee for the 2020 Best Chef, Southwest from the James Beard Foundation.
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Eating meat is as American as apple pie, so baked into our culture and identity that President Trump declared meatpacking plants so essential that he ordered them to stay open. Some grocery chains such as Costco and Kroger are limiting the amount of meat consumers can buy, and prices are spiking too. Meanwhile, plant-based meats are flying off the shelves.
Why This Matters: Thanks to the virus, Americans may now be forced to learn how to eat less meat and why that might be good for them.
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Global leaders are warning that breaks in the global supply chain for food imports to the U.S. could have devastating impacts in developing countries.
Why This Matters: Thanks to the President ordering meat plants to re-open, we are focused on food supply chains here at home, but there many people around the world supplying us necessary food items (like fresh fruits and vegetables and seafood that can’t be grown here now) as well.
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Tens of thousands of pigs, chickens, and cattle are stuck on large livestock farms due to processing plant closures because of COVID outbreaks among plant workers. Consequently, the President yesterday ordered the plants to remain open despite the fact that thousands of workers have tested positive or have been exposed to the virus and the plants have not taken the necessary precautions to protect them from contracting the virus.
Why This Matters: The President’s order cannot change the course of the virus nor will it solve the problems caused by giant industrial hog and chicken farms, and unsafe slaughterhouses that the virus is exposing.
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