Haley Swartz is a Research Program Coordinator for the Global Food Ethics and Policy Program at the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics. Haley researches food assistance programs and nutrition governance in developing and low and middle-income countries with Dr. Jessica Fanzo, Bloomberg Distinguished Associate Professor of Ethics & Global Food and Agriculture. Haley holds a Master of Public Policy and a Bachelor of Arts in Women’s Studies and Government, both from the University of Virginia.

From automation to food safety, from adaptive irrigation to supply-chain management systems, and from big-data aggregators to food recovery, the main technological impacts in agriculture hit the top of the chain, with in-field systems, post-harvest monitoring and efficiency boosters.

The established factors forcing entire populations to abandon their land have now been joined by climate change, which alters ecosystems and renders them uninhabitable.

In an era where speed matters, even fashion has become “fast”. But producing such a large number of garments at knock-down prices comes at the expense of environmental sustainability and the health of those who work in the industry.

A project to help the Mbororo women farmers from Cameroon to provide enough food for their families to fight malnutrition with a low ecological footprint and to sell the overproduction won the BCFN Yes competition in 2015. After more than one year of field work, the local stakeholders have been involved and the project is starting to run and will grow with the help of new partners and new funding organizations.

Food security has become an increasingly prominent issue in recent years. The market for food has become tighter as the population of the world continues to grow and rising incomes across much of the developing world are changing diets, particularly in terms of an increase in meat consumption. Higher use of biofuels, and lower agricultural productivity, are further contributing to a food supply squeeze. These factors create a potentially volatile mix. 

The paradox of the Gulf States is revealed in data collected and analysed by the Food Sustainability Index: in these nations awash with wealth there still exists qualitative malnutrition. Junk food consumption is prevalent, diabetes is a common mortality risk and these factors place a significant strain on local health systems.

At the helm of the biggest NGO in Denmark, the activist has won some key victories in the battle against food waste with the help of individual consumers and international organisations.

The 22nd April is Earth Day, a global initiative which brings together 192 nations with the goal of increasing the literacy of everyday citizens on topics relating to the environment. The BCFN will participate by presenting the Food Sustainability Report, a tool to keep the public informed on what is happening in sustainable agriculture and food.

Australia has a reputation for good weather, healthy lifestyles, fresh food and a high quality of living. Not least in its biggest cities, Sydney and Melbourne. However, growing urban sprawl around both cities, and associated high rents for agricultural land, are putting increased pressure on local farmers  . If left unchecked, this process could have negative implications for the quality of life of the cities’ inhabitants.

The word hunger generally calls to mind starving children in developing countries. Unfortunately, this type of hunger is still very much a reality. However, malnutrition is much more complex. Many children who consume enough food, and even obese and overweight children, may be malnourished because they consume the wrong kind of foods—those that lack the essential vitamins and minerals required for growth and development. This “hidden hunger” can lead to irrevocable damage to the child and adversely affect communities and the economies of entire nations.

As a global community, we face significant challenges. Year on year, temperatures spike, surpassing previous records, with devastating effects on ecosystems and human health worldwide. Almost 800m people continue to end each day hungry or short of food, but a staggering 1.9bn of us are now overweight or obese.

In search of innovation and creativity, BCFN will promote, together with other institutions, a competition involving young scholars and professionals in the field of sustainable agri-food systems. Save the date of the next European Association of Agricultural Economists congress in Parma, from August 28th to September 1st2017.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has begun to roll out its latest major initiative, “Feed Africa”, the objective of which is straightforward: to end hunger on the continent by 2025.1 It intends to do this by deploying the simple logic that “investing in agriculture is the best way to end hunger”.

Every year on 22 March we turn our attention to water, a precious resource. However, it’s also one which can have multiple lives, as shown by the numerous wastewater recycling projects underway around the globe.

Obesity is also about the way you think: images shown on packaging can encourage consumers to overestimate correct portion sizes and exceed daily calorie recommendations.

Our personal hygiene and the water we drink only have a minor impact on our general consumption. Food production is what really weighs heavily on our water balance. Rather than looking at what’s in our glasses, we should focus on what’s on our plates.

To live longer and healthier it is important to focus on lifestyle, including good food. But it’s only a winning strategy if started in early childhood and continued for a lifetime.

Scientific studies have shown that health targets and obligations to safeguard the ecosystem converge. The double food and environmental pyramid is a simple way of explaining to everyone how each meal can be transformed into a concrete way to improve their health and the health of the planet.