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  • From: tradingpost@lobo.net
  • To: <livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [Livingontheland] this from Danielle Nierenberg Co-Founder, Food Tank www.FoodTank.org
  • Date: Wed, 06 Feb 2013 13:42:43 -0700

Dear Paul,

I just want to say THANK YOU! Less than a month ago Ellen Gustafson and I launched Food Tank: The Food Think Tank (www.FoodTank.org) and the response is absolutely overwhelming! Already more than 10,000 (!!!) food and agricultural advocates have connected with us on our Facebook. And every day we are posting exclusive content on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/TheFoodTank) that you can't find anywhere else---will you please connect with us right now by clicking HERE (http://www.facebook.com/TheFoodTank)?

This week’s newsletter highlights the role of women farmers in global food production.

More than 30 percent of U.S. farm operators are women and operate 14 percent of the nation’s 2.2 million farms, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. And the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reports that women comprise an average 43 percent of the agricultural labor force in developing countries. In some countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, women can make up to 80 percent of farm workers.

Women are running more farms and ranches, operating more land, and producing a greater value of agricultural products than ever before.

In the United States, the female farming movement has grown dramatically just in the past five years – with a 30 percent increase in women farm operators from 2007 to 2012. The book Farmer Jane (http://www.farmerjane.org/) discusses how more women-run farms is changing the way America eats and tells the stories of 30 exceptional women who are passionate advocates for sustainable food and farming. And the Women, Food, and Agriculture Network (WFAN) (http://www.wfan.org/Women,_Food_and_Agriculture_Network_Home.html) is connecting women farmers, ranchers, landowners, students, and activists to one another about sustainable agriculture practices.

But in developing countries, women farmers need more investment to overcome the agricultural gender gap that hinders their productivity. Women farmers typically achieve yields that are 20-30 percent lower than men, according to the FAO. Studies suggest, however, that women could achieve the same yields as men if given equal access to resources, including access to inputs, land, and credit and loans. Bridging this gender yield gap and increasing women farmers’ production could reduce the number of undernourished people in the world by 12-17 percent.

Fortunately, there are organizations around the world that are empowering women with the tools they need to succeed. This year, I’ll be serving on the Advisory Board for the 3rd Annual Women Deliver conference (http://www.cvent.com/events/women-deliver-2013-conference-registration/event-summary-ccfb71484fb4492da451fabcc2679863.aspx) which brings together more than 5,000 participants from Ministries of Health, Parliaments, leading civil society organizations, and global companies to inspire and promote investment in women around the world. And in India, the Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) (http://www.sewa.org/), a member-based trade union, is supporting 1.3 million women farmers and entrepreneurs through its nationwide network of cooperatives, thousands of self-help groups, banks, and training centers.

Empowering and investing in women farmers can significantly increase their productivity, reduce hunger and malnutrition and improve their livelihoods.

What initiatives do you know of that support women in agriculture? How do you think can we increase investment in female farmers around the world?


All the Best,

Danielle Nierenberg
Co-Founder, Food Tank
www.FoodTank.org

Here are some highlights from the week: (http://www.FoodTank.org)

Are Earth Markets the New Farmers’ Markets?
LINK: http://foodtank.org/news/are-earth-markets-the-new-farmers-markets
Slow Food International's Earth Markets are made up of smallholder and artisan farmers who are committed to charging reasonable prices for their products and engaging in fair labor treatment practices.

Who is at fault for the health conditions brought on by fast food?
LINK: http://foodtank.org/news/justice-for-big-foods-victims-three-major-fast-food-lawsuits-in-the-past-de
In 2002, Caesar Barber filed a landmark lawsuit against McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, and Kentucky Fried Chicken, seeking damages for the medical conditions brought on by consuming these corporations’ products. The lawsuit was the first of its kind, but not the last.

Raising the Steaks: The High (and Rising) Costs of Meat
LINK: http://foodtank.org/news/raising-the-steaks-the-high-and-rising-costs-of-meat
The price of meat, particularly beef, will increase dramatically in the United States during 2013. These price spikes will likely affect not only what people eat at home, but, eventually, how meat is produced.

Weekly Recommended Reading: Foodopoly by Wenonah Hauter
LINK: http://www.foodopoly.org/about/
Review provided by Civil Eats (http://www.CivilEats.org) : Foodopoly (http://www.foodopoly.org/) by Wenonah Hauter of Food and Water Watch (http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/) is a fine contribution to the growing literature about our ailing food system. The book does a particularly good job of detailing both the methods and implications of the corporate takeover of food. From familiar ground such as the obesity epidemic and junk-food advertising, to the lesser-known yet important terrain of corporate supply chains and a largest-takes-all food infrastructure, Hauter provides bountiful evidence to buttress her deep working knowledge of the food system.

VIDEO: The Edible City
LINK: http://foodtank.org/news/video-the-edible-city
With more than half of the world’s population living in cities, the American Society of Landscape Architects demonstrates in this video what the future of urban agriculture could look like and how to create edible cities.

Food Hero Series: Baldemar Velasquez, Father of Farm Workers
LINK: http://foodtank.org/news/food-hero-series-baldemar-velasquez-father-of-farm-workers)
Baldemar Velasquez is the President of the Farm Labor Organizing Committee. One of his greatest achievements is that farm workers have been given a direct voice in their working conditions and how to safeguard their rights.

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