state-of-the-world-pub
Pesticide Action Network

Pesticide Action Network

State of the World 2011: Innovations that Nourish the Planet

Contacts:
Dr. Marcia Ishii-Eiteman, Sr. Scientist
510-981-9721 x. 325 mie@panna.org

 

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

State of the World 2011: Innovations that Nourish the Planet

An incisive account of the global food crisis—and how it can be solved.

State of the World publicationNew York—Released today, the 2011 edition of Worldwatch Institute’s flagship report takes a compelling look at the global food crisis and innovations that can help solve this worldwide problem. 

State of the World 2011not only introduces us to the latest agro-ecological innovations and their global applicability but also gives broad insights into issues including poverty, international politics, trade, and gender equity. 

See the Table of Contents for more information and check out the Nourishing the Planet blog

At a time when 925 million people worldwide are hungry and food prices are on the rise, investments in agricultural development are at historic lows. In Africa, farmers make up 80 percent of the population; they also hold the key to unlocking the continent’s potential to feed the future. The global community must step up with meaningful commitments to support the world’s poorest farmers. 

Worldwatch Institute’s State of the World 2011: Innovations that Nourish the Planet taps the world’s leading agricultural experts and draws from the hundreds of innovations already working on the ground to recommend 20 proven, environmentally sustainable prescriptions for alleviating hunger and poverty.

As Dr. Marcia Ishii-Eiteman (Senior Scientist at Pesticide Action Network) writes in the report’s final chapter:

We find ourselves poised today on the threshold of the potential collapse of vital ecosystem functions on which people and the planet depend. We urgently need a rapid and decisive reorientation toward ecological sustainability and equity. The good news is that we already have the capacity to produce plenty of healthy food while building ecological resilience and social equity, and cooling the planet.

 State of the World 2011 is being released at a time when global hunger and food security initiatives—such as the Obama administration’s Feed the Future program, the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP), the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), and the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP)—need critical guidance to avoid repeating mistakes of the past.

In 2010, governments, foundations, and individuals provided less than $4 billion dollars to support agricultural projects in Africa. With a large share of the human family still chronically hungry nearly a half-century after the Green Revolution, it is clear that existing funding is not being targeted effectively.

As author Ishii-Eiteman explains,

“Chemical-based industrial agriculture has failed us. We need to support the creativity and ingenuity of small-scale farmers developing planet-cooling agroecological systems around the world. But it’s not only about technological solutions. We also must tackle corporate capture of our food systems and of our governments or nothing will change. Ultimately what is required today is nothing less than the democratization of the global food system.”

To schedule an interview with author Marcia Ishii-Eiteman, email mie@panna.org or call: 415-981-9721 x. 325.

For a review copy of State of the World 2011 and for more information, contact: Amanda Stone at (+1) 202-452-1999 x514, or astone@worldwatch.org.

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Pesticide Action Network

Pesticide Action Network

Pesticide Action Network is dedicated to advancing alternatives to pesticides worldwide. Follow @pesticideaction

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