A Conversation for Creating a Healthy Society
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Winter 2012News
Global development
Guardian Global Development
Put planet and its people at the core of sustainable development, urges report
UN panel calls for sustainable development indicators that factor in poverty, inequality, science and gender equality
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Mark Tran in Addis Ababa
guardian.co.uk, Monday 30 January 2012 12.00 GMT
Article history
Ban Ki-moon
UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon at the AU summit. Sustainable development will be a key focus of his second term. Photograph: Tony Karumba/AFP/Getty Images
Social and environmental costs need to be integrated into measurement of economic activity, a new UN report said on Monday as it urged world leaders to focus on the long-term resilience of the planet and its people.
The report from the high-level panel on global sustainability calls for a set of sustainable development indicators that go beyond the traditional approach of gross domestic product. It recommends that governments develop and apply a set of sustainable development goals that can mobilise global action.
At the report’s launch during the AU summit, Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, made it plain that sustainable development is a top priority for his second term of office.
“We need to chart a new, more sustainable course for the future, one that strengthens equality and economic growth while protecting our planet,” he said.
Ban established a 22-member panel in August 2010, co-chaired by Finland’s president Tarja Halonen and Jacob Zuma, the president of South Africa. The group was tasked with producing a blueprint for sustainable development and low-carbon prosperity.
The panel’s final report, Resilient People, Resilient Planet: a Future Worth Choosing, contains 56 recommendations to put sustainable development into practice and to mainstream it into economic policy as quickly as possible.
Halonen stressed the importance of placing people at the centre of achieving sustainable development.
“Eradication of poverty and improving equity must remain priorities for the world community,” she said. “The panel has concluded that empowering women and ensuring a greater role for them in the economy is critical for sustainable development.”
The report feeds into preparations for the UN conference on sustainable development (Rio+20) in Brazil in June 2012. Among its key points is that most goods and services sold today fail to bear the full environmental and social cost of production and consumption.
“Based on the science, we need to reach consensus, over time, on methodologies to price them properly. Costing environmental externalities could open new opportunities for green growth and green jobs,” says the report.
Underscoring the importance of science as an essential guide for decision-making on sustainability issues, the report calls on the UN secretary-general to lead efforts to produce a regular global sustainable development outlook report that integrates knowledge across sectors and institutions, and to consider creating a science advisory board or scientific advisor.
The report stresses the importance of gender equality in any serious shift towards sustainable development.
“Half of humankind’s collective intelligence and capacity is a resource we must nurture and develop, for the sake of multiple generations to come,” says the report. “The next increment of global growth could well come from the full economic empowerment of women.”
Among the recommendations for a sustainable economy, the report calls for a phasing out of fossil fuel subsidies and other “perverse or trade-distorting” subsidies by 2020. However, such decisions can be politically unpopular, as the unrest in Nigeria over a reduction in fuel subsidies underlined. Aware of the political sensitivities involved, the report says the reduction of subsidies must be done in a manner that protects the poor.
The report calls on governments to change the regulation of financial markets to promote longer-term and sustainable investment. It cites the example of Norway, where the ministry of finance is responsible for co-ordinating work on a national strategy covering the economic, environmental and social dimensions of sustainable development.
To implement this strategy, Norway has integrated sustainable development into the annual budget. In every yearly budget, follow-up is reported in a separate chapter that includes contributions from each government ministry as well as the statistics office.
As the report notes, Norway has developed 18 indicators that have become increasingly important in monitoring the extent to which the country’s activities are consistent with sustainable development targets.
While welcoming the panel’s vision, Oxfam said the recommendations were weak.
“The emphasis on women’s rights and the call for an ‘ever-green’ revolution in agriculture, so it is more resource-efficient and productive, is helpful, but concrete recommendations on reforming the food system are thin,” said Sarah Best of Oxfam. “There is nothing in the report on how to finance the recommendations – for instance, through a levy on international shipping and aviation, or a financial transaction tax – which has been backed by the UN panel on climate finance.”
The panel’s findings come 25 years after Gro Harlem Brundtland, the former prime minister of Norway, produced a landmark eponymous report that defined sustainable development as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.
“Since then, the world has gained a deeper understanding of the interconnected challenges we face and the fact that sustainable development provides the best opportunity for people to choose their future,” says the report. “This makes ours a propitious moment in history to make the right choices and move towards sustainable development in earnest.”
This summary of ways to change the way we eat was posted on http://www.tedxmanhattan.org/change-the-way-you-eat/ This site is a terrific resource and is highly recommended.
Based on The Glynwood Institute’s
Guide to Good Food
www.guidetogoodfood.wordpress.com
1. Educate yourself – Unfortunately, there is no all-encompassing guide that answers all sustainable food questions, so you need to learn what you can about the food industry and decide for yourself who deserves your support. The following books are a great place to start: Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser, The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan, Hope’s Edge by Frances Moore Lappé and Anna Lappé, Stuffed and Starved by Raj Patel. For more recommendations, check out Grist’s Favorite Food Books of 2010: www.grist.org/article/2010-12-20-favorite-food-books-of-2010.
2. Shop sustainable – Where do you get your food? If you answered farmer’s market, CSA or food co-op, you are already concerned with sustainability. Wherever you shop, choose local, organic and/or sustainable items over their industrial, non-local counterparts. When buying meat and dairy, look for free-range, pasture-raised, and antibiotic free. Seek out items with less packaging or skip the packaging altogether by buying bulk items with your own bags. To find sustainable farms, restaurants and markets near you, visit Eat Well Guide or Local Harvest.
3. Ask questions – One of the greatest benefits of buying your food straight from the farmer is talking directly with the person who grew the food. We ask our farmers all sorts of questions, from ‘what’s the most delicious way to cook this lamb chop’ to ‘what’s integrated pest management’ and ‘do you use any synthetic fertilizers’? If your local grocery doesn’t carry local or organic foods, ask the manager about it! You’d be surprised at the buying power you plus a few friends possess. Check out Huffington Post’s Seven Great Questions to Ask Your Farmer or visit Sustainable Table’s Question Guide.
4. Eat Less Meat – Eating lots of meat is not only bad for you, it’s bad for the environment. Eating less meat can reduce your chances of developing chronic conditions like some types of cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Meat, especially from industrial feedlots, is hugely energy intensive, requiring thousands of gallons of water and approximately 40 fossil-fuel calories for every edible calorie. When you do want to eat meat, make sure you support farms that raise and slaughter their animals in a humane and sustainable way. For recipes and resources for going meatless, visit Meatless Monday.
5. Eat seasonal – No matter the season, our supermarkets are filled with a vast array of produce from all around the world. But just because you can find a stalk of asparagus in January doesn’t mean you should eat it! Eating seasonally means buying produce that’s grown locally and eating it right away. Local food has a lesser environmental impact, is fresher, and is produced by your community. That means eating seasonally is healthier for you, your community and the environment! To find a Farmer’s Market near you, visit Local Harvest. To find a CSA in NYC, visit Just Food’s CSA finder.
6. Grow your own – There’s no better way to know your farmer than to be your farmer! Growing your own food guarantees the most healthful, freshest, and satisfying produce you can get your hands on. From a few herbs or sprouts in your kitchen window, to a full veggie patch at your local community garden, growing your own food is the coolest way to go green. For NYC dwellers, find a garden through Green Thumb. If you have high hopes and a tiny apartment, check out Windowfarms!
7. Cook – Eating out poses many challenges to the sustainable eater. How and where does the restaurant get its ingredients? How much food do they throw away? What’s their water consumption? The only guaranteed way to know your food is prepared sustainable is to see the meal start to finish; from buying (or growing?!) the ingredients, through the peeling, chopping, roasting, sautéing, and plating, clear to the last delicious bite. For culinary inspiration, visit Chef Michel Nischan’s recipe page.
8. Drink Local – Approximately 33% of the 2.4 million tons of PET plastic discarded every year is from water bottles—that means 800,000 tons of plastic water bottles will sit in a landfill for thousands of years before decomposing. Bottled water is no safer than tap water; in fact most bottled water is tap water! Trash the bottle and drink your local tap instead. To uncover more facts, watch the story of bottled water at Food & Water Watch. If you need a water refill, visit TapItwater.com to locate a spout, or download their app!
9. Get Involved – Change happens because dedicated people like you support it. Decide on the issues that matter most to you and start or join the campaigns that protect them. Visit non-profits that are fighting for good, clean food like the Environmental Working Group and Slow Food USA to get started.
10. Enjoy! Eating can and should be the simplest joy we all have. Sharing a meal brings people together in a way that little else does. Knowing that the food you eat is grown with care for the environment, farmers, animals, and your own health will only add to your joyful food experience. For tips on creating a loving food environment, check out Laurie David’s new book “The Family Dinner.”
ORGANIZATIONS
A simple way to help change the way you eat is to support local and nonprofit sustainable groups around the country. Below are affiliated with, and recommended by, our speakers and sponsors.
Regional Food Solutions
Regional Food Solutions LLC provides organizations and businesses with expert project development, writing, research, and facilitation. They focus on the community economic development power that comes from supporting family-scale, place-based farms in their work to produce food that is healthy for people and the planet.
Recirculating Farms Coalition
The Recirculating Farms Coalition is a collaborative group of farmers, educators, non-profit organizations and many others committed to building local sources of healthy, accessible food. They promote growing plants, fish, or a combination of both, without chemicals and antibiotics, while efficiently using water and energy.
James Beard Foundation
Food matters. You are what you eat not only because food is nutrition, but also because food is an integral part of our everyday lives. The James Beard Foundation is at the center of America’s culinary community, dedicated to exploring the way food enriches our lives.
Food and Water Watch
Food & Water Watch is a non-profit organization that advocates for common sense policies that will result in healthy, safe food and access to safe and affordable drinking water.
Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University
The Leopold Center is a research and education center on the campus of Iowa State University created to identify and reduce negative environmental and social impacts of farming and develop new ways to farm profitably while conserving natural resources.
Bright Farms
Bright Farms designs, finances, builds and operates hydroponic greenhouse farms at supermarkets, eliminating time, distance and cost from the food supply chain.
AmpleHarvest.org
AmpleHarvest.org diminishes hunger in America by educating, encouraging and enabling gardeners to donate their excess harvest to the needy in their community instead of allowing it to rot in the garden.
Humane Society of United States
The Humane Society is the nation’s largest and most effective animal protection organization, backed by 11 million Americans. They work to reduce suffering and improve the lives of all animals
Center for a Livable Future
Within CLF’s program areas — farming, eating and living for our future — They are engaged in three principal activities: research, educational outreach, and community action.
Consumers Union
Consumers Union (CU) is an expert, independent, nonprofit organization whose mission is to work for a fair, just, and safe marketplace for all consumers and to empower consumers to protect themselves.
Real Time Farms
Real Time Farms is a crowd-sourced online food guide. They provide one location where you can learn about where your food comes from, whether staying in or eating out, so you can trust the food you eat.
Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy
IATP works locally and globally at the intersection of policy and practice to ensure fair and sustainable food, farm and trade systems.
Center for Veterans Issues
CVI offers programs and services to veterans, including transitional housing; day services; education, training and employment services; drug and alcohol counseling; mental health services; food and nutritional programs; outreach to the community; motivational and self-esteem groups; money management and budgeting; helping veterans break the cycle of homelessness and move on to jobs and permanent housing.
GrowNYC
Over the past 40 years we’ve worked to become more engaged with New York City and its citizens. Whether it’s operating the world famous Union Square Greenmarket, building a new community garden, training the next generation of immigrant farmers, teaching young people about the environment, or improving recycling awareness, if you’re a New Yorker, GrowNYC is working near you!
WHEDco
The Women’s Housing and Economic Development Corporation (WHEDco) has worked for nearly twenty years to build a more beautiful, equitable and economically vibrant Bronx. We reach over 30,000 people annually through energy-efficient, healthy and affordable homes, early childhood education and youth development, family support, home-based childcare microenterprise and food business incubation.
Fenugreen
Fenugreen FreshPaper keeps produce fresh for up to 2-4 times longer, and it’s all natural and biodegradable. They aim to address the massive and often overlooked global challenge of food spoilage (25% of the food supply is lost to spoilage each year)
2011 SPEAKERS ORGANIZATIONS
Angiogenesis Foundation
Not-for-profit organization that is dedicated to conquering disease by controlling the blood vessels that feed them.
Bed Stuy Campaign Against Hunger
Works vigorously to end hunger in underserved neighborhoods of Brooklyn by providing emergency food access, food stamp screenings, and other initiatives.
Bees Without Borders
A New England organization that educates and trains impoverished individuals and communities in beekeeping skills for poverty alleviation.
Dairy Education Alliance
The Dairy Education Alliance (DEA) is a national coalition working collaboratively to tackle the environmental, social and economic problems associated with large dairy operations.
Edible Manhattan
This magazine and information service creates community based, local foods publications in the distinct culinary region of Manhattan.
Environmental Working Group
A non-profit organization that uses the power of public information to protect public health and the environment.
The Family Dinner
An inspirational green guide to unplugging and connecting with your family over healthy, fresh food.
Finance For Food
This group educates food system entrepreneurs about financing opportunities available to support their work.
Food Corps
A new national service program working to reverse childhood obesity while training a new generation of farmers and public health leaders.
Glynwood Center
Working to save farming through innovative programs including Keep Farming® regional slaughterhouse initiative, national Harvest Awards, and reports including The State of Agriculture in the Hudson Valley. Also home to TEDxManhattan lead sponsor The Glynwood Institute for Sustainable Food and Farming.
Grow NYC
This is the New York City nonprofit that runs the city’s Greenmarkets, community gardens, composting and recycling, school food literacy and other essential environmental education programs.
Healthy Bodegas
A Grow NYC & Red Jacket Orchard initiative to get fresh, healthy produce in bodegas that are located in underserved neighborhoods
Know Your Farmer Know Your Food
This is a USDA-wide effort to create new economic opportunities by better connecting consumers with local producers.
Rogowski Farm
A second-generation family farm utilizing ecologically friendly and environmentally sound practices known also for their expertise in low-income and ethnic markets.
School Food Focus
This national initiative helps school districts procure more healthful, more sustainably produced and regionally sourced food.
Slow Food USA
This is a global movement that links the pleasure of food with a commitment to community and the environment.
Truck Farm
This is a Wicked Delicate film and food project: a mobile community farm and a documentary about urban agriculture.
Urban Design Lab
A joint laboratory of the Earth Institute and Columbia University’s GSAPP to create a designed-based approach to shaping sustainable urbanism.
Wholesome Wave
An organization that nourishes urban food deserts by supporting increased production and access to fresh, healthy food.
Window farms Project
Seeks to empower urban dwellers to grow some of their food year-round and to include them in a process they call R&D-I-Y
125th St. Business Improvement District
This group seeks to develop a community-based vision to maintain the heritage of 125th St. in Harlem through business development and job development.
ETHEL’s Truckstop
A program that examines, unites and honors indigenous communities, cultures and music.
http://www.abc.net.au/environment/articles/2011/12/22/3396578.htm
As chosen by Sara Phillips, ABC environment journalist and editor
First there was an earthquake, then there was a tsunami. Then the nuclear power plant at Fukushima melted down after it was swamped by the sea. Thousands of people died in the earthquake and subsequent tsunami, but the focus remained for months on the power plant: watching, waiting, wondering whether more radiation, more silent cancer would be released, of whether it would be wrestled under control.
It was only last week that the Japanese government announced they had achieved “cold shutdown” of the plant, ushering in a new period of rehabilitation for the area.
Australians started the year with a new Climate Commission to tell us that climate change was indeed ¬¬- still, in fact – happening and a Multiparty Climate Change Committee to come up with a policy solution. By mid-year the government announced we would have a tax on the big emitters of carbon, morphing into an emissions trading scheme after three or so years. By the year’s end, both houses of parliament passed the relevant legislation meaning after more than a decade of debate and discussion, the government finally put a cost and therefore a disincentive on releasing carbon dioxide.
Also on the climate change front, the 17th meeting of the parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP17 of the UNFCCC) surprised everyone when they agreed to agree. After years of fraught negotiations and hopes dashed, 194 countries agreed to sign up to an agreement that would be drawn up four years hence. The result was simultaneously lauded and lamented by environmentalists who couldn’t seem to work out whether it was a good thing that agreement had been achieved, or a bad thing that it was all so vague and far-off.
Australia spent a lot of the year mopping up. Queensland copped it bad when immediately after massive, dramatic floods swallowed its most populous areas, it was knocked again by Cyclone Yasi, one of the biggest cyclones the nation has ever seen. And while attention tended to focus on Queensland, down in Victoria and Tasmania they got out the gumboots and the kayaks and cleaned up their own widespread, slow-moving floods.
Farmers this year discovered they only own the top couple of metres of their land when gas companies exercised their right to dig around under the surface looking for resources. Encouraged by a similar backlash in the USA, farmers “locked the gate” against the miners. The resource in question is gas, created by seams of coal running underground. Proponents of the exploration say gas burns cleaner than coal and therefore exploiting the riches is a climate friendlier way of creating wealth and jobs than simply mining the coal. Opponents say it poisons and depletes the underground water that nurtures a lucrative agricultural industry. One thing is for sure, this argument has a long way yet to run.
Another story that will beef up in 2012 is the Murray-Darling Basin. With the proposed Basin Plan released only recently for comments, next year is sure to see a lot more debate over this peculiarly Australian issue.
We’ve published hundreds of stories on ABC Environment this year. We’ve had some of the world’s best writers on environment, such as Gro Harlem Brundtland, Yvo de Boer, Peter Singer, Achim Steiner, John Cook, Paul Gilding and even Malcolm Fraser. Here’s my favourites of the many, many great ones.
It’s not just about bike lanes
by Jan Garrard
http://www.abc.net.au/environment/articles/2011/09/08/3312420.htm
Flying foxes may not be endangered
by Eugenia Lee
http://www.abc.net.au/environment/articles/2011/07/18/3270559.htm
What if trees could sue?
by Peter Burdon
http://www.abc.net.au/environment/articles/2011/05/17/3216161.htm
A carbon tax is not the solution
by Bjorn Lomborg
http://www.abc.net.au/environment/articles/2011/03/09/3158295.htm
Wired to share
by Sue White
http://www.abc.net.au/environment/articles/2011/01/18/3115522.htm
Julie Boyd Education
