This World Ocean Day, fishing communities from around the country are calling on government to commit to legitimising the sector, as a matter of urgency, to protect the livelihoods of coastal communities who have been dependent on the ocean for generations. While the recent lift in lockdown restrictions on fishers from the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fishing … [Read more...]
Will the UK House of Lords protect rural residents from toxic pesticides?
Despite the fact that we are in the midst of the biggest public health crisis for a century with the Covid-19 pandemic - and all the mass deaths and horrifying devastation it is causing - the UK government is forging ahead trying to force through various crucial pieces of legislation. One of those pieces of legislation is the Agriculture Bill which was debated and voted on … [Read more...]
World Environment Day calls for an end to nature’s destruction
One million plant and animal species risk extinction, largely due to human activities. These are issues the world cannot lose sight of even as we tackle the coronavirus pandemic and the ongoing climate crisis. The theme for World Environment Day, 5 June 2020, is biodiversity — a call to action to combat the accelerating species loss and degradation of the natural … [Read more...]
EU commission plans green reset for agriculture
Yesterday, the European Commission published their roadmap for EU policy action on biodiversity and food for the coming decade. In the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak that has brought our relationship with the natural world into sharp focus, the strategies have never been more timely. The EU Farm to Fork and 2030 Biodiversity Strategies launched today are potential game … [Read more...]
Restaurants rely on polystyrene packaging to keep food fresh
Restaurants and fast food chains are increasingly relying on polystyrene packaging to keep their food hot, hygienic and fresh now that the sale of hot food for home delivery is permitted under Level 4 restrictions. According to Adri Spangenberg, CEO of the Polystyrene Association of SA, this is because expanded polystyrene (EPS) offers excellent insulation, keeps costs down … [Read more...]
Incentives needed to fix oceans by 2050
Research published in the journal Nature suggests that the substantial recovery of marine life is achievable by 2050. Whether you’re a fishery, a seafood processor, a certifier or a consumer, it is a timely reminder that we can safeguard our oceans for future generations. The paper acknowledges the importance of Marine Stewardship Council certified fisheries and sustainable … [Read more...]
The race to feed SA must turn from marathon to sprint
The emerging lockdown risks of civil unrest and an increase in crime related to food scarcity have turned into reality. Both risks were communicated to media and relevant public sector officials in late March by the Institute of Risk Management South Africa (IRMSA). These incidents of unrest and crime are arising due to the lockdown restrictions that caused a disruption to … [Read more...]
Vaalpark reclaimers’ lockdown plight eased
Waste pickers who have not been able to work since the Covid-19 lockdown will have something to keep their hunger at bay after receiving 240 food vouchers. The national PET plastic recycling body PETCO and the South African Waste Pickers Association (SAWPA) donated the vouchers to the families from Vaalpark in Sasolburg. The recipients of the vouchers belong to the … [Read more...]
Ecological reflections on the coronavirus
The coronavirus health crisis is connected to the emergency of extinction, the disappearance of species and the climate emergency. All emergencies are rooted in a mechanistic, militaristic, anthropocentric world view of humans as separate from, and superior to other beings who we can own, manipulate and control. It is also rooted in an economic model based on the illusion … [Read more...]
Growing in the now
When the news broke it hit me in the chest. I have a high-risk child on immune suppressant drugs. Have fought so hard for him. My own lungs are damaged from embolisms. My other 2 smoke. Brutal. Yet all of life is at any given moment perched on the tip of a pin. Life had taught me that many times. The news unfolded in waves of shock… then the conflicting stories… matched by … [Read more...]
Supporting farm workers with food baskets during lockdown
The Covid-19 crisis will also be a hunger crisis. The PHA Food & Farming Campaign are deeply concerned about the impact the lockdown will have on their farmland communities. The PHA Food & Farming Campaign is initiating a drive to support 1550 vulnerable families in the Philippi Horticultural Area with food baskets during the Covid-19 lockdown. These families are … [Read more...]
Preserving precious resources this Global Recycling Day
18 March 2020 marks 'Global Recycling Day’, a day to help recognise, and celebrate, the importance recycling plays in preserving our precious primary resources and securing the future of our planet. Today, we hear the words reduce, re-use, recycle on a daily basis. But how seriously do we actually take them? And how can we encourage more people to instill the “R’s” as a … [Read more...]
Let’s turn the corner on food wastage
If you take a moment to digest the statistics around the amount of food we waste today, it can be pretty overwhelming. It is thought that around one third of the food produced around the globe is lost or wasted. Richer countries waste something like 222 million tonnes per year, in Europe and North America that equates to 95-115kg of food per person, per year. The numbers are … [Read more...]
