I have just completed reading Lisa Hamilton’s aptly titled article, Linux for Lettuce, in VQR: A National Journal of Literature and Discussion. The article explores the beginnings of the Open Source Seed Initiative (OSSI) by a handful of practical farming academics and plant breeders in reaction to companies like Monsanto and their unscrupulous race to patent life. “Fueled by both frustration and outrage, Myers, Morton, and Goldman helped establish a subtly radical group called the Open Source Seed Initiative (OSSI) in 2012. Operating under the radar, its mission was to reestablish free exchange by creating a reservoir of seed that couldn’t be patented—“a national park of germplasm,” Goldman called it. By 2013, the group had two dozen members, several of them distinguished plant breeders from public universities across the country. OSSI’s de facto leader is Jack Kloppenburg, a social scientist at the University of Wisconsin who has been involved with issues concerning plant genetic resources since the … Read More
ACU Commonwealth Summer School
The 4th ACU Commonwealth Summer School: Global Food Security: Can We Feed a Growing World? I have been granted one of ten partial bursaries internationally (valued at £350) to attend the fourth ACU Commonwealth Summer School: Global Food Security: Can We Feed a Growing World? together with 80 other post-graduate students from Sunday 17 – Sunday 24 August 2014 at the University of Nottingham, Malaysia Campus, Semenyih. “The Commonwealth Summer School was instigated by the ACU in 2011. It aims to provide a forum to bring together high quality students from every corner of the Commonwealth to discuss multidisciplinary issues of global importance. A key element of the School is its desire to mix local/regional students with those who may have never had the opportunity to leave their own regions. The inaugural School was held at the University of Buea, Cameroon, in July 2011 followed by the 2012 School hosted by the University of Botswana and in 2013, … Read More
Innovation in Food, Ag and Integrated Resource Systems
Workshop: Innovation in Food, Agriculture and Integrated Resource Systems: Creating Sustainable Opportunities in Soweto Presenters: Sander Mager and Dr. Christopher Peterson Facilitator: Dr. Naudé Malan When: Thursday 5 June 2014 11:00 – 17:00 Where: VIP Lounge , University of Johannesburg Soweto Campus , Chris Hani Road South Africa is not unique in facing social, environmental and economic challenges. To address these three successfully would require innovative solutions that bring together state agencies and departments, non-governmental organisations and private enterprises. Two leading experts in the creation of sustainable enterprises will in this workshop share their experience of addressing these challenges. Dr. Christopher Peterson and Sander Mager are leading the creation of the Global Innoversity which is an innovation accelerator aimed at inspiring and supporting the world’s metropolitan regions in developing and sharing innovations in food, agriculture and integrated resource systems. The workshop will share the methods used and experiences gained in creating ecological, social … Read More
Global Food Safety Partnership
Today I am e-attending the Global Food Safety Partnership (GFSP) meeting in Aarhus, Denmark as one of a few voices from the global “South”. The GFSP is a unique public-private initiative dedicated to improving the safety of food in middle-income and developing countries initiated by the World Bank. Food safety is a complex problem. In today’s world, food’s journey from meadow to meal or hook to cook can include multiple steps, many vehicles, and several transformations. As demand for food increases, food is increasingly making longer and more complicated journeys with more companies participating in its production and delivery. As a result, the opportunities for the introduction and spread of contamination increase. Tackling this takes an organised, coordinated approach—across borders, governments, and industry—to ensure the safety of the world’s food. The GFSP brings together fishers and farmers, business and industry, governments, regulatory bodies, international development organisations, and civil society to … Read More
Cultivating Unemployment
“Cultivating Unemployment takes a hard look at the realities of rural economies in South Africa and begins to grapple with the policy implications of these realities. The video shows the challenges and difficulties involved in creating rural economies that can multiply benefits for rural dwellers.” Produced by the Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies
The Farmer and his Prince
“This film depicts a Prince, who has the vision to feed the world with organic agriculture and heal damaged nature. Alongside his charismatic farm manager David Wilson, he has been pursuing this goal for 30 years. Through poetically impressive images, this unique collaboration portrays how organic agriculture works, and the benefits that emanate from it. Bertram Verhaag observed these two visionaries over the course of five years – through all four seasons. The Prince of Wales already felt strongly about the concept of organic and sustainable farming long before the word “sustainability” was on everyone’s lips. More than 30 years ago, he realised that other farmers could only be swayed to cultivate their land without poisons and in harmony with nature, if they were presented with a practical example. This example turned into an exceptional success and now, farmers from all over the United Kingdom travel to the Duchy Home … Read More