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December 2, 2008 9:51:27 PM CST

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7 Stories

 Indian State 
 Recommends Eating Rats 

Adding rodents to menu pushed as solution to food crisis

Reuters Reuters Aug 18, 08 12:47 PM CDT
(Newser) - Faced with high food prices and ebbing grain reserves, officials in the Indian state of Bihar have endorsed the consumption of rats, Reuters reports. The state government sees the strategy as a way to reduce the pest population as well as curb the demand for grain, and has even proposed that restaurants start offering the rodents. More »

More about:  India • food • food prices • hunger • rats • famine • grain

OPINION

 Anti-'Frankenfood' Activists
 Should Modify Stance

Opposition to genetically souped-up crops has run its course

Economist Economist Aug 4, 08 5:48 PM CDT
(Newser) - The recent destruction of a research crop of genetically modified potatoes in England highlights how attitudes towards altered crops have changed, the Economist writes. A decade ago, Greenpeace activists caught in the act of destroying food crops were acquitted because of popular fear of the consequences of “Frankenfoods.” Today, such crops have been accepted by most as safe. More »

 'Mediator' Mbeki Visits Mugabe 

South African president meets with Mugabe, though agenda unclear

Guardian (UK) Guardian (UK) Jun 18, 08 3:05 PM CDT
(Newser) - South African president Thabo Mbeki visited counterpart Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe today, the Guardian reports, an attempt to play the role of mediator ahead of run-off elections June 27. With the UN warning that 5 million could face starvation in a country plagued by political violence, Mbeki's agenda was unclear—particularly since Zimbabwe's main opposition accuses him of siding with Mugabe. More »

More about:  Zimbabwe • Robert Mugabe • election • Morgan Tsvangirai • Thabo Mbeki • hunger • famine

Scientists Work on New 'Green Revolution'

Solving food crisis will depend on a steady diet of innovation

LiveScience LiveScience Apr 25, 08 1:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - Food scientists are plotting a new "green revolution" to solve a growing food crisis, LiveScience reports. Facing what a World Food Program official called a “silent tsunami” of world hunger, researchers are working on a sequel to the first "green revolution" of the mid-20th century, whose innovations included the fertilizers, pesticides and better irrigation that helped increase crop yields. More »

Locusts Swarm Northeast Kenya

Voracious pest could strip bare nation's crops

BBC BBC Dec 7, 07 2:28 PM CST
(Newser) - Threatened by the largest swarm of locusts seen in Kenya since the 1960s, authorities have begun spraying crops in affected areas in hopes of exterminating the rapacious pests before they have a chance to lay eggs. The locusts, each of which can consume its own weight in food daily, have already done serious damage to the African nation's crops, the BBC reports. More »

More about:  Kenya • agriculture • famine

Scientists
Race to Save Rice Crops

Floods, droughts, warming threaten world's most vital food

Wall Street Journal Wall Street Journal Jul 29, 07 7:09 AM CDT
(Newser) - While much of the world focuses its attention on oil, 1,000 people in a lab outside Manila are worrying about the other staple the modern world depends on: rice. Because of drought, floods, and overproduction, Asian rice yields are flatlining, the Journal reports; as a result, the price of the world's most eaten foodstuff has shot up 70% since 2001. More »

More about:  India • farming • innovation • Philippines • drought • rice • famine • Manila

Fast Food Replaces Grandma's Cooking

Across the globe, traditional diets fade

Time Time Jun 2, 07 9:54 AM CDT
(Newser) - Every nation has its traditional cuisines, but in today's fast-paced, globalized culture, cheap, fatty Westernized food is crowding out ancient preparations and presentations. Diets define who we are, Time reports, and in the modern world, once-unique food is becoming culturally homogenized. Global influences traditionally enriched flavors and techniques; today, the changes are less beneficial. More »

More about:  food • Spain • diet • globalization • fast food • world economy • nutrition • famine

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