By Suzanne York, www.howmany.org The third annual International Conference on Family Planning ended in mid-November with a focus on successful initiatives and with momentum to enact voluntary family planning services and education for people around the world. The breadth and depth of work undertaken by professionals and activists is exciting.   From addressing maternal mortality to
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By Suzanne York, www.howmany.org If you want to have an impact on reducing carbon emissions and the effects of climate change, look no further than your kitchen. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), every year the world wastes a third of all food for human consumption – nearly 1.3 billion tons – equal
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By Suzanne York, www.howmany.org Can the world improve food security in the face of rising food prices, population growth, climate change, poverty, and gender inequality? New research in the journal Climatic Change found that a changing climate will likely push food prices up 20 to 40%, regardless of cuts to future carbon emissions.  As reported
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By Suzanne York, www.howmany.org The headlines out of the Sahel region of Africa (and Sub-Saharan Africa) are not good, and are reflective of climate change, food insecurity, and poverty.  The situation highlights the need to invest in and empower women as one answer to these problems. The Food & Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) Situation Update on
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By Suzanne York, www.howmany.org As climate change becomes more of a basic fact of life for many people around the world, one way to adapt is to tap into traditional and ancestral knowledge and practices, especially as it pertains to agriculture.  In Ethiopia, one crop with potential is the false banana. Officially called enset, this
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By Suzanne York, www.howmany.org This International Women’s Day (March 8th) is a great time to consider the links between women’s rights and empowerment, reproductive health, global biodiversity, and stable population growth, and how tackling these issues can result in a more sustainable world. Investing in women – namely providing education, healthcare, economic opportunities, sustainable livelihoods,
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By Suzanne York, www.howmany.org Mention India and many contradictory images are often conjured up – poverty and Rajput castles, rich and exotic foods and begging mothers and children, the Himalayan mountains and Rajasthani deserts. But there is no contradiction on the importance of the Indian monsoon. Indian agriculture and much of Indian culture are intertwined
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By Suzanne York, www.howmany.org One billion poor people around the world rely upon fish and seafood as their primary source of protein. Climate change is putting these people at high risk for food insecurity, and they also face a very serious threat to their livelihoods as fisherfolk, according to the recent report Ocean-Based Food Security
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