Category: Food Scarcity

Posted on

Louise O. Fresco

Touch the Soil News #1021 (Feature photo – Aerial Drone – CCA SA 3.0 Unported) Most of us have never heard of Louise O. Fresco. She recently made news when she challenged why the world still measures agricultural productivity in terms of land and not water use. One of the most accomplished researchers and scientists from the nation of the Netherlands, Louise challenges the future of food as we know it. Her biography and experience are so extensive, it compels attention. So why is what Louise says important today? She explains that the foundations of food have eroded in ways unanticipated in the past and we are unprepared for what’s…

Read more

Posted on

Avocado Food Tremor

Touch the Soil News #793 (Feature photo – CC SA 3.0) When it comes to avocados, some are calling it the perfect storm, the triage of problems 1) More people want avocados. 2) Weather and Climate are not co-operating. 3) Production is down. U.S. consumption of avocados is dramatic. U.S. per capita consumption of avocados has grown from 2 pounds in 2001 to 7 pounds last year (2016). One of the largest avocado producers in the world is Mexico which supplies almost 30 percent of the world’s production. Estimates are that 2017 production in Mexico could be down by 20 percent. Avocado production in the U.S. is concentrated to California…

Read more

Posted on

Over 500 Million People Short of Fresh Produce

Touch the Soil News #630 In the winter, 80 percent of the European Union’s fresh produce comes from modest farming areas in Italy and Spain. These areas much like California, except that this year unseasonably wet and cold weather has compromised production. Low supplies of things like iceberg lettuce, spinach, broccoli, peppers, zucchini, tomatoes and eggplant have already caused rationing in the U.K’s largest grocery chain. In Southern Italy and France, blizzards are destroying the year’s crops of greens, citrus and grapes. The word is out that supermarkets from the U.K. to Germany are low on pretty much all produce. While the Europeans can import some fresh produce from the…

Read more