Food Security

  • Hydroponics Club Grows Food for the Hungry, Educates Local Kids

    Hydroponics Club Grows Food for the Hungry, Educates Local Kids

    With the global population approaching 8 billion and more people migrating to urban areas, it’s become clear that traditional agriculture is not the most sustainable way to grow produce. Simply put, to feed the rising population, the world is going to need to start growing significantly more food. And doing so through traditional farming would… Read More

  • Are Your Favorite Foods Bad for the Environment?

    Are Your Favorite Foods Bad for the Environment?

    Ever wonder how your favorite foods impact the environment? Here’s a general rule of thumb: if it’s bad for you, it’s likely bad for the environment too.  That’s the finding of a new study conducted by researchers from the University of Oxford and the University of Minnesota (UMN). Their study marks the very first time… Read More

  • How Universities, Students Can Help the World Achieve SDGs by 2030

    How Universities, Students Can Help the World Achieve SDGs by 2030

    For years, the United Nations and its member states have been striving to create a world that is more economically, socially and environmentally sustainable for all.  In 2015, they set 17 specific goals, named the “Sustainable Development Goals” (SDGs), and provided the world’s countries with guidance on how to achieve them by 2030. The goals,… Read More

  • How Urban Agriculture Can Improve Food Security in US Cities

    How Urban Agriculture Can Improve Food Security in US Cities

    During the partial federal shutdown in December 2018 and January 2019, news reports showed furloughed government workers standing in line for donated meals. These images were reminders that for an estimated one out of eight Americans, food insecurity is a near-term risk. In California, where I teach, 80 percent of the population lives in cities.… Read More

  • Universities Are Stepping Up to Fight Campus Hunger, But Where Is the Government?

    Universities Are Stepping Up to Fight Campus Hunger, But Where Is the Government?

    Food insecurity is a huge concern among college students. And although many colleges and universities have taken strides to make sure all of their students are well-fed, the government has some work to do, a new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) suggests. Today, to earn a high-paying job, a college education is next… Read More

  • More Solutions Needed for Campus Hunger

    More Solutions Needed for Campus Hunger

    A new federal report does a good job of explaining what many researchers have been saying for a decade – food insecurity among college students is a serious national problem. As one University of California, Berkeley student revealed in an interview for a 2018 research article I helped write: “Food is always on my mind:… Read More

  • TUN Student Spotlight: Central Michigan U Student Builds Greenhouse for Orphans

    TUN Student Spotlight: Central Michigan U Student Builds Greenhouse for Orphans

    Taylor Crowley, an environmental studies major from Central Michigan University, enhanced her learning in a rather unconventional way — working under the blistering Belizean sun to help construct a greenhouse for orphaned girls to grow food. Crowley spent six weeks in the often 100-degree heat of San Ignacio, Belize, in order to use her studies… Read More

  • How Climate Change Could Stunt Growth of Aquatic Farming Industry

    How Climate Change Could Stunt Growth of Aquatic Farming Industry

    Aquaculture — the cultivation of fish and other marine animals for consumption — is poised to become a major food sector over the course of the next century. However, a new study finds that the industry can expect to be hit hard by warming water temperatures and extreme weather. This study, conducted by researchers from… Read More

  • Why Do College Students Waste So Much Food?

    Why Do College Students Waste So Much Food?

    A recent study found that college students may have a higher tendency to waste food than other age groups because food-management behaviors haven’t been necessary or learned yet in this stage of life. The study was conducted by researchers at the University of Illinois as a means to understand perceptions and behaviors associated with food… Read More

  • We Must Change Our Food Systems if We Want a Sustainable Future

    We Must Change Our Food Systems if We Want a Sustainable Future

    In 2015, the United Nations came together to draft the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, a collection of 17 global goals and 169 targets that address social, economic and environmental issues. That same year, then-UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon convened an informal meeting of high-level experts and policymakers in Italy on World Food Day. Dubbed… Read More

  • Women Killin’ It in Fight Against Hunger on College Campuses

    Women Killin’ It in Fight Against Hunger on College Campuses

    The price of a college education is often synonymous with hefty loans and burdensome fees, but what if it’s so much that you can’t even pay for your next meal? For up to half of all college students, this is a stark reality. Going hungry in college is an issue that plagues students all over… Read More

  • Climate Change Is Depleting the Ocean of Oxygen, Killing Fisheries

    Climate Change Is Depleting the Ocean of Oxygen, Killing Fisheries

    History could repeat itself, warns ocean scientists. They have found an example from history of how an increase in CO2 in the earth’s atmosphere can deplete the oceans of oxygen. Researchers from the University of Toronto and the University of California, Santa Cruz, worked together in the study. Their paper is published in the journal… Read More

  • Climate Change Is Damaging Soil Needed for Crop Growth

    Climate Change Is Damaging Soil Needed for Crop Growth

    Extreme weather conditions caused by climate change may have a more negative impact on soil and plant ecosystems than scientists previously thought, according to a new study. An international team of researchers led by the University of Manchester in the UK studied how drought affects soil at a microbial level and found that these underlying… Read More

  • The Significance of New Sustainable Method of Ammonia Production

    The Significance of New Sustainable Method of Ammonia Production

    Researchers from the University of Central Florida (UCF) and Virginia Tech have developed a sustainable method of producing ammonia, a compound of nitrogen and hydrogen, which is vital for life on earth, including the production of food to feed the increasing world population. The advancement is an important step toward sustainability for an industry long… Read More

  • Northeastern University Researchers Use Laser to Remove Contaminant From Soil

    Northeastern University Researchers Use Laser to Remove Contaminant From Soil

    A team of researchers at Northeastern University has developed a method to remove a carcinogenic contaminant from soil with the use of lasers, without the costly need of removing the contaminated soil. The research team studied their technique by removing Dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE) from soil. DDE is a breakdown byproduct of a popular pesticide Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT)… Read More

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