Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
Across discussions on policy, technology, supply chains, and community partnerships at a food waste summit earlier this year, a different pattern emerged: food waste rarely appeared as an isolated issue. Instead, it surfaced as a signal of deeper system failures.
Industrial agriculture relies on more than tractors and diesel. From synthetic fertilizers to depleted soils, the modern food system is deeply tied to fossil fuels, leaving farmers, ecosystems and food security increasingly vulnerable. Amid the polycrisis, we must rebuild food systems by valuing the natural world and supporting human communities.
Industrial agriculture transformed how the world eats after the Second World War. The gains were enormous, but so were the costs: depleted soils, monocultures, plastic pollution and growing dependence on fragile global supply chains.
A deal to bring Colorado River water to Native American communities in northern Arizona, where a third of homes lack running water, is being blocked by neighboring states, caught up in a broader battle over how to divide the dwindling river.
From collapsing rivers to groundwater depletion, Iran’s water crisis is often framed as a failure of governance or infrastructure. But it reflects a broader reality: water stress is emerging wherever human demand pushes beyond ecological limits.
Asking if the world grows enough food is the wrong kind of question. It leads to the wrong kind of answer. We don’t need to produce more food. We need to produce more farms: places where communities of living beings can thrive.
Resilient, self-reliant food systems. A new IPES-Food report says they’re key to addressing food price volatility amid rising geopolitical tensions.
In flood-prone northern Bihar, women transformed savings groups and kitchen gardens into a thriving local market that boosts incomes, strengthens food security and helps communities adapt to increasingly unpredictable climate.
As geopolitical tensions drive up resource costs and disrupt supply, fertilizer prices may soar, endangering farming systems dependent on imports. Regenerative solutions, like green manure and community finance, are expanding across African countries, restoring local control over food systems.
In Malawi, farmers who have embraced agroecology are navigating the challenges of climate change, market pressures, and community needs.
In Malawi, where agriculture is central to daily life, an internship with an agroecology organisation offers an inside look at farming practices that challenge industrial food systems and support food sovereignty.
What if, instead of going into debt to invest in their farms, farmers came together to pool equipment? What if, instead of struggling to run a small farm alone, there was extra help at hand? What if new entrants could draw on the experience of more established farmers in their local area? It may sound too good to be true, but this is the reality with France’s network of Agricultural Machinery Cooperatives (CUMA).
