The national Association of Public and Land-grant Universities released a report outlining six “grand challenges” facing the United States over the next decade in the areas of sustainability water, climate change, agriculture, energy and education. The APLU project was co-chaired by W. Daniel Edge, head of the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife at Oregon State University. The report is available …
Walmart Highlights Ag Sustainability Pledges
Kicking off a new Sustainable Product Expo this week, the CEOs from more than a dozen global companies gathered at Walmart headquarters in Arkansas Tuesday to pledge to increase sustainable food production. Eight of the largest food companies announced pledges to help ensure that tomorrow’s food supply is affordable and sustainable for the nine billion people projected to inhabit the …
Great Green Gadgets
What better way to celebrate Earth Day than with some new gadgets? Got an email this morning from an industrious PR person touting a book called “Fool’s Return” by Lynda Chervil, “a thought leader and green technology advocate.” Chervil, who studies the science behind green technology, says environmental awareness has ramped up production of affordable goods that can shrink individuals’ …
“Down to Earth” Examines Sustainable Farming
Indiana’s “Down to Earth” documentary examines the world of sustainable farming. Small-farm issues in a big-farm world are the central theme of a new documentary created by students at Ball State University in Muncie, Ind. The film is focused on promoting a more sustainable and locally based food system for our country. Fourteen students spent the fall creating “Down to …
2014 Bayer Sustainability Award
During the ninth annual Ag Issues Forum last week, Bryan Boll of Minnesota was the recipient of the 2014 Bayer Young Farmer Sustainability Award. Bryan believes the key to sustainability is to look at your operation individually and see areas in which you can improve. I interviewed Bryan about the award and what sustainability means to him. Bryan is the …
SAI Platform Checklist Launched at IFAMA
The International Food and Agribusiness Management Association (IFAMA) World Forum last week featured the global launch of the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative (SAI) Checklist, the “world’s first practitioner’s guide” to the sustainable outsourcing of agricultural raw materials. SAI president and Coca Cola Senior Manager of Sustainability Ernesto Brovelli said the purpose of the checklist is based on the fact that the …
Dairy Leaders Celebrate Sustainability Award
Winners of the dairy industry’s prestigious Sustainability Awards join the ranks of celebrities, athletes and influencers – from country music singer Miranda Lambert to movie star Salma Hayek to actor and father Taye Diggs – by donning the famed Milk Mustache for their own ad. The dairy industry leaders were recognized yesterday for their efforts to advance sustainability at the …
Bringing Sexy Back to Agriculture
The take home theme of the Bayer CropScience Ag Issues Forum this year came to be “bringing sexy back to agriculture.” Which begs the question – when was agriculture sexy before? If sexy means sustainable, here are a couple of pretty sexy farmers. On the left is the Bayer CropScience 2013 Young Farmer Sustainability Award winner Jeremy Jack of Mississippi …
Bayer Ag Issues Forum Sustainability Discussion
Sustainability. What does it mean to you? There is no real good definition. I like what Frank Sesno, moderator for the Bayer CropScience Ag Issues Forum (pictured on left), said during his introduction of a session on day one, “I think if I had my druthers I’d ban it altogether because it’s such a catch all.” That it is! The …
Novus’ Commitment to Sustainability
The vision at Novus International is to feed the world affordable, wholesome food. They have adopted a three pillar stance of solution, service and sustainability all tied in to thinking globally, but acting locally. Sustainability is the cornerstone of their vision to improve the quality of life for people around the world. During the recent International Production and Processing Expo, …