Fairfood Friday #58

Every Friday we round up the most interesting, inspiring or funny stories we came across while conducting research for our news stories. This week: When it feels like everything on the plot is out to defeat you and your precious crops, take heart: learning to pick yourself up and carry on after a failure is a vital skill for a plot holder, says Ryan Lewis of The Guardian.

Have you read something we should know about? Please let us know in the comments.

Simple Sheet of Paper Keeps Produce Fresh 4 Times Longer
The simple magic happens thanks to a secret mix of herbs – similar to what are used for medicinal purposes – that inhibit bacterial and fungal growth, as well as degradative enzymes. Sheets can be used and reused over the course of two or three weeks and then composted.

The new allotment: The school of hard knocks
When it feels like everything on the plot is out to defeat you and your precious crops, take heart: learning to pick yourself up and carry on after a failure is a vital skill for a plot holder, says Ryan Lewis of The Guardian.

Some Prehumans Feasted on Bark Instead of Grasses
If you are what you eat, the new research and other recent studies suggest there was more diversity in the diets of early prehumans, both within and between species, than previously understood.

Many “Mays” But Few “Musts”
A limp agreement at the UN’s vaunted environmental summit.

Foreign “Land Grabs” Scooping Up Key Agricultural Land
From 2000 to 2010, foreign investors bought or leased roughly 270,000 square miles of prime agricultural land, most of it in the developing world.

Rio+20: Reasons To Be Cheerful
Despite the criticisms of the Earth summit in Brazil – many echoing the 1992 meeting – much that was positive emerged.

Fifty Years After “Silent Spring” Assault on Science Continues
When Silent Spring was published in 1962, author Rachel Carson was subjected to vicious personal assaults that had nothing do with the science or the merits of pesticide use. Those attacks find a troubling parallel today in the campaigns against climate scientists who point to evidence of a rapidly warming world.

Ocean Advocates Find Silver Linings After Rio+20 Disappointments
Although agreement was not reached on policing international waters, some firm commitments were made in Brazil.

Dirkje Koene is a Copywriter for Fairfood International.

Image: long may she rain (CC License)