Fairfood Friday #60

Every Friday we round up the most interesting, inspiring or funny stories we came across while conducting research for our news stories. This week: Can Science Save the World? The innovations that drive economic advances – information technology, biotech, and nanotech – can boost living standards in both the developing and the developed world.

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

Can Science Save the World?
For most people, there has never been a better time to be alive than now. The innovations that drive economic advances – information technology, biotech, and nanotech – can boost living standards in both the developing and the developed world.

Helping U.S. Farmers Increase Production and Protect the Land
American agriculture is steeped in a chemical-intensive system that wastes money and pollutes the environment. But by making use of new technology and innovative approaches, farmers can boost production and profits — while at the same time improving soil quality, enhancing biodiversity, and protecting habitat. 

30 Ways to Foster Progress on a Finite Planet
Orion Magazine, a beautiful and lyrical nonprofit publication, is celebrating its 30th anniversary by publishing “Thirty-Year Plan,” a short book of essays by 30 writers, who were asked to describe “some thing—emotion, insight, technology, resource, practice, policy, habit, attitude—that’s going to be increasingly essential if humans are going to live comfortably, sustainably, and redeemably on Earth.”

Is It Time For The Co-operative As a More Viable Alternative For Business?
Co-operatives have survived better than other business models over the last five years, due in part to member-ownership and shared entrepreneurialism.

Has “Organic” Been Oversized?
“In some ways, organic is a victim of its own success,” says Philip H. Howard, an assistant professor at Michigan State University, who has documented the remarkable consolidation of the organic industry.

Why Farm Subsidies Don´t Always Achieve the Results Intended
Agricultural handouts can lead to environmental degradation and often fail to achieve social and economic objectives. 

Dirkje Koene is a Copywriter for Fairfood International.

Image: placbo (CC License)