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A2				Food supply
		"There are many factors which affect the balance between population and food supply at a global scale. Strategies for sustainability in agricultural development need to address human and physical issues." WJEC specification
What is the hunger site?				see also: Exploring sustainability
Food security assignment				Sub-Saharan Africa Famine in Africa	'Alternative' food production Darfur, Sudan
UK farming				Food security	Theories and population growth
Disaster relief				Food security campaigners	Africa: Background and news
global population				The GM debate: Is GM the way forward?

Theories and population growth

Malthus Just who was Malthus? http://www2.truman.edu/~rgraber/cultev/malthus.html

Agricultural intensification Which comes first - population growth or agricultural change? http://www2.truman.edu/~rgraber/cultev/agint.html

Food production and population growth A paper by Ester Boserup. http://www.mtp.dk/authors/boserup-e/1996.htm

Julian Simon Papers by Simon available as e-articles on the net. http://www.inform.umd.edu/EdRes/Colleges/BMGT/.Faculty/JSimon/

The Club of Rome is a global think tank which brings together scientists, economists, businessmen, civil servants, heads of state and former heads of state... "who are convinced that the future of humankind is not determined once and for all and that each human being can contribute to the improvement of our societies." http://www.clubofrome.org/

Overpopulation.com Articles and news stories. http://www.overpopulation.com/index

State of the World's Population The latest UNFPA report. (2001 made a contribution to the population-environment debate. Click on previous years reports.) http://www.unfpa.org/swp/swpmain.htm

Interact Worldwide "...believes in the fundamental right of all human beings to access quality sexual and reproductive health services, including HIV prevention, treatment and care." Set up as Population Concern in the 1970s to raise money for family planning programmes in less developed countries. Now works with partner organisations in those countries. http://www.populationconcern.org.uk

Worldwatch Institute Online Publisher of State of the World. Comments on food, water, energy, the politics of consumption, and redefining the good life. Useful press releases. http://www.worldwatch.org/

The scientists - CGIAR Mobilises science to benefit the poor. Mission: "To achieve sustainable food security and reduce poverty in developing countries through scientific research and research-related activities in the fields of agriculture, forestry, fisheries, policy, and environment." http://www.cgiar.org/ "Agricultural research for development has a record of delivering results. The science that made possible the Green Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s was largely the work of CGIAR Centers and their national agricultural research partners." See http://www.cgiar.org/who/index.html The scientific revolution http://www.cgiar.org/newsroom/scientific.html

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Food security

Can the planet feed us? BBC Planet under pressure online series looking at some of the biggest environmental problems facing humanity. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4038205.stm

Briefing: Millions still starving BBC Disposable planet summary. http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/world/2002/disposable_planet/food/

Feeding Minds, Fighting Hunger an international classroom for exploring the problems of hunger, malnutrition and food insecurity. Downloadable lessons. http://www.feedingminds.org/default.htm

World Food Summit The Rome Declaration 1996 called on us to reduce by half the number of undernourished people on the Earth by 2015. This site monitors the progress made. http://www.fao.org/monitoringprogress/index_en.html

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Food security campaigners

Oxfam is a charity fighting poverty and food insecurity. Oxfam helps poor people by giving money and advice: helping people to help themselves. In this way they grow more food, dig wells for clean water and train health workers. Site has country profiles, pages on development issues and the Cool Planet website for school pupils. Also emergencies page. http://www.oxfam.org.uk

Development Gateway Useful food security page at portal site. http://www.developmentgateway.org/node/130622/

AlertNet A Reuters service which provides global news, communications and logistics services to the international disaster relief community and the public. Anyone can access the public pages, which carry a live newsfeed from Reuters together with articles describing how relief agencies are responding to the latest humanitarian crises. http://www.alertnet.org/

Relief Web lists by natural disasters (including droughts) and countries. Digest of reports and relief efforts. Archival material dating back to 1981, listed chronologically. ReliefWeb is a project of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). http://www.reliefweb.int/w/rwb.nsf

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'Alternative' food production

MST - Movimento dos trabalhadores rurais Sem Terra The Brazilian Landless Workers Movement is the largest social movement in Latin America. In 1985 hundreds of landless rural Brasilians took over an unused plantation and successfully established a cooperative. Today more than 250,000 families have won land titles to over 15 million acres after MST land takeovers. http://www.mstbrazil.org/

The New Economics Foundation is a radical 'think tank' bringing together ideas, people, resources and influence to challenge business-as-usual. Aims to create practical and enterprising solutions to the social, environmental and economic challenges facing the local, regional, national and global economies. http://www.neweconomics.org/gen/

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Sub-Saharan Africa page of links

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Africa - background information and news

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The GM debate: Is GM the way forward?

Genetic modification makes a good topic for an in-class debate. To obtain up-to-date material, rather than surfing the whole web and trawling the newspaper archives for articles, it makes good sense to start out from a site which explains the main issues and includes links to the most recent material. If setting out the argument for GM then Monsanto is the place to start off your research. If you want to start constructing a case against GM, then Friends of the Earth is recommended (look for 'real food' or 'food safety'). Of course any 'green' site may have some material on GM, but be wary of 'personal' sites or small organisations which may have a tenuous grasp on reality. National newspapers can also be sensationalist in their approach. (Hard facts can be thin on the ground. Make a note of the sources for the material you use, be aware of the origin of any material you find and the likely bias of the originators.)

Monsanto is a US biotech TNC which provides "...integrated, technology-based agricultural solutions for growers and downstream customers in agricultural markets." Monsanto say genetically modified food has the potential to contribute to a better environment and a sustainable, plentiful, and healthy food supply. The site is intended to promote a deeper understanding of food biotechnology by providing visitors with "...access to the full range of thought, opinion, and background information about this important subject." http://www.monsanto.co.uk

Friends of the Earth say "...big agri-business is trying to force us to eat genetically modified foods." FOE is campaigining for 'real food' and aims to give 'accurate and timely information' including fully referenced briefings and access to their press releases. "In the race to cut production costs in UK farming, important food safety concerns are being forgotten." Use the search facility to find archived briefings on the GM issues. For the main site http://www.foe.co.uk For the real food campaign http://www.foe.co.uk/campaigns/real_food/issues/food_safety/

FAO biotech site Biotechnology provides a set of tools that, if appropriately integrated with other technologies, can be applied for the sustainable development of agriculture, fisheries and forestry, as well as the food industry. FAO may provide advice and assistance to countries on this matter. However, final decisions on the use of biotechnology remain a national responsibility. http://www.fao.org/biotech/index.asp?lang=en

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First launched in June 1999, The Hunger Site focuses the power of the Internet on the eradication of world hunger. On average over 220,000 individuals visit the site each day to click the "give free food" button and help feed the hungry. "Every 3.6 seconds, someone dies of hunger. 75% are children. You can make a difference. Visit The Hunger Site every day and donate cups of food for the world's hungry -- at no cost to you." Food funded by The Hunger Site is paid for by site sponsors and is distributed by Mercy Corps and America's Second Harvest. With over 3.5 million unique visitors each month, The Hunger Site has become one of the most trafficked sites on the Internet. http://www.thehungersite.com/home

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This page checked May 2006.