Living Territories - Dependence on Agricultural Imports - obsession With Meat

USPA NEWS - The supply and availability of food has been a crucial factor shaping the emergence, development and persistence of human civilizations throughout the ages. For the last few decades food has been cheaper in real terms, and more readily available, than probably at any time in history, which partly explains why food policy has received less prominence in national and international decision-making than in earlier times....

The supply and availability of food has been a crucial factor shaping the emergence, development and persistence of human civilizations throughout the ages. For the last few decades food has been cheaper in real terms, and more readily available, than probably at any time in history, which partly explains why food policy has received less prominence in national and international decision-making than in earlier times. Yet, we cannot be said to have a functioning global food system when one in seven people today still do not have access to sufficient food, and an equal number are over-fed. Looking ahead, we can identify known threats to the food system and factors that will increase the risks of a rise in hunger. Population and consumption growth will lead to the demand for food increasing for most of the current century, while increasing competition for land, water and other resources threaten the supply of food....

- 'Des Territoire Vivants - Pour Transformer le Monde' (Living Territories to Transform the World) by Editions Quae. The Authors are P. Caron, E. Valette, T. Wassenaar, C. Coppens d'Eeckenbrugge, V. Papazian (Scientific Publishers). This Book presents a whole range of studies illustrating how stakeholders, levels and areas of intervention and mechanisms interact in the development of rural areas in Southern countries.

- 'La Dépendance Alimentaire de l'Afrique du Nord et du Moyen-Orient à l'horizon 2050' (Dependency on Agricultural Imports of North Africa and the Middle East through to the year 2050) by Editions Quae. The Authors are C. Le Mouël, B. Schmitt (coordinators). In this Geopolitically Complex Region, agricultural Imports and Food Policies constitute a Burden on Government budgets and are reaching their Limits in terms of Fighting Poverty.

Within a period of 50 years, the population in the North Africa and Middle East region (NAME) has increased by a factor of 3.5, while dietary habits have become more westernised. Under these combined effects, the demand for agricultural products has increased six-fold, that for plant products has risen eight-fold for the purposes of animal feeds, and the margin allocated to human foods has risen six-fold. oday, NAME is one of the regions of the world most dependent on imported cereal supplies.

Dependence on Imports has thus risen from 10% to 40% in 50 years, the Historical Suppliers of Europe and North America having broadened to include other Countries such as South America for Oilseed and Protein crops and the former Soviet countries for Cereals. On the other hand, the region is a net Exporter of Fruits and Vegetables....

- 'Encore Carnivores Demain ?' (Still Carnivores Tomorrow ?) by Editions Quae. The Authors are Olivier Méron de Surgy & Jocelyne Porcher. Vegetarianism and veganism have attained a kind of rarefied status counting Celebrities as adherents. The main thing is that giving up meat is much more difficult than assumed for most people and that there are good reasons for that. There are reasons rooted in our genetics as well as in our culture, in History, in our Psychology, in the way our Minds operate, in Marketing of the Meat Industry “¦ So many different ways meat keeps us hooked.

Most people like animals and if you like animals and you eat meat, you suffer from cognitive dissonance. When the Meat-eater faces the Vegetarian, it activates this cognitive dissonance. A Vegetarian is worse than a Vegan because a Vegetarian is closer to the Meat-eater, more like himself.

The Book goes through the Past and the Present and the evolution in our Eating Habits, to carry on with our relationships with animals and how they are treated in our modern societies. Also, we are facing differnt Ideologies, Ethic Issues, Evolution of the Animal Rights...

Ruby BIRD
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Yasmina BEDDOU
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