Unsung recycling heroes, waste reclaimers feel lockdown pinch
Waste reclaimers – sometimes referred to as waste ‘pickers’ – may well be the unsung heroes of our global recycling efforts. Image credit: Yeshiel Panchia/GroundUp
In South Africa alone, waste pickers collect some 90% of the country’s recyclable materials off landfill sites. In doing so, they also save municipalities around R700 million in landfill ‘airspace’, ie the volume of space dedicated to solid waste.
Researcher wants to give starchy pap a health makeover
With an eye on South Africa’s growing burden of lifestyle-related diseases, researcher Clarity Mapengo may have identified a technique that could turn much-beloved South African ‘pap’ into a health-conscious dish.
Image credit: Riki Malothane
City planning is a critical lever to address urban food insecurity
While food insecurity in South Africa is commonly framed as a rural problem, food insecurity is increasingly concentrated in urban areas.
What’s more, food system activities – including production, processing, retail and waste – take place within cities. However, neither food insecurity nor the food system have been given enough recognition or thought in the ways cities are designed.
These are the central arguments of ‘Food Sensitive Planning and Urban Design – A Blueprint for a Future South African City?’, a new working paper published by the DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence in Food Security.
The governance of urban food systems in African [and South African] cities happens in an uncoordinated and unintegrated way
Accusations of price gouging a common feature of COVID-19
In June this year, in what was the first contested case of excessive pricing related to the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa, the Competition Tribunal found a company called Babelegi Workwear and Industrial Supplies guilty of what it described as “progressively bolder” price hikes on face masks.
As with essential items like face masks, there have also been concerns about the observable rise in food prices over the lockdown.
Climate threats spark exciting research into drought tolerant crops
In Africa, and globally, food crops are expected to be under much increased threats over the next couple of decades as climate change intensifies, demanding that scientists explore creative new ways to protect these crops.
Differences in the root architecture of plants appear to influence how some plants cope well with droughts
Slew of food-related ‘pandemics’ await in the wake of COVID-19
National and global food systems are not working for the billions around the world who suffer from hunger and malnutrition. This will have devastating consequences for those afflicted.
This was the resounding message coming out of a social dialogue on World Food Day titled ‘Food is Our Right: The Struggle for Equitable Food Systems’. The event was co-hosted by the DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence in Food Security (CoE-FS), the Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS) at the University of the Western Cape (UWC), and C19 People’s Coalition Food Working Group.
Change is necessary for South Africa’s food system
The maxim that the only constant in life is change, an expression whose origins is credited to Ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus, neatly sums up the evolution of food systems.
The #FoodTalks webinar, the first of a series of virtual dialogues launched this week by the DSI/NRF* Centre of Excellence in Food Security (CoE-FS) ahead of World Food Day on Friday, 16 October.
Activists & academics call for food system transformation to end hunger
On World Food Day (16 October), academics and activists will debate and share insights on the impact of the food system on ensuring the right to food and ending hunger.
It’s absurd that food insecurity co-exists alongside food waste
It is estimated that in South Africa around 10 million of the 31 million tons of food produced in the country go to waste every year. This total waste is generated at various points along the food system, including on farms, in the retail sector, and even in homes.
Food loss occurs at various points along the food production and distribution chain, with consumers accounting for only 5% of that waste