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Senate passes farm bill with amendment allowing food aid to North Korea with presidential waiver

The Senate on Thursday passed 64-35 the Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act of 2012, otherwise known as the farm bill, which "funds agriculture, farm and nutrition programs over the next five years," The Hill's "Floor Action Blog" reports.

23 Jun 2012

U.N. agencies renew commitment to REACH initiative to combat child hunger, malnutrition

"United Nations agencies on Wednesday stressed the need to tackle child hunger and undernutrition in the pursuit of sustainable development, highlighting a joint initiative that offers practical and effective approaches to combat this problem in the most affected countries," the U.N. News Centre reports.

22 Jun 2012

U.N. food and agriculture agencies urge G20 to increase efforts to fight hunger; G20 launches AgResults initiative

As G20 leaders wrapped up their meeting in Los Cabos, Mexico, on Tuesday, the U.N. food and agriculture agencies -- the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Food Programme (WFP) -- issued a joint statement "calling on them to redouble their efforts to fight hunger" and "welcoming the priority given to food and nutrition security at the summit," the U.N. News Centre reports.

21 Jun 2012

Examining NGO priorities on food security, nutrition at G20 summit in Mexico

In this post in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's "Impatient Optimists" blog, David Olson, a global development consultant, examines what non-governmental organizations (NGOs) "want to get out of the G20 Mexico on an issue that is a priority to NGOs as well as the Mexican presidency of the G20 -- 'enhancing food security and addressing commodity price volatility,' in the words of the Mexican government."

20 Jun 2012

European Commission announces 40M euro increase in aid to Africa's Sahel region

The European Commission (E.C.) on Monday "announced an increase in funding to the Sahel by 40 million euros [$50.5 million] as the food crisis is set to peak in the coming weeks putting 18 million people at risk from hunger," the Guardian reports, noting that the new money brings the total amount from the E.U. to 337 million euros, or $425 million.

20 Jun 2012

G20 moving toward long-term solutions to food security, Financial Times reports

Discussing the meeting of G20 leaders taking place this week in Los Cabos, Mexico, the Financial Times states, "Food security, long only a concern for aid advocates and farming ministers, is now hotly debated among G20 leaders."

19 Jun 2012

Private sector must be part of solution to provide food and nutrition security

"Agriculture faces dual challenges: becoming more sustainable on a dwindling resource base while having to feed an increasing number of people," Paul Polman, CEO of consumer goods company Unilever, and David Servitje, CEO of baking company Group Bimbo, who serve as co-chairs of the G20's B-20 Food Security Task Force, write in a Washington Post opinion piece, adding, "To provide food and nutrition security in the coming decades will require a major and sustained effort by all stakeholders, including business."

19 Jun 2012

Farm Bill does more to fight global hunger

"Fighting global hunger has traditionally been a bipartisan effort that has united administrations and congresses without regard to party. The Farm Bill developed by the bipartisan leadership of the Senate Agriculture Committee continues that trend," Dan Glickman, former U.S. agriculture secretary, and Richard Leach, president and CEO of World Food Program USA, write in a Politico opinion piece.

16 Jun 2012

African Sahel faces food insecurity despite record increase in cereal production; New partnership to address food supply in Middle East, North Africa

"According to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization's (FAO) quarterly forecast of agricultural production and food," the world is expected to see a record increase in cereal production in 2012, "[b]ut despite the positive global trends, countries in Africa's Sahel region continue to face serious challenges to food security due to locally high food prices and civil strife, FAO said in a news release," the U.N. News Centre reports.

15 Jun 2012

If health continues to wane on G8 agenda, a serious void will be left

In this post in the Global Health Governance blog, Jenilee Guebert, director of research for the global health diplomacy program and G8 research group at the University of Toronto's Munk School of Global Affairs, writes that, "for the second year in a row, the amount of attention devoted to global health" at the annual G8 summit, which took place at Camp David in Maryland in May, has declined.

13 Jun 2012

Politico examines implications of Senate's draft farm bill on maritime industry, food aid

Politico examines the implications of the Senate's draft farm bill on the maritime industry, noting the industry "makes much of its money on foreign-aid shipments, courtesy of the Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Agency for International Development," and writing, "The Senate's farm bill extends Food for Peace, the largest international food-aid program for the next five years but pulls $40 million a year from shipments to go toward cash grants and the purchase of food in local markets."

8 Jun 2012

Disney to ban junk food ads in obesity fight

The change from the children's entertainment company got a prominent backer Tuesday as First Lady Michelle Obama offered her praise for the move.

7 Jun 2012

New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition 'an important step' in addressing food security

In this post in The Hill's "Congress Blog," former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) and the DuPont Advisory Committee on Agriculture Innovation and Productivity -- a group of experts in global agriculture development, science, policy and economics -- reflect on the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition, launched by the Obama Administration last month.

7 Jun 2012

Cellana launches ReNew line of products at GOED conference

Cellana, Inc. announced the launch of its ReNew brand and ReNew Omega-3 line of algae-based products at the GOED (Global Organization for EPA and DHA) conference being held this week in Boston, Massachusetts.

7 Jun 2012

Researchers investigate how iPFK2 enzyme may benefit some obese people

Why is it that some obese people are healthier than others? This was one of the main questions Dr. Chaodong Wu of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences - Texas A&M University System - and a group of researchers tried to answer in a recent study.

1 Jun 2012

IPS, AlertNet report on health issues resulting from climate change

Inter Press Service examines the relationship between climate change and family planning in least-developed countries (LDCs), writing the "double challenge of mitigating climate change and combating crushing poverty makes improving reproductive rights and promoting gender equality imperatives that can no longer be delayed, according to several recent reports and agreements."

31 May 2012

Alleviating world hunger, malnutrition essential for sustainable development, FAO report says

"Sustainable development cannot be realized unless hunger and malnutrition are eradicated, the [Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)] said in a policy document prepared for the Rio+20 Summit to be held in June in Rio de Janeiro," an FAO press release reports.

31 May 2012

USAID announces Food Security Open Data Challenge

Following President Barack Obama's announcement of the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition at a food security summit last week, "USAID launched a Food Security Open Data Challenge that invites technologists, agriculture stakeholders, entrepreneurs, academics, and others to determine the most creative and wide-reaching use of open data for food security solutions and better, cheaper, and faster results," Maura O'Neill, chief innovation officer at USAID, and Kat Townsend, special assistant for engagement at USAID, write in a post in the agency's "DipNote" blog (5/27).

30 May 2012

Genetic analysis on Korean mummy reveals unique HBV genotype C2 sequence

The discovery of a mummified Korean child with relatively preserved organs enabled an Israeli-South Korean scientific team to conduct a genetic analysis on a liver biopsy which revealed a unique hepatitis B virus (HBV) genotype C2 sequence common in Southeast Asia.

30 May 2012

G8 summit 'missed opportunity' to make real commitment to long-term food security

"This G8 summit was, yet again, a missed opportunity for international leaders to make a real commitment to long-term food security and support for African and developing world farmers," Eva Clayton, a former member of Congress and former assistant director general of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), writes in this post in the Huffington Post's "The World" blog.

30 May 2012

Agriculture News and Research

Senate passes farm bill with amendment allowing food aid to North Korea with presidential waiver

U.N. agencies renew commitment to REACH initiative to combat child hunger, malnutrition

U.N. food and agriculture agencies urge G20 to increase efforts to fight hunger; G20 launches AgResults initiative

Examining NGO priorities on food security, nutrition at G20 summit in Mexico

European Commission announces 40M euro increase in aid to Africa's Sahel region

G20 moving toward long-term solutions to food security, Financial Times reports

Private sector must be part of solution to provide food and nutrition security

Farm Bill does more to fight global hunger

African Sahel faces food insecurity despite record increase in cereal production; New partnership to address food supply in Middle East, North Africa

If health continues to wane on G8 agenda, a serious void will be left

Politico examines implications of Senate's draft farm bill on maritime industry, food aid

Disney to ban junk food ads in obesity fight

New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition 'an important step' in addressing food security

Cellana launches ReNew line of products at GOED conference

Researchers investigate how iPFK2 enzyme may benefit some obese people

IPS, AlertNet report on health issues resulting from climate change

Alleviating world hunger, malnutrition essential for sustainable development, FAO report says

USAID announces Food Security Open Data Challenge

Genetic analysis on Korean mummy reveals unique HBV genotype C2 sequence

G8 summit 'missed opportunity' to make real commitment to long-term food security

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Expanding access to NMR with the Fourier 80 Duo

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