But Food Tank has compiled a list of 14 reasons to be hopeful about the future of the food system. Share these with your networks to spread the message that the food system is changing for the better.
In the U.S., initiatives like The Kitchen Community, The Edible Schoolyard Project, The Sylvia Center and The FARM Institute are getting kids involved in learning about food from farm to fork. In Costa Rica, young people are learning integrated farming and natural resource management at EARTH University. In Uganda, the Forum for Sustainable Agriculture in Africa and Project DISC are teaching youth about sustainable farming. In Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Thailand and the Philippines, the World Vegetable Center (AVRDC) is implementing teaching gardens for elementary school students.
2. Food for public school lunches is coming from more sustainable sources.
School meals are a common public food service implemented across the world. Many countries have implemented reforms to improve the nutritional quality of school meals by seeking out more sustainable sources for the students’ food. In Brazil, for instance, at least 30 percent of food for school meals must be purchased locally from smallholder farmers.
3. More food waste is being composted.
On average, all of the member states of the European Union composted 15 percent of municipal waste in 2011—in the Netherlands, the proportion of waste composted was more than twice the average. In the U.S., San Francisco has undertaken widespread public composting and recycling programs, and now manages to divert 78 percent of its waste from landfills.
4. Permaculture projects are thriving all over the world.
Smallholder and family farmers stand to gain higher, more nutritious and more sustainable yields from permaculture practices—and so can individuals and families simply growing produce in their backyards. Today, there are an estimated 850,000 grassroots permaculture projects in 160 countries, according to the Permaculture Research Institute in Australia.
5. In one of the most obese countries in the world, obesity is on the decline for low-income children.
Recent statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that in more than half of the U.S.—two-thirds the states and territories surveyed—low-income children between the ages of two and four exhibit lower rates of overweight and obesity than they did just three years ago. In six of the states and territories surveyed, the rate of decrease exceeded a full percentage point.
CONTINUE READING AT SOURCE: Eco Living
