The Lubin Files

Marion Nestle books on display

Dr. Marion Nestle, professor of nutrition, public health, and sociology at New York University, delivered the 6th George McGovern lecture on World Food Day here at FAO.   For this occasion, the US Mission to the UN Agencies for Food and Agriculture donated some highly regarded books by Dr. Nestle to the David Lubin Memorial Library.  These titles are currently on display in the library:

• Food politics: how the food industry influences nutrition and health -
  
  • James Beard Foundation Book Award winner, 2003, literary category;
  • Association for American Publishers Award winner, 2003 (outstanding professional and scholarly title in nursing and allied health);
  • World Hunger Year Harry Chapin Media Award winner, 2003
• Safe food: bacteria, biotechnology and bioterrorism -
• • San Francisco Chronicle Best Books of 2003
  • Daniel E. Griffiths Research Award winner, NYU Steinhardt School,
• What to eat
  
  • National Multiple Sclerosis Society Books for a Better Life Award winner, 2007, (Wellness category);
  • James Beard Foundation Book Award winner, 2007, reference category;
  • Amazon.com editors' Top Ten Books of 2006, Health, Mind, and Body
• Taking sides: clashing views on controversial issues in food and nutrition

What carbon offsets pay for

Locals in the southeastern part of Brazil are being paid not to cut down trees, according to this article from The Economist.  Inspectors will visit the area to make sure the trees are still alive, and if they are, money will be credited to the debit card accounts of locals.

The funds come from carbon offsets paid by polluters in developed countries.

This strategy is known as “avoided deforestation” or “reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation” (REDD).  The David Lubin Memorial Library's catalogue lists several items on this topic.

Temporary reduction in library services

Due to preparations for the World Summit on Food Security, the David Lubin Memorial Library will be operating on a greatly reduced level during the month of November 2009.

From 3 November - 30 November, access to the library will not be possible.  Staff members should contact Fisheries Branch Library (Room F220) and Forestry Information Center (Room B4L4) for "point of service" library assistance during this period.

Reference and research assistance will continue to be available during the month of November, by appointment.

Please call:  ext 53784  or email: fao-library-reference@fao.org to schedule an appointment for reference or research assistance. 

David Lubin Memorial Library staff thank you for your patience during this period.

FAO member state contributions

In response to a recent reference question, a librarian found the financial contributions of FAO member states published in the "Statement of Contributions and Arrears" section of the FAO Council reports.  

The most recent one, published in 2009, can be found here:  ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/meeting/016/k5280e.pdf

World Food Day

Today, October 16, is World Food Day.  The theme this year is "achieving food security in times of crisis."

Also today, there is an organized effort to stand up against poverty at 1:02pm.  The time symbolizes the 1.02 billion hungry in the world.  This action aims to publicly demonstrate to policy makers the growing global support for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals which aim to halve poverty and hunger by 2015.

1.02 billion hungry

The Italian newspaper La Repubblica reports on The State of Food Insecurity (SOFI), released jointly by FAO and WFP today.  The report reveals that over a billion people currently suffer from hunger.  This figure is the highest since 1970, and it has risen by 9% in this past year.

More about SOFI here.

More from FAO on hunger here, including an interactive hunger map.

H1N1, globalization and industrial farming

A series of articles in a recent issue of Third World Resurgence discusses the H1N1 pandemic and the globalization of industrial livestock farming.  The provocative article titles include:

• "H1N1 and the Great Swine Cover-Up" - about Mexico's corporate factory farms;
• "A Food System that Kills" - about the global meat industry's role in the spread of disease;
• "The Hog Industry Strikes Back" - about the power of pork producers to evade responsibility;
• "Poor Countries Worry about Flu Vaccine Shortage" - about developing countries being left behind in the race to get scarce vaccines;
• "The Global Response to Swine Flu: the Brighter Side of Globalisation or Just Reinforcing Inequalities?" - about the North-South divide and the difficulties of tacking a global pandemic in a divided world.

The David Lubin Memorial Library has access to both electronic and print versions of Third World Resurgence.

Warmer than we thought?

BBC reports on disturbing new findings by the Met Office (the UK's National Weather Service) that the global average temperature could rise by 4°C (7.2°F) by 2060.

The prediction finds variations depending on geographic zone.  For example, it estimates that the temperature in the Arctic could rise by 15°C (27°F) by the end of the century.

The Met Office's projections are based upon an increase in the use of fossil fuels.  Perhaps the dire prediction will assist governments in policymaking and in planning for the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference in December.

Education for Rural People website

Recently a library user requested the book Education for rural development: towards new policy responses.  We found some related resources as well, including a site called Education for Rural People (ERP), a joint effort between FAO and UNESCO.  ERP's publications page lists a variety of books on agriculture, food security, and development, most of which are available in full text online.  (Links provided.) 

Massive dust storm in Australia a manifestation of climate change

A few days ago, Sydney was enveloped in dust.  An enormous dust storm swept over thousands of kilometers in Australia and made the sky appear red.  Longtime drought conditions paired with severe winds to create the storm.

Health department officals declared the air quality to be 20 times the "hazardous" level.

According to this article, an enormous dust storm stripped several millimetres of topsoil from hundreds of square kilometres of farms across New South Wales.  The result will be a loss of soil productivity.

The Australian bureau of meteorology reported that this was the worst dust storm since the 1940s, with particle pollution up to 10 times worse than the previous record.

The swath of dust is impressive in this NASA satellite photo.

If you care to read more about the increase of dust storms due to climate change, the library has this book.