Photo: European Union Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection
By: Justin Chan
News of the famine and drought in Africa has not been promising. Since last summer, region after region has fallen victim to the drought that first affected Ethiopia and Somalia, next spread to the Sudan and is now affecting countries in the Sahel region.
According to CNN, like other recent social media campaigns, UNICEF recently took to the internet to promote a crusade it calls #SahelNOW. It has asked users of Facebook, Twitter and other forms of social media to share a video that addresses the scarcity of food that affects approximately 1 million children that live in the region. The Sahel is a relatively obscure strip of land located near the Sahara Desert and experiences frequent droughts. Along with countries like Senegal and Chad, it currently faces a number of dire circumstances, including poverty, drought and displacement. At least 10 million people are in danger of dying of starvation. [click to continue…]
Photo: United Nations Photo
By: Justin Chan
Sudan is currently facing rising food costs, but a larger problem is looming.
As the country’s inflation continues to increase, experts have cautioned that Sudan could be on the brink of famine by March. According to AlertNet, the Famine Early Warning System warned that the South Kordofan and Blue Nile states could reach emergency levels next month. Tensions between the government and rebels in those two states have forced approximately 140,000 refugees to flee to South Sudan and Ethiopia. The United Nations similarly warned that the number could reach at least 500,000 in the next few months.
“(This is) a looming catastrophe that will make Syria, in terms of total casualties, look like a gang war in the park,” said Sudan analyst Eric Reeves. “There’s no food getting in. There’s no food being produced. All the food reserves were consumed by mid-summer. They are eating grass. They are eating inedible berries.”
Humanitarian organizations are finding it increasingly difficult to provide aid to such war-torn areas. [click to continue…]
Photo: Sarah Fagg
By: Michele Wolfson
January 1st, 2012 marks the first day of a whole slew of new laws that will take affect. The new laws that will ring in the New Year include “No Shark Fins in Soup” as well as “No Caffeine and Beer.”
Will these rules affect you? We want to hear your thoughts. Read below for an extensive list of the several new rules… [click to continue…]
Photo: Muzaffar Bukhari
By: Michele Wolfson
While many of us are in full holiday mode with mad-dash shopping and flamboyant partying, people who live in the Horn of Africa are lucky if they can even get a drink of water. Scientists are worried that the drought that is taking place in Africa could be the grim future across the globe.
The Horn of Africa has been enduring the worst drought in 60 years. Crop failures have left up to 10 million at risk of famine. The social order in Somalia has been outright chaotic with thousands of refugees streaming into Kenya and refusing to return. The U.N. reduced the number of people at risk of starvation and aid has been sent to hard-hit regions, but this may not be enough to prevent drought not only in this area- but also all over the world. [click to continue…]
Listen up Harlem! A new specialty coffee shop, Lenox Coffee, just opened up this week! Located at 60 West 129th Street, is a new small coffeehouse that also offers breakfast items like pastries, bagels, and baked goods.
Opened by Aaron Baird and Jeff Green, who were college roommates at the New England Conservatory in Boston, found themselves back in New York, both living for some time in Harlem. Both shared a love for coffee and wanted to open a coffeehouse for a while, so when the opportunity presented itself in form of a space on Lenox Avenue, they didn’t hesitate. [click to continue…]
Photo: IRIN Photos
On Friday, the number of famine zones was cut in half, as U.S. and U.N. food agencies said aid had reduced death rates due to malnutrition. In spite of this good news, 250 million Somalis are facing starvation largely because military battles are preventing food deliveries. The famine in Somalia is reported to be the worst in the world as well as the worst in the Horn of Africa since the region’s 1991-92 famine.
International aid effort has been credited with helping to decrease the food shortage. The U.S. and U.N. food agencies downgraded the famine rating in three areas of Somalia to emergency status. However, there are three other areas, including the refugee communities of Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, that still remain in the famine zone. [click to continue…]
Photo: Internation Maize and Wheat Improvement Center
By: Dylan Rodgers
People in the Horn of Africa at last felt the cool splash of rain. The white noise of wet, percussive salvation drummed on the roofs of many drought-weary Africans last week. I can imagine that the rainfall must have been almost alien, a forgotten comfort of the simplest sort. There is water to drink and feed the dry, cracked earth. People, animals, and plants alike now have some relief from the worst drought in over 60 years. The big question is: how much relief will this actually bring? [click to continue…]
Photo: le_i
By: Dylan Rodgers
As the colossal drought continues in the Horn of Africa, humanitarian groups have been working frantically to gather enough funds to feed those stricken by this horrible, planetary ‘disease’. Both the Horn of Africa and the American South West are battling the repercussions from the worst, world-wide drought in recorded history, though the flexibility of the US to bend from a hit like this points to the differences in our multi-faceted industry and infrastructure.
This leads to the big question: After the hungry are fed and the drought is over, what can be done in the Horn of Africa that will quell this from happening again? Thankfully, this jigsaw puzzle entitled, “Economic Stability” already has some important pieces in place. [click to continue…]
Photo: Martin Jeffries
By: Saira Malhotra
Today is Food Day, and the credit for its creation goes to Michael F. Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest. In a recent article posted by Atlantic News, Michael talks of his concerns about the food industry, his own objectives and ultimately the creation of World Food Day. [click to continue…]
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