Humberto Márquez
CARACAS, Feb 9 2011 (IPS) – Millions of cancer patients around the world benefit from a medication called Paclitaxel (Taxol), which may begin to be produced from a new source: fungi found at the summit of Venezuela s flat-topped mountains. But the indigenous communities who have lived in that area since time immemorial will receive no benefits, and were not even consulted on the matter.
In another case, researchers at the Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich, after signing an agreement with the Venezuelan government in 1998, began to do field work early this decade among Yanomami communities in the extreme southern part of this South American country.
They studied and collected medicinal plants used by the Yanomami, an Amazon jungle people…
Julio Godoy
BERLIN, Jun 13 2011 (IPS) – The deadly epidemic of escherichia coli (EHEC) in Germany, that broke out in mid May, and which has killed 29 people so far, is the latest in a series of food and hygiene emergencies that have shaken European households for more than a decade.
This series of emergencies range from epidemics such as the so called mad cow disease (BSE) and its human variant, Creuztfeld-Jacob disease (CJD), which affected mostly Britain and France killing some 210 people, to the more frequent contamination of eggs with dioxin, or the recurrent presence of salmonella in dairy products.
Putrid meat has been discovered in sausages, high amounts of antibiotics in shrimp and fish, and there have been revelations of a lack of general hygiene in industria…
Sustainable Agriculture Management Team, FAO
ROME, Apr 6 2020 (IPS) – Together with medical services and transportation, farming and food production have been correctly identified as ‘essential services’ by all countries under lockdown. The Covid-19 pandemic has not yet made a dent in the food supply and so far, there are no reports of shortage of essential food and agricultural goods. All cities and towns are actively coordinating with government agencies, farms, businesses and transport companies to maintain the supply chain and ensure full availability of food for the population,
Kakoli Ghosh
However, despite the efforts, farm gate prices have crashed, there …
Women produce more than 50 percent of the food in the world but are disadvantaged when it comes to access to resources such as land and financial services. Credit: Busani Bafana, IPS
BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe, Sep 17 2021 (IPS) – Women, key contributors to agriculture production, are missing at the decision table, with alarming consequences, says Food Tank President Danielle Nierenberg in an exclusive interview with IPS.
Giving women a seat at the policymaking table could accelerate Sustainable Developmen…
This blog is part of the seminar series on ‘’.
Jun 3 2020 – Imagine a world without the internet and erase the last few decades of technological advancement. Then imagine how governments, schools and businesses would have dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic.
As the pandemic continues its relentless march around the globe, there have been debates about the effectiveness of response strategies such as social distancing and stay-at-home orders. Particularly, there is concern about the ability of countries with larger populations to enforce these measures.
There is no question that technology has played a major role in the world’s response to CO…
BANGKOK, Thailand, Sep 16 2020 (IPS) – The United Nations has tasked the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Institute of Population and Public Health () to lead the research roadmap to identify priorities that will support an equitable global socio-economic recovery from within the broader framework of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As the world grapples with the impacts of COVID-19, identifying the research agenda and partnering with academic institutions and think tanks have become more essential than ever before.
Sudip Ranjan Basu
Citizens, healthcare professionals and governments—from Bandung to Baltimore, Calcutta to Cancun, Palawan to Pretoria,…