People in China and Pakistan aren't the only ones hit by devastating floods and food shortages. Niger is facing its most severe food crisis in a decade. After a drought, heavy rains have washed away the remaining crops leaving 80 percent of Niger's population is at risk for food insecurity. Thomas Fessy, reporter for the BBC explains the humanitarian crisis that the country faces.
Last week on the program we discussed the idea of making access to food a basic legal right. This idea comes from India, a country that is home to one of the world's largest impoverished populations, with over 421 million of its citizens going hungry. India is now considering making access to food a right enshrined by the constitution. Takeaway listeners tell us whether they believe access to food should be a human and legal right.
On our Facebook page, Kathleen writes:
"Food is absolutely a human right. The fact that not every country can feed all its people right now is irrelevant to food being a human right. Governments - including ours - should be judged according to how quickly and effectively they are working to feed everyone."
A right to food as a matter of constitutional principle is being proposed in India, which has a population of hungry people that exceeds the population of most whole nations. 421 million chronically hungry people in the world’s largest democracy are not only a gigantic political constituency but also a staggering health problem. India is acknowledged to have the largest population of hungry people in the world and it’s not immediately clear how granting a legal right to food will change this troubling reality. India’s proposal for a constitutional right to food provokes a discussion of how the nature of political rights differs from how we approach biological necessity.
In an effort to help fight childhood obesity, doctors at several Massachusetts health centers have begun distributing prescriptions for farmers' market produce to their patients.
India's economy is on the rise, but with an estimated 421 million people living in poverty, its levels of malnutrition are still staggeringly high. The governing Indian National Congress Party is pushing to enshrine the right to food in the country’s constitution and expand the existing entitlement so that every Indian family would qualify for a monthly 77-pound bag of grain, sugar and kerosene.
We want to hear from you: Should government guarantee the basics of human survival? What would you make a basic human right?
On a day where the temperature hits 95 degrees, the last thing most people want to do is cook dinner. But the summer’s long, takeout gets expensive and there are only so many salads one can eat before boredom sits in. So today, New York Times food writer Melissa Clark brings us a whole host of new, exciting, delicious and EASY summer recipes – leafy green salads not included. The best part? None of them require you to turn on the oven.
Share your favorite cold recipes for a hot day and show us what you've made! Upload your pictures to our Facebook page.
What happens to civilizations when the food runs out? This happened in ancient Rome and to the Mayans, but can we take lessons from the past in order to have a more secure future?
Some 80,000 chemicals are on the market and immediately available to Americans; many of these chemicals are manufactured for use in our daily lives, including as food additives. According to a recent report released by President Obama's Cancer Panel, we should at least be "concerned" about the issue of carcinogens in the environment we live in. But what exactly should we worry about, and how can we reduce our exposure?
This week, we're looking at how worried people should be about exposure to toxic chemicals. Here’s the reality: there are chemicals everywhere, so trying to avoid them completely may be futile. For instance: A recent study found questionable levels of pesticides in frozen foods, while another noted that canned goods were at high risk for BPA exposure. An all-organic diet has been shown to reduce exposure to pesticides; eating only organic vegetables will also minimize the risk of BPA and other chemical exposure (unless you cook or store them in damaged Teflon, or certain plastic containers). Even if you could go all organic all the time, using only environmentally sound storage and cooking devices, doing so can be expensive — not to mention impractical ... and paying a premium for food that doesn't kill you seems unjust. In some cases the risks associated with chemical exposure are not as great as the alternative.
This Fourth of July, many of us will be enjoying a hot dog or three. But if you’re one of a few select Major League Eating athletes in Coney Island, you’ll more likely be eating forty, fifty, or sixty — in the space of only ten minutes. We refer, of course, to the competitors in the crown jewel of all competitive eating events: The Coney Island Nathans Hot Dot Eating Contest; which, since 1916, has taken place on July 4th, Independence Day.
This Fourth of July weekend, a lot of us will be eating hot dogs, potato salad, corn on the cob, and hamburgers. But when we’re done feasting on the char-broiled delicacies that have come to represent our nation’s independence, how should we finish it all off?
Bill Yosses has some suggestions. He’s the official White House Pastry Chef, and author, along with Melissa Clark, of a new cookbook called “The Perfect Finish.” Chef Yosses joins us live from the White House, where he gives us the scoop on everything from what he serves official visitors to the first family's favorite sweets.
Below, Bill Yosses and Melissa Clark's red, white and blue berry buttermilk bundt cake with orange glaze.
It's summer time, and what better time to enjoy a fruit pie or the triumph of culinary competition? We're doing both in The Takeaway's summer fruit pie smackdown.
Melissa Clark from the New York Times is ready to rumble with her sour cherry pie. And Deb Perelman of smittenkitchen.com brings her own strawberry rhubarb pie to the competition.
Serving as the judge is Emily Elsen, third-generation pie maker, featured chef on the Cooking Channel's Unique Eats, and owner (along with her sister Melissa Elsen) of Four and Twenty Blackbirds Pie Shop in Brooklyn, NY. (recipes after the jump.)
Do you have a favorite treat from Michigan or dish from Minnesota? Have you ever had Vernors soda, or squeaky cheese curd? For this week's food segment, we continue our state-by-state journey to find our favorite regional foods from around the country with our friend Ed Levine of SeriousEats.com.
For this week’s food segment, we host an all-new Takeaway cooking smackdown.
On the menu: Barbecue sauce.
On the mat: Chef Rossi (of the Raging Skillet and Bust Magazine, as well as star of WOMR’s "Bite This") and Cathy Erway (blogger behind noteatingoutinny.com, author of "The Art of Eating In
On everyone’s minds: How will Cathy Erway’s history as a BBQ judge influence her sauce making? Will Chef Rossi’s reputation as “New York’s Wildest Caterer” be evident in her BBQ sauce? What secret ingredients will each of them be bringing to the table? And whose sauce will win The Takeaway’s crown? Recipes after the jump.
The commercial fishing industry in the Gulf of Mexico has been hit hard by the huge oil spill. Fishing has been closed off in a third of the Gulf and fish production has been reduced significantly, as many in the industry have been diverted from their daily work to assist with the clean-up effort in the region. Now seafood markets across the country are beginning to feel the strain and seafood prices are on the rise.
According to the White House, 23.5 million Americans currently live in what are known as 'food deserts.' Food deserts are essentially nutritional wastelands that lack reasonable, affordable access to grocery stores. They exist primarily in urban and rural areas of the country, but can be found just about anywhere. And the people who live in them, more often than not, are forced to stock their cupboards with food from the convenience store, or even the drug store.
Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” anti-childhood obesity initiative has set the goal of eliminating all America’s food deserts in the next seven years. But if you’re living in a food desert, you might be wondering what you’re supposed to do until then to stay healthy and eat right.
Janine Whiteson, author of “Cooking Light: What to Eat
It has been nearly six weeks since the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded, sunk, and started to spill oil in the Gulf. There are many aspects to the story, and it’s easy to get distracted by the live feed webcam of the underwater oil spill and the hourly reports on BP’s latest attempts to fix the leak. Yet a larger question looms on the horizon: how different will life be on the Gulf Coast be for residents and visitors once this mess is over?
This month, our friends at Serious Eats are kicking off a new series, in which they look at the most emblematic foods from all fifty of our United States. Their first edition focuses on the Northeast states – from Maine to West Virginia. Subsequent editions, which we’ll be featuring in the coming months, will focus on the rest of the country.
For this week’s food segment, we talk with Manny Howard, a man who turned his tiny New York City backyard into a farm, complete with produce and livestock.
A study published yesterday in the Journal Pediatrics links pesticide exposure in children to a diagnosis of ADHD. When chemicals are everywhere, how can we keep ourselves and our children safe?
The show is a co-production of WNYC Radio and Public Radio International, in collaboration with New York Times Radio and WGBH Boston.
Major funding provided by:
