Articles

Steenhuisen’s Vision for Agriculture as the Engine Room of SA Economic Growth
South Africa’s new Minister of Agriculture has begun engaging directly with the South African fresh produce industry, and has declared his department’s intent to support and grow one of the country’s essential food security pillars…

Calf rearing challenges and consumer demands
We are all schizophrenic – responsible citizens on one hand and consumers on the other. In theory, we would be willing to pay more for responsibly produced food, but when we are in the supermarket we tend to choose the lowest priced food items.

10 Incredible facts about food from our ocean for World Oceans Day
To mark World Oceans Day, the Marine Stewardship Council shares on the importance of wild-caught seafood in sustaining a growing global population

Abundance and scarcity: The paradox of South African agriculture
Despite an abundance of food, in edible/avoidable waste alone – approximately 10.3 million tonnes wasted annually – 30% of South Africans find themselves in the grip of food insecurity.

Risks of unlawful use of aluminium phosphide containing products
The shocking death of a Durban couple that became the latest victims of the unlawful use of a highly regulated stored grain fumigant, namely Aluminium Phosphide

New industry guidelines for recyclable plastic packaging released
The PET Plastic Recycling Company (PETCO) has released a definitive guide to packaging design, created specifically for the PET (polyethylene terephthalate) manufacturing sector.

Doing it right: Reducing food waste from product to plate
With a third of all food produced in the world wasted annually, we look at how this multinational consumer goods company is working to reduce that waste

Trust, critical thinking and potatoes
As a scientist working in potato breeding for over 40 years, one may wonder why I am talking about trust and critical thinking. Globally, we struggle to find consensus on sustainable solutions to grand challenges, such as climate change, food security, and most recently, a pandemic. This struggle for consensus is not due to a lack of information on possible innovative solutions, but instead often rooted in our beliefs, or what we trust to be true.

Useful recycling organisations and solutions
Everywhere you look nowadays, we are being told to reduce, reuse, and recycle, so we thought we would compile some information for you on the recycling companies and associations in South Africa, and the main type of products they can accept for recycling.

A grass native to Africa could transform the continent’s dairy yields
The cows kept by small-scale farmers in Africa are notoriously unproductive. The average dairy cow produces about 540 litres of milk per lactation. By contrast, dairy cows in North America that belong to commercial or intensive farmers can produce up to 10,479 litres of milk per lactation.

3 Waterwise strategies for the food industry
With World Water Week being held from 23-27 August, it’s a good time to revisit some useful strategies to reduce freshwater consumption and wastewater generation

Microplastics: Now part of our diet
A study finds on average people could be ingesting approximately 5 grams of plastic every week, which is the equivalent weight of a credit card.