Category Archives: Food

Water-Energy-Food Nexus in Arab Countries

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Addressing water scarcity, both natural and human-induced, in the Arab region is considered one of the major and most critical challenges facing the Arab countries. This challenge is expected to grow with time due to many pressing driving forces, including population growth, food demand, unsettled and politicized shared water resources, climate change, and many others, forcing more countries into more expensive water sources, such as desalination, to augment their limited freshwater supplies. The heavy financial, economic, environmental, as well as social costs and burden to be borne cannot be overemphasized. Furthermore, the water scarcity challenge in the Arab world is being … Continue reading →

7 Types Of Sustainable Food Packaging

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Most of the food you buy and eat comes in a package. Therefore, packaging is an essential part of the food supply chain. But, a lot of it is made from plastic. Nowadays, people have begun to prioritize making the world greener as they’ve grown more conscious of the necessity of sustainability. This green movement includes making food packaging more environment-friendly through various methods, such as compostable packaging and many other forms listed below. While some progress is being made in terms of moving away from plastic, the said material is still widely used. There’s a long way to go. … Continue reading →

نصائح لتقليل النفايات الغذائية

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للنفايات الغذائية آثار بيئية واقتصادية واجتماعية أيضاً. إن ارتفاع معدلات الدخل والإنفاق الفردية، ومستوى المعيشة، والقدرة على الإنفاق، وسلوكياتنا في إهدار الطعام تؤثر سلباً على مواردنا المحدودة. فأصبح من الشائع أن نرى أكوام من الطعام المتبقي في أطباق الطعام في مراكز التسوق والمطاعم. وللأسف فإن القدرة على الإنفاق أدت إلى زيادة متسارعة في إنتاج وتراكم النفايات الغذائية في دول الشرق الأوسط عامة، وفي دول مجلس التعاون الخليجي خاصة. ويمكن قياس خطورة الوضع من خلال الحقائق التي تبيّن أنه يتم إنتاج أكثر من 300 طن من النفايات الغذائية يومياً في البحرين، مما يشكل حوالي 11% من النفايات البلدية. حيث يتم إلقاء … Continue reading →

Top 10 Veggie-friendly Countries for Students

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International scholarship trips and short-term internships have become the new reality. They are connected by a single goal – improving the quality of education, training valuable personnel, and developing international economic relations. For any young person studying or traveling abroad, comfortable accommodation, an opportunity to lead a familiar lifestyle and eat familiar food are of great importance. That is why it is essential for vegetarian students, and even more so for vegans, to know the gastronomic features of the country they study. Everyone knows that there are many so-called “meat-eating countries” where people consume a lot of meat and whose … Continue reading →

اذا يعتبر التخلي عن اللحوم ضروريًا للتخفيف من تغير المناخ

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استهلاك اللحوم هو عنصر أساسي في النظام الغذائي الحديث. في العالم المتقدم، كان استهلاك اللحوم في ارتفاع مستمر منذ عقود. في العالم النامي، يأكل الناس كميات أقل من اللحوم لأنهم لا يستطيعون تحمل تكلفتها الباهظة. إن حجم الاستهلاك العالمي للحوم له آثار بيئية خطيرة ويزيد من حدة تغير المناخ. وهذا يعني أن الإنتاج العالمي للغذاء مسؤول عن ثلث جميع غازات الاحتباس الحراري المنبعثة من النشاط البشري. لذلك، من المنطقي القول بأن العلاقة بين استهلاك اللحوم والآثار السلبية لتغير المناخ مثل الاحتباس الحراري هي شيء يجب استكشافه بعمق حتى نتمكن من فهم كيفية تقليل مخاطر الكوارث البيئية. علاوة على ذلك، يلعب … Continue reading →

Strategizing Water Security in the GCC to Meet the Needs of a Growing Population

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Water security has become an increasingly hot topic in the GCC as regional governments struggle to meet the water needs of a rapidly increasing population. If population and development levels maintain their fast-paced upward trajectory, so too will the demand for water, food, and energy increase at the same rate. The Gulf region as a whole remains geographically handicapped in the sense no major rivers flow through it, and it possesses few renewable aquifer endowments. Therefore, there is an urgent need for these states to manage their scarce water resources efficiently. Currently, the states rely heavily on groundwater sources, followed … Continue reading →

Towards an Eco-Friendly Eidul Adha

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Eidul Adha, like other religious festivals, often has a major impact on the environmental resources. Extra food, drinks and clothes are made, used and consumed which results in a major environmental footprint. The celebrations and festivity are often extravagant and cause pollution of different forms. The day starts with the special prayers whereby men, women and children gather to offer prayers. The site of praying after the ritual is often plagued by litter, rubbish and waste scattered all over the place and even blowing in the air and migrating to nearby safe heavens for unaesthetic and unhygienic accumulations. Muslims on Eid … Continue reading →

Why Giving Up Meat Is Essential To Mitigate Climate Change

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Meat consumption is a staple of the modern diet. In the developed world, meat consumption has been rising consistently for decades. In the developing world, people eat less meat as they cannot afford the high cost of it. The scale of global meat consumption has grave environmental effects and intensifies Climate Change. This is as, “the global production of food is responsible for a third of all planet-heating gases emitted by human activity” [1]. Therefore, it is reasonable to argue that the connection between meat consumption and the negative effects of Climate Change like global warming is something which needs … Continue reading →

Food Security Strategy in Qatar

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Qatar is a water-scarce and arid region which has its own share of demographic and socio-economic problems. The cultivation of food crops is a difficult proposition for Qatar due to scarcity of water supply and limited availability of arable land. The country is vulnerable to fluctuations in international commodity markets because of heavy dependence on imported grains and food items. The increasing dependence on foreign food imports is leading to a growing sense of food insecurity in Qatar. Understanding Food Security Food security is the condition in which all people at all times have a physical and economic access to … Continue reading →

المرأة مفتاح الأمن الغذائي

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من المُسلَّم به أن الزراعة هي المُحرِّك الرئيسي للنمو في المجتمعات الريفية في جميع أرجاء العالم، وأن المرأة هي العمود الفقري للأسر خاصة الريفية منها  وغالبًا ما تعمل داخل المنزل وخارجه لتلبية احتياجات الاسرة .وعلى الرغم من أنهن يشاركن في عمل مدفوع الأجر –إلى حدّ أنهن يشكّلن، في المتوسط، أكثر من 40 % من القوى العاملة الزراعية في البلدان النامية،و حوالي  20 % في أمريكا اللاتينية  وحوالي 50 % أو أكثر في أجزاء من أفريقيا وآسيا – فانهن يتقاضين أجورًا أقل مقابل عملهن مقارنةً بالرجال. الجدير بالذكر ان معدل البطالة في الوطن العربي الذي بلغ نحو (11.5 %) في عام … Continue reading →

معوقات التنمية الزراعية وطرق التغلب عليها

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أقر الله سبحانه في كثير من الآيات في كتابه العزيز حول أهمية الزراعة وأنه هو الذي يحي الأرض وهو الذي يخرج الحب ويجعل الجنات ويفجّر الأنهار. يقول الله تعالى في سورة يس: (وَآيَةٌ لَهُمُ الْأَرْضُ الْمَيْتَةُ أَحْيَيْنَاهَا وَأَخْرَجْنَا مِنْهَا حَبّاً فَمِنْهُ يَأْكُلُونَ وَجَعَلْنَا فِيهَا جَنَّاتٍ مِنْ نَخِيلٍ وَأَعْنَابٍ وَفَجَّرْنَا فِيهَا مِنَ الْعُيُونِ) (يّـس32،34) كما ورد التأكيد على شرف العمل الزراعي وديموميته إلى يوم القيامة في كثير من الاحاديث النبوية الشريفة ومنها في الحديث الشريف عن الرسول صلى الله عليه وسلم: “إذا قامت الساعة وفي يد أحدكم فسيلة فليغرسها”. يعتبر القطاع الزراعي من أهم القطاعات الحيوية ومن ركائز التنمية الاقتصادية التي … Continue reading →

An Urgent Call to Reduce Food Wastage in Ramadan

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The month of Ramadan witnesses a great rush of frantic buyers who are buying and storing food items and allied commodities. Unfortunately, Muslims countries, especially Gulf nations, generate huge quantities of food waste which increases manifolds during the month of Ramadan and festivals like Eid ul Fitr and Eid ul Adha whereby the consumption and wastage of food increase at an alarming level. Firstly, the food habits change in the month of Ramadan whereby Sahoor or breakfast/ meal is taken early in the morning. Later after sunset Iftar/ Fatoor (opening of the fast) is taken usually with specially cooked food, … Continue reading →