food supply

Ndidi Nwuneli speaks at the 2022 Goalkeepers Global Goals Awards, hosted by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in New York City. The event recognizes the work of those who help advance the U.N.'s Sustainable Development Goals in their communities and around the world.

Don't think of Africa as a hungry child, says a champion of Africa's food prowess

7:00am January 02, 2023

by Max Barnhart

If you think that African countries have nothing to contribute to the global food supply, Ndidi Nunweli would like you to think about what you eat daily.

So far, fewer pigs than feared have had to be euthanized due to the coronavirus shutting down pork plants.

Farmers Find Ways To Save Millions Of Pigs From Being Euthanized

8:58am June 05, 2020

by Dan Charles

When COVID-19 infections forced pork companies to close processing plants, some farmers predicted that it would force them to euthanize millions of hogs. The actual number has been much lower.

A farmer leads dairy cows from the pasture to the milking barn at a creamery in Gallipolis, Ohio. The USDA launched a $3 billion plan to distribute food to families, called the Farmers to Family Food Box Program.

USDA Secretary Says Despite Plant Closures, He Does Not Anticipate Food Shortages

1:56pm May 15, 2020

by Steve Inskeep

Sonny Perdue says he expects "85-90% production in probably a very few days or weeks." He also says the government is stepping up efforts to buy food from farmers and distribute it to families.

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The Procter & Gamble plant in Mehoopany, Pa., has been running nonstop during the pandemic, making essential products such as toilet paper, paper towels and disposable diapers.

Economy

This Charmin Factory Keeps Humming Even As Much Of America Is Hunkered Down

5:08pm April 20, 2020

by Scott Horsley

Although millions of Americans are out of work or working from home, many are still working at factories nationwide. They have some lessons on what it will take to "reopen" the country safely.

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A Smithfield Foods plant in Sioux Falls, S.D., that produces 4% to 5% of the nation's pork supply has become the latest meat processing facility to shut down as COVID-19 sickens plant workers.

U.S. Meat Supply Is 'Perilously Close' To A Shortage, CEO Warns

2:25pm April 13, 2020

by Jim Zarroli

A Smithfield Foods plant in South Dakota that produces 4% to 5% of the nation's pork supply has become the latest meat processing facility to shut down as COVID-19 sickens plant workers.

Workers pick apples in a Wapato, Wash., orchard last October. U.S. farms employ hundreds of thousands of seasonal workers, mostly from Mexico, who enter the country on H-2A visas. The potential impact of the coronavirus on seasonal workers has the food in

COVID-19 Threatens Food Supply Chain As Farms Worry About Workers Falling Ill

2:10pm March 18, 2020

by Dan Charles

COVID-19 has turned one end of the food industry — stores and restaurants — on its head. At the other end, food production hums along as usual, but that could change if workers catch the virus.

The entrance to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault.

Can We Preserve Seed Diversity For The Future?

8:19am September 30, 2016

by NPR/TED STAFF

Biodiversity archivist Cary Fowler explains how the Svalbard Global Seed Vault will prepare humans for the climate change and its effect on our environment and our food supply.

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