Moroccan fig trees are a part of Ahmed Hakam. Until he was nine years old, Ahmed never ventured outside of his birth village near the northern city of Ouezzane. He vividly remembers the local fig harvest, when, every year, he, his mother and scores of women and their children from nearby villages would gather to […]
We’ve read reports that it can cause cancer (and that sunscreen doesn’t really work to prevent skin cancer), but yet – doctors say you need sunscreen in the sun. While the daily use of sunscreen with an SPF of 15 or higher is widely acknowledged as essential to skin cancer prevention, it is hurting […]
Whenever I read the news about Syria’s refugee and environmental crisis I wonder how Syria’s dictator Bashar Al-Assad’s wife Asma al-Assad, once so vocal about the natural environment (even biking to the West Bank in the past), can let her husband keep this madness up. A little sanity in the craziness that is and has […]
Verizon (NYSE: VZ) is America’s #1 mobile provider and the company just announced finalists for their international Powerful Answers Award which will grant $1 million, $500,000 and $250,000 to the top 3 winning companies in the category Internet of Things (IoT). To break things up Verizon has created 3 categories: the two other categories in […]
A start-up business focused on finding new ways of using insect protein in food products is a finalist in this year’s MassChallenge, the Boston-based start-up competition and world’s largest accelerator program. Get over your squeamishness, because bug-based foods will soon infest our markets. The “elevator pitch” for Israel-based The Flying Spark states their intent to manufacture […]
Few health issues remain at the forefront of minds more than cancer. This deadly disease affects millions daily, and there are many habits in our modern world that contribute to the likelihood of cancer. While no bona fide cure has been located as of yet, there are many easy solutions you can use in your […]
Celebrity chef and foraging superstar René Redzepi told the New York Times on Monday that he is closing his Copenhagen restaurant Noma at the end of 2016 and resurrecting it in 2017 with a new menu and a new site in an urban farm setting. This man on a radical new mission had led a popular restaurant […]
This story is not about the Middle East, although the images are a surreal reminder of what is happening on our Mediterranean shores – albeit with a different species. A world apart, both events are variations on an alarming theme that undermines our effectiveness in protecting this planet. Humans are losing connection with the natural […]
When you talk with Sue Raftery you might think she’s on fire. Funny, because she’s leading a company that grows food on water –– using hydroponics, or water grown plants and vegetables to supplant and correct the damaging, conventional agriculture practices dominating our food chain today. How’s she doing it? The answer is AGROWN. Through AGROWN, […]
Qatar – the tiny desert nation known for sinking millions into futuristic follies like artificial clouds and underwater TV studios – has come down to earth with a plan to grow up to 70 percent of its own vegetables by 2023. Currently under 16 percent of their veggies are locally grown. “Cutting edge technology” will […]
Ever have a salad that was out of this world? Astronauts aboard International Space Station (ISS) Expedition 44 have. They just dined on the only lettuce ever cultivated without an atmosphere. The produce grew inside “Veggie”, a tiny greenhouse about the size of a computer monitor. Specifically designed for microgravity environments, the technology can potentially benefit food production […]
Before you decide to spend hundreds of dollars on skin care products and cosmetics, or even get off your couch and walk to the nearest pharmacy, there is a better way to save money with a natural product called Neem. Like black cumin which we love to talk about, Neem is another plant that is considered magical […]
Pope Francis has penned an official text on the environment, the product of a year’s worth of writing. Yesterday, an Italian news site leaked an early draft and Vatican officials cried foul. One, speaking to Bloomberg News on Monday, called the premature release of the papal encyclical a “heinous act”. The official release is on Thursday. So […]
The region known for one of the healthiest diets on earth is moving away from ancient habits proven ideal for human health and sustainable food systems. A new report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (CIHEAM) explored the effects of globalization and lifestyle […]
They’re healthy. They’re sweet. They’re pretty. They’re dense and filling, so one bite will satisfy you but never make you feel guilty about eating it. And you shouldn’t hold back from making them, either, since they’re done in a matter of minutes. Alright, enough with the fanfare (cause I’m their #1 fan): what are they? […]
A consortium of leading environmental groups released a Regional NGO Master Plan for Sustainable Development in the Jordan Valley. They announced the action – the first of its kind – earlier today at a conference held on the Jordan side of the Dead Sea. The strategy is akin to a modern Marshall Plan, it aims […]
Serious health issues frequently affect us people living in the Middle East. We face long-eradicated diseases like polio. There is also concern about disease caused by terrifying levels of air pollution. In cities like Tehran, people may be seeing air pollution worse than in Beijing. It’s hard to breath in cities like Tehran, but Cairo too. And eating. […]
Most people in the developing world need to produce their own food, and most of these people do it inefficiently, making food security far out of reach. People buy a cow, or camels for milk, goats or even sheep to get a daily, fresh supply of dairy. There is virtually no way to preserve it […]
Hookah, shisha, or smoking the nargila is a staple of any Middle Eastern experience. But more and more research suggests that this form of smoking is more damaging than regular cigarette smoking. Send this one to all your pipe smoking friends. Hookah pipes don’t use filters so you are potentially inhaling a lot more particulate […]
You might have been introduced to the seemingly odd combination of watermelon and feta cheese through my Green Prophet recipe article here. Now, there’s a new food pairing in town: avocado and grapefruit as a salad. The bright citrus of the grapefruit perfectly complements the warm creaminess of the avocado. This colorful salad works well with seafood, and […]
A team of Syrian scientists at the International Center for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas (ICARDA) braved the terrors of civil war to protect a critical piece of global heritage, meticulously transporting plant genetic material from a seed bank in Aleppo to the Svalbard Seed Vault in Norway. Their actions to protect the region’s ancient farming […]
A barge carrying 500 tons of phosphate capsized in Upper Egypt last week after a run-in with a bridge foundation. According to Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram, the ship flipped after colliding with the Dandara Bridge in Qena, about 40 miles north of Luxor, dumping 1 million pounds of phosphate into the Nile River. Egypt’s Minister of Irrigation (MOI) Hossam Moghazi […]
Earlier this month mothers everywhere reeled over hearing about the baby who died from his neighbor’s unlaw pesticide use. While it’s an extreme example, it’s very worth remembering that just because you are inside does not make you free from air pollution caused by cars, industry, and by pest control. On a darker level, indoor air […]
The Middle East is seeing the worst rising weights of obesity in the world: but a new Biggest Loser contest in Dubai, is showing that locals there, and children, are taking on the challenge for losing weight. If the prize is gold coins for every pound you’d drop, you’d want to lose too! Consider this […]
Oryx, giraffes and cheetahs – species once facing regional extinction – are making a robust reappearance on a desert island off the coast of Abu Dhabi. Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan al-Nahayan, founder of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), created the remote nature reserve in 1971. Forty years after Sir Bani Yas island received its first ‘imported’ […]
