On October 16, 1945, the United Nations founded its Food and Agriculture Organization.  This date is commemorated every year as “World Food Day.”

In anticipation, I have been blogging about food-related topics.  Recent posts discuss Agilent’s work with papayas, eggs, coconut oil, macaroni and cheese, your microbiome, olive oil and honey.

The theme of this year’s World Food Day is “Change the future of migration.  Invest in food security and rural development.”

763 million people migrate within national borders every year, usually to leave extremely poor rural areas. (UN)  Rural development could create more business opportunities, increase food security and reduce conflicts over natural resources.

Scientists in Greece investigated bioenergy production as a potential avenue for rural development, using residues from sunflower and soya crops.  “Such residues could comprise an attractive renewable source of energy for covering additional energy demands in agricultural regions,” the researchers say.  Gas volume analysis was performed using an Agilent gas chromatograph.

Agilent technologies and solutions have been used to research production yields and quality in other rural crops, including rice and ginseng in Korea, sugar in Spain, and fruits and vegetables in Poland.

The Agilent Foundation supports Agilent’s global objective to be an economic, intellectual and social asset in the countries and communities where we operate.  Past contributions from Agilent and the Agilent Foundation have included the Dairy Association of China and rural development in India.

For more information go to:

• World Food Day, 16 October 2017 (United Nations)
• A Peril with Papayas
• Agilent is Helping Ensure the Safety of Your Eggs
• A Controversy Over Coconut Oil
• Bioenergy production for CO2-mitigation and rural development via valorisation of low value crop residues and their upgrade into energy carriers: A challenge for sunflower and soya residues
• Determination of arsenic species in polished rice using a methanol-water digestion method
• Control Efficacy of Streptomyces sp. A501 against Ginseng Damping-off and Its Antifungal Substance
• Potential of different poplar clones for sugar production
• Evaluation of pesticide residues in fruits and vegetables from the region of south-eastern Poland
• Ensuring Safer Dairy Products in China
• Corporate Social Responsibility Policy for Agilent in India (PDF)
• Agilent Corporate Citizenship Report
• Agilent Food Testing & Agriculture Solutions