Sustainable Development Goal # 2: Zero Hunger

Being fair to ourselves, each other, and the planet

A few months ago, I discovered TooGoodToGo.com. Too Good to Go is an international B corporation that started in Europe. Its goal is to eliminate food waste around the world. This problem is especially bad in the United States and Canada but exists across the globe.

After getting started in Europe, Too Good to Go recently expanded to North America. Its goal in the developed nations of Europe and North America is to find ways to put food that would otherwise go to waste into the hands of ordinary consumers. These efforts include small grocery stores and independent restaurants, and coffee shops.

Other charities work to connect larger stores and kitchens with food banks and soup kitchens. Both efforts are essential.

In its effort to help reduce food waste, Too Good to Go serves as the connection between these two groups. I have used it a few times to reserve food from a restaurant, generally around the end of their business day. I can purchase food from them at one-third of the regular price, but I do not get to choose what I will get. I have never felt ripped off but am still trying to grapple with the lack of choice. I know – a real first-world problem. Read more

Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)

Sustainable Development Goal # 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all, at all ages

With COVID We’re All In This Together

As the old pop song (and theme park ride) goes, “It’s a small world after all….” This is a lesson COVID and this latest variant, Omicron, is teaching us all over again.

As I sit down to write, we are cowering in Omicron’s shadow and recovering from the previous three waves of the COVID virus that preceded it.

As you already know, Omicron seems to have originated in southern Africa, and it was brought to the world’s attention by scientists in South Africa. And less than two months later, it has spread across the globe and shown infection rates that dwarf all of the earlier variants combined.

The consensus is that while Omicron spreads quickly, it is not as deadly as previous variants. And while vaccines are not foolproof, they generally reduce the severity of the infection. Read more

Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)

Sustainable Development Goal #4: Ensure Inclusive and Equitable Quality Education and Promote Lifelong Learning Opportunities for All

Universal education costs a lot, but the lack of universal education exacts an even higher price.
Beyond the price tag, truly universal education faces numerous barriers, including cultural and familial attitudes towards women and discrimination against political and cultural minorities
And then, there is the range of resources a society can or will direct toward providing and promoting an effective education system for its entire population.
And the problem with providing effective and meaningful education is not limited to countries we consider to be the “third world.”

Sustainable Development Goal # 16: Peace and Justice Through Strong Institutions

Putin’s actions in eastern Europe have focused attention on the role of NATO, the United Nations, the World Bank, and the European Union beyond anything else in recent memory.

There has been a great deal of debate about how far these institutions can go, will go, must go. If we go too far, will we provoke a nuclear, chemical, or biological escalation that no one can comprehend? If we do too little, will that give Putin permission to go further and spread his attacks to actual member countries of NATO? And are the efforts taken so far going to be regarded as too much or too little anyway?

Now, as the Ukrainian forces are outperforming everyone’s expectations, the world still wonders how far Putin will go to achieve his aims or at least save face.

And while these tasks are specifically aimed at minimizing these types of events, it is much harder to find actual solutions that work.