Farmer

• But why they did so and what their beer was like are questions shrouded in myth.
• Combining craft, microbiology, brewing science, archaeology, as well as history, this was the most comprehensive interdisciplinary study of historical beer ever undertaken.

1. People didn’t drink beer because water was unhealthy

• It’s often assumed that lack of access to clean water led people to drink beer instead.
• We know this isn’t true for many reasons, not least because brewers needed a constant source of fresh water to make the best beer.

2. Beer was a payment for work

• Treatments for conditions such as flux or bed wetting, for example, required ground kid’s hoof or grated stag’s penis to be taken with a drink of beer.
• At Christchurch Cathedral in Dublin, masons received up to 15 pints per day when undertaking heavy work.

3. Beer had some different ingredients then

• The key ingredients were malt (made from barley or oats depending on the region), water, yeast and hops.
• This resulted in a longer lasting drink, accelerating the development of the brewing industry as we know it today.
• But there are differences between pre-modern and modern beers, relating primarily to the nature of the ingredients.

4. Making beer required skills in short supply today

• Brewers were deeply in tune with their working conditions and didn’t have modern devices such as thermometers.
• As the project team learned the hard way, small mistakes could be disastrous, resulting in spoiled beer and accidental porridge.
• Recreating the technology of the past also highlighted the wider craft skills, such as coopering (making barrels), wicker-weaving, woodworking, and coppersmithing, that went into making all the equipment needed to make a pint.

5. Even everyday beer was strong

• Based on little evidence, it is assumed that beer of around 2% alcohol by volume (abv) was the most common drink of the working classes.
• Our experiment showed that a typical beer of middling strength actually had the potential to be around 5% abv, comparable to modern lager.
• Those calls often came, however, from the same people who liberally supplied their workers with beer.

The FoodCult project is funded by the European Research Council (Grant Agreement 803486) Charlie Taverner also works as a policy lead for the food systems NGO, the Food, Farming and Countryside Commission.

In this press kit, you will find a selection of the European Parliament’s press releases reflecting MEPs’ priorities for topics on the summit agenda. Source : © European Union, 2024 - EP

• Human-induced climate change made the severe 2015–2017 drought three to six times more likely.
• Our new report on Climate Change Impacts in South Africa has found that as Earth warms, people living in South Africa will face reduced incomes, less food and water security and a higher cost of living.
• Our findings, based on a synthesis and review of existing research on climate change, are that climate change and socioeconomic risks threaten to bring about a huge change to this status.
• Combating the impacts of climate change in South Africa requires adaptive measures, such as changing the way we farm, coordination by the government and international commitment to reduce emissions.

Heatwaves

• Farm workers will be exposed to more extreme temperatures working outside and others will suffer from heat stress in their living and working environment.
• Here's how

  Extreme weather threatens the plants and animals that attract tourism, and directly damages infrastructure at nature reserves, adventure destinations and parks.

• Rising temperatures are projected to reduce visitor numbers to South Africa’s national parks by 4% by 2050, affecting the Kruger National Park most.

An agricultural crisis

• Smallholder farms are often located in areas with less fertile soils or limited infrastructure, leaving these farmers more vulnerable to climate change.
• Arable land suitable for growing crops is concentrated in just 12% of South Africa’s land area.
• Therefore, any extreme event that reduces production – such as drought – can be expected to reduce job security and income for farming households and agricultural workers.

Water

• Drought and floods damage transport links, public buildings, and water and energy infrastructure, and challenge the provision of basic services.
• During the water crisis that followed the 2015–2017 drought, for example, reservoirs serving 3.7 million people around Cape Town dropped to 20% of capacity, leading the government to impose water restrictions.

An increase in gender-based violence

• These gender inequalities include a high incidence of gender-based violence and a higher likelihood of poverty among women.
• Research in other parts of the world has also linked rising temperatures with an increase in gender-based violence.

Solutions

Much of the country’s economic future hinges on the speed with which investments in renewable energy can replace coal and provide affordable and reliable electricity. Slowing down climate change will take a huge global effort and progress has been limited. The only alternative is to be prepared and adapt to the projected changes.
Peter Johnston receives funding from United Nations, NORCE, NRF

• Full-year sales of Syngenta Crop Protection were 5 percent lower at $15.5 billion after exceptional growth in the previous year.
• ADAMA sales decreased 17 percent to $5.6 billion for the full year 2023, with significant channel destocking, particularly in the Americas, affecting the comparison.
• Syngenta Seeds sales grew 2 percent to $4.8 billion in the full year 2023 in an overall growing seeds market.
• Sales of Syngenta Group China, consisting of the Group’s Seeds, Crop Protection, Crop Nutrition, MAP and digital activities in China, grew 11 percent to $9.6 billion in the full year 2023.