> a warm welcome to "global 3000!" this week, we meetet women in mexico whoho are preserving lol culinary traditions and protecting local farmers. could rice straw be the next big thing in sustainable packaging? we meet the thai entrepreneur behind it. and, climimate chan? what climate change? some farmers in auaustralia hae their own ideas about global warming. australia is burning and burning

and burning. forests and fields are desperately arid. months of drought and record temperatures have created perfect conditions for wildfires. for weeks, clouds of heavy smoke haveve hung over sydydney. e e city is susurrounded by fi. so is the crisis the result of human-induced climate change? or is it a natural phenomenon? the debate is dividing people in the country. australia depends on coal for energy production, and prime minister scott morrison is a champion of fossil fuels. he regularly plays down the threat of climate change - and he has many supporters. >> it's hard to believe that this used to be a lush, green landscape. the last time any significant amount of rain fell here was three years ago. since then, things have gone from bad to worse on the worrell family's farm. grain can't grow, and the

livestock have nothing to graze on. fifteen cows are being loaded onto the transporter today. they're quite well fed, so they'll still fetch a decent price. but this is essentially a clearance sale. >> we've got about anothther 20 breeding cows left. we sell off a trucuck-load evey week andnd we'll probabably kp selling a truck-load every week until it rains. we just can't afford to bubuy y more food,d, so. >> but you can't sell l them a, right? >> we don't want to sell them. but what do you do? you've got no ststock, so you me no money. but we've been buying prime feed for three years so it just comes to the point where you can't keep on buying any more. >> the worrells have been farming here for generations. they've experienced good times and bad. but they may now have reached rock bottom.

>> that's s the catch with boy, isn't it? they've been looking after it they say ' 'this is our farm' d while gordon's been injured the boys have been carrying this load as well. looking after three lots. so you'll be pleased that i came out with you boys today, because i don't come out here. i don't wantnt to see it. too hard. >> t they don't want to give up- they want to keep going. the worrell brothers say they think things will improve eventually and the rain will come again one day. >> definitely we're in a dry spell. a hundred years ago we were in the same situation as we are now, and 50 years before that we were in the same situation, and it's been good in the middle leading up to it. they only want to show you the bad bits, so you run scared, saying 'this is it.' and, climate change what are they doing? all they're doing is taxing us. how is taxing us and money going to fix it? that's not going to fix it. so, it's hopeless. politicians are hopeless. >> many austraralians don't t t

to talalk about global w warmind climate change -- including farmers, though one might think they would feel the impact most directly. there's no point in sowing in this dust. the seeds would just be blown away by the wind. periods of unpredictable rainfall and high temperatures are growing longer and moree frequent. still, climate scientists like lesley hughes find i it hard o get their message across. >> certainly there are some who are cynical of the science, that don't like to feel that humans are responsible for something like this. the science can be confusing if people choose not t to try to understand it. but it's also a fact that australia still relies very heavily on coal and other fossil fuels for a healthy economy. it doesn't really matter where we look climate change is right in our face, it's right now. >> neil westcott is unpopular with his neighbors, his friends and even his family. he's one of the few farmers here

saying we have to accept it, climate change is real. >> i think it's unfortunate that the climate change is something that is so polarizing. it's very sad. it's sad that you're in one camp or the other and you cannot talk. there's a tendency to think it's not a rush, even if it was a problem. it is devaluing and actually scuttling a lot of things that should be happening now to stop what might happen in the future. >> but neil doesn't have an answer to the question of what exactly should be happening. the awareness isis there, but there's little willingness to change his ways. neil isn't an environmental activist. he sprays glyphosate on his fields, and his farm machines are gas guzzlers. he's hoping that experts will find solutions that won't hurt, technical advances to relieve

the pressure on the climate, and secure the future of farming in australia. >> there's always been hard times, and i'm sure for the generations past there have been someme really hard times. so yu never want to be the last, you don't want to be the one who couldn't make it, so to speak. but you are sometimes forced to make decisions that you don't want to make. >> the tiny town of baradine is an example of how bleak the outlook is. but it's alslso an example o of togetherness in the crisis. nea, the wororrell brotherers' momother, voluntnteers at the l wowomen's assocacation. she e collects donations for farmers affected by the drought. their need is not only material. >> i'm very concerned about the mental health of the men around here now. yes, very concerned. i won't say the e rd, but ii wouldn't be surprised if something happened. >> the unmentionable fact is that the suicide rate is

climbing. for some, it feels like the only way y out of a hopeless situati. the drought is a cause of great distress. it has been going on so long and there's no end in sighght. >> our planet is suffering, and we're not taking the necessary steps to stop it. the world bank says the amount of waste we produce globally will rise from 2 billion tons in 202016 to 3.4 billion tons by 2050. that's an increase of 70%. plastics are particularly harmful. they also take far longer to decompose than other waste. and over a third of the plastic we produce is for disposable packaging - things like plastic plates, cutlery or boxes, most of which is single-use.

are there really no alternatives? an award-winning thai entrepreneur is developing a new type of packaging. one th c comes from ththe fiels anand is entirelely compostab. our repoporter christitian uhlit up with her in thailand'd's lam papang province.e. christian: after e every harve, thailand's rice farmers burn off the remaining rice straw and stubble to clear their land. ththacrid smoke carries far and dede on thwindnd. in the northern province of lampang, the harvest is underway. since eaearly thisis morning, n have been ouout in the fieields cutting g thsheaves s with ther sickleles. fifinally, it's s time for a lh breaeak.

>> we've been doing this wor for geratitions. christia there's a lot ofdeal.lh straw leftn n this fld..g. typically a kiloamam perkile if it's left trot, i iwill lease methane, a potenent typicgreenhnhouse gas.erkile but burning g the straw ememits, anand creates fifine particule matter t that is harmfmful to pe and the envivironment. jaruwan khamammuang wants s to change thingngs. aftetecompletingng her studiesn bangngkok, she dececid to retuu to her home village and devepp anlterernati. > farmer occucupation is vy hard w working. when i see they grow r rice anit growlikeke thi it tatakea very long te. and after i saw w it burns its very sad.

whenen i come to my home town,i don't chchange the lifife. they s still grow ririce but id a solulution for theheinstead f burning. christian: for t e entrepreur,r, ririce straw is s not waste te dispsposed of, butut a valuablee rereurce. she pays the farmers the uivalent of three cents a lolo. the goldlden stalks arare brougy the trucuckload to herer nrby factory. here the straw is opped up. because e air is fl of fine straw w particles, e everyone ho wear a f face mask. then the small pieces ofof strw are e mixed with h hot wate. nonohemicals are added, but the mimixture s toto boifor fofour then the small pieces ofof strw are e mixhoururs.h hot wate. thatatroduces a pulpy ma w whic.

on the factotory floor we e mep again with t the farmers f froe riri field. >> t this is a verery good th. it usesed to be thatat we hado wowo after the rice harvest. buwiwith this factctory job i n improve e my income. christian: the pulp is used tod are expensive, so the enentrepreneur e exports the raw material to o india. wewe have the indian customer, beususe in iia t therere a l lot moulding - and tableware mafafacturerand d theyelies s on our raw mamaterials and d theyr, bcontntacted us andnd they werey

christian: the special featureon ododegradae prproduc coatating of rice e starch, wh helps ththe product reresist gr, at and liquids. in a two-houtetest wita papapaya salad, the dish stayed coatating of rice e starch, wh helps thleak-p-proof.eresist gr, the next d day, we pay a a viso the city o of chng maiai -he she stops s by a buddhisist te. but her acactual destinanations on the outskirts of the city the science and technology park of chiang mai university. the auditorium at the center of the campusus is known, appropriatately enough, , as e rice grainin. here s scientists susupport ti startups with their expertise.

jaruwan khammuang would like to manufacture tatakeway food packaging g made of ricece strn her own factctory. jarushe e pes it will become to financiay y feasib by y 2020 she'e's especiallyly interesten the resesearchers' worork on improving the rice starch fi - - sohat t it takes lononger to dissolve.. >> the fmula for pcessing the film c be changed by adding some chemicals new chemicals from naturalroducts, lilike some oil,nside the films. the film imamaybe fofourur and aas in momost cities inin thail, clife here e is largely o outdo. the hundreds of street vendo and od s standall ususe aas in momost cities inin thail, clifedidiosable containers.utdo. if you want to start up your o prodtionon, onvendoror says, then pay attentionon to the siz. the bowlwls shouldn't t be too e

or the custotomers will ththin. ananthe price e is important e bahtht per piece w would be ok.. one e baht is the e equivalenf three e cents. >> t there are a l lot of shopst are e concerned ababout the vironmentaissue. also i see the policfrom the government i is more stronongern ththe past. ththey ban to ususe foam an. theyey encourage t the restaur, thththe biodegradadable packagi. christian: back in her hee viage,e, jaran khahammng is visiting her grandparents. this is wherere she startetedr busisiness a few y years ag. shshe carried ouout her firt experimentnts with rice-e-strawp in her g grandmother's's cookg pots.

at first, her grandparentserere r frfrom tilled.d. is this why they had sent thei granhildld to udy atat great expense e in the capitital? but t meanwhile ththey have ae reason to be proud of her.anande rice farmers of lampang veve lened d how turn n stw into gold.. because e burning it w would a terrible wasaste. >> and on this week's global snack we head to the middle east to try out a traditional treat. >> every evening, people gather on saholaka street in downtown sulaymaniyah, a city in thee autonomous kurdish region in northern iraq -- to stroll, chat and eat.

karwan ismaeel opened his stall a year ago. things only get lively after dark. his speciality is shifta. >> it's made of onions, minced meat, celery and diced tomatoes. you mix it all together and season it. i get it all right here at the market. mix it all up and that's it! people like it's because it's traditional. we all know shifta from our grandparents. it's something special. >> karwan ismaeel uses lamb in his shifta, together with a mix of herbs and spices, and lots of onions.

>> i serve shifta hot. i make it in front of my guests. so it's hot and fresh. it costs a thousand dinar. >> that's about 80 cents. business is best on the weekend. sulaymaniyah is well known for its lively nightlife. >> it's different every day. sometimes i sell a hundred shifta, sometimes three hundred. the city and region have been recovering from years of war -- most recently the onslaught of the so-called islamic state.

>> the situation has improved. back then people didn't go out. they didn't have jobs or money. now w things are looking up. and the better people are doing, the better it is for me too. >> karwan ismaeel is busy, with plenty of guests every night of the week. >> i always eat shifta when i come here. it's the best. >> seeing as we're already on the topic of food, let's head to mexico. inhe count's ruralreas, traditiol cuisinis still ry much an integral partrt of lifefe. but for hohow much lon? our r porter katja dohne travelletoto chiap in n mexi to m meet local peopople who e determined to preserve their traditions - both in thehe kitcn and out in t the fields.

katja: in the village of cardenashe m men s offff for workrk in the mornrning. the wowomen, meanwhihile, ae already hard at work. ththey're sy c cooki. the range of dishes buliling away in eir potsnd pans pressive that becausen the eving theyey'rexpecting a visir r -- somebobo who's a g greatan off ththr cooking skills. so w wht are theyey making? > add the herbs to the corn m make the tamamales. katjtja: tamales a are a traditl mexixican dish madade with a n dough mimixture coated with various sasauces. they're then wrapped and cooketl mexixiin bana leleaveswith a n cocouelo vera a santos cooks evy daday wiyears s old. who i is

you u still cook?? >the kitchen every day.ngbur kakatja: t womomen wk hardrd i what they do, anand very litte recognition. yet they are the ones who decide what ends up on the table e eah day, which produduce from the regionon is used, anand whether not theieir families h havea babalanced and h healthy diet.t. but t the women hehere in cards argegetting lp f from non-governmental organizioion lleded d-a. it promotes traditional farmin methods. thfather, , mother, and d son he bebeen working t together for r. >> i ionly works because i mediate twtween thtwo o of tm. respspect is very y important. f expertise. katja: in ththe town of santiao el pinar, a few hours drive

away, dai is hosting a local trade fair for seeds. farmers from the area are presenting their best corn and pumpkins.. the goal i is to promotete lol crcrops and tradaditional farg memethods, and a also to prott biodiviversity. > we're showing the richh variety ofof crops that t are n here. and d all the difffferent colo. ea cololour gooood foa particularar dish or dririn. eachch corncob hasas its own s, and a reason why it should b katja: a and each corncob gets register at t the fair, wiwith e farmrm'sare on each b.our of the oanyone w n needs aartiticula variy can n t seeds directly fromhe farmerather tn bubung them commercially. that's m making it easasier for fafarmers to diviversify stra. >> arounund here, for r examplee black, t the red and thehe spod

corn havave started toto disap. they're nonot being growown mu. want to revive these types of corn and reintntegrate them m k into f farming. katja: the idea of registeri each cncobob exaly is s degned toto encourage t the farmers t w lolocal varietieies, rather tn buyingng industrialllly produd seeds. this cororwas grown by erwinio gomez. he's one o of the local l farm. on his land d - or milpa, , ase elds are known here - he grows l maize. >> h here i have y yellow corn,, there arare 14 rows ofof that. i likeke to grow lotots of difft colours,s, i have fourur hee altogether: : white, yellolow, k and red cornrn. and sometimes i've had pink,se aey've cross-propagated in thef. and red cornrn.

and sometimes i've had pink,se katj thihis rich varieiety and e seeds erwiwinio gomez usused tt ststarted were allll handed dn through h the family.. >> thihis type of cocorn here,r example,e, has been ararou fora longngime. mymy grandfather grew itndnd o did my f father. i i like this vavariety. and i'llll never stop p growint here. katja: cororn was first t cultid by the indndigenous peopoplesf mexico thohousands of yeyears . despite the e many alternanats avavlable these days, most farmerhehere prer toto useeeds from thehe region. meanwhile, lucelia enriquez from dai has arrived in the village of cardenas. her focus is on the women in the

reregion. she'e's been comining to the vie regularly y for years. >> g gender roles arare stricy defined inin this regionon. so it's much easier for ee won hehere ttrust t anher katja:a: lucelia andnd the won from t v villageave e completed a very unususual project.. they proroduced their r own cookbook, , full of theieir own recicipes -- complplete with ph. >> we didid the book t to encoe women toto use the proroduce y grow in their gardens. anofof courswe w wanted them to be p proud of theieir recipes. katja: eacach woman was s askeo contribute h her favouritete re, describing e exactly how s she preparares it and whwhich local ingredientnts she uses.. the book wasas given out for fe in the vlalage. it can also be downloaded ononline.

thein the e evening, the e womn prpresent a smalall selectionf their r dishes. ththey each showow what they'v'n cooking totoday. >> t tell us your r name >> i'm consusuelo ruiz. today i madede a chicken h hot. made frorom chickens that wers morning. then there's "atole e de granilillo", a locacal drink e from cororn. none of the women here ever dreamed thathey and their recipes would one day befefk made from local produce aren'teo them r realise that t their res greateter food secururity. and it's a also helped m many n here to ununderstand thehe importance of their role, so work t that they do o each day. >> and that's all from us! as always - do drop us a line

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