Tous les articles et traductions

, by Bilaterals

Food Safety on the Butcher’s Block

by Christine Ahn

On April 11, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) released a report that found that of the national efforts to improve U.S. food safety, “none of the targets were reached in 2007.” According to the CDC, 76 million Americans — one in four — come down with food poisoning every year. Among the most (…)

, by Pambazuka

The destruction of African agriculture

Biofuel production is certainly one of the culprits in the current global food crisis. But while the diversion of corn from food to biofuel feedstock has been a factor in food prices shooting up, the more primordial problem has been the conversion of economies that are largely (…)

, by Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO)

Sustainability issues in the tea sector: a comparative analysis of six leading producing countries

Sanne van der Wal, June 2008, 110 p. (pdf)

Tea is the second most popular drink in the world, after water. For a number of developing countries it is an important commodity in terms of jobs and export earnings. Tea production is labour intensive and the industry provides jobs in remote rural areas. Millions of livelihoods around the (…)

, by Infochange

Green reasons for red rage

By Richard Mahapatra

An expert group of the Planning Commission establishes a strong correlation between social unrest and the spread of Naxalism and poverty, landlessness and inequitable management of natural resources
An expert group on development challenges in extremist-affected areas (read: Naxalite-affected (…)

Machhimar Adhikar Rashtriya Abhiyan

Discontent, unrest and agitation engulf the coasts of our country. Fisherpeople, under severe duress, have no other way but to launch a national campaign to conserve the coastal and marine resources and to protect their lives and livelihood. The campaign begins on 1st May 2008. A central (…)

, by ELDIS

The world food situation: new driving forces and required actions

by J. von Braun

The world food situation is being rapidly redefined, as income growth, climate change, high energy prices, globalisation, and urbanisation transform food consumption, production, and markets. This paper provides an overview of the the key forces driving these changes, and considers what policy (…)

, by BELLO Walden

Manufacturing a food crisis

The Nation

When tens of thousands of people staged demonstrations in Mexico last year to protest a 60 percent increase in the price of tortillas, many analysts pointed to biofuel as the culprit. Because of US government subsidies, American farmers were devoting more and more acreage to corn for ethanol (…)

, by JONES M. P.

Food crop diversity is key to sustainability

SciDev.net

Thousands of traditional crop species could help break dependence on a few global food crops, and offer valuable environmental services, says Monty Jones
Only 150 crop species are grown commercially on a global scale, with wheat and maize alone providing over half of the world’s protein and (…)

, by Women Working Worldwide

Promoting women workers’ rights in African horticulture : overview of research into conditions on horticulture farms in Kenya, Zambia, Tanzania and Uganda

September 2007, 24 p. (pdf)

This document gives a brief summary of the research conducted into the situation of women workers in the African horticultural sector between 2005 and 2007. The research was conducted by local organisations in Kenya, Zambia, Tanzania and Uganda and has been summarised by Women Working Worldwide. (…)

, by Pambazuka

African Agriculture and the World Bank: Development or impoverishment?

Kjell Havnevik, Deborah Fahy Bryceson, Atakilte Beyene and Prosper Matondi look at the destructive role the world bank has played in African agriculture and food production
Agriculture’s dominant role in Sub-Saharan Africa’s local, national and regional economies and cultures throughout (…)

, by International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF)

Report on cocoa and forced child labor

October 2006, 15 p. (pdf)

This report from the ILRF critiques the Harkin-Engel Cocoa Protocol and raises key questions about the cocoa industry’s progress in eliminating child labor since 2001.
Over 40% of the world’s cocoa, the primary ingredient in chocolate, comes from the West African nation of Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory (…)

, by Grain

Whose harvest? The politics of organic seed certification

The vision behind organic agriculture is one in which care for the environment and health are central, and farmers get a fair deal for their efforts. But organic agriculture is also becoming serious business – with marketing tools, like certification, occupying more and more space and influence. (…)

, by Focus on the global south

Agroenergy: Myths and Impacts in Latin America

by Pastoral Land Commission and Network for Social Justice and Human Rights

Recent studies on the negative impacts of fossil fuels have contributed to agrofuels becoming one of the most important issues of the day. Currently, the global energy matrix is composed of petroleum (35%), coal (23%), and natural gas (21%). Just ten of the wealthiest countries consume close to (…)

, by BELLO Walden

Why Asia’s farmers deserve protection

Focus on the Global South

One of the terrible truths of the 20th century is that it was a blight on small farmers or peasants everywhere. Before looking at the question of whether Asia’s farmers need protection, it is necessary to consider this historical background.
In both wealthy capitalist economies and in (…)