Is famine the new normal?

Minneapolis, February 7, 2011 — When global food prices spiked in 2007-08, a hundred million people were added to the ranks of the world’s hungry, pushing the total number over 1 billion for the first time in history. Now, just two years later, we are seeing another food price hike, and more famine is likely to follow.

The Minneapolis Mini Farmers Market Project

While some Minneapolis neighborhoods enjoy a bountiful supply of healthy foods, others do not. IATP’s Mini Farmers Market project is helping to address this challenge by bringing fresh fruits and vegetables to neighborhoods that lack healthy food options. In 2010, 21 Mini Farmers Markets were operating across the city. Farmers markets

Making U.S. Trade Policy Serve Global Food Security Goals

Introduction

A climate-friendly Farm Bill

We're in a rut when it comes to taking action on climate change. Congress has stalled on passing climate legislation. International negotiators failed to agree on binding emission cuts in Cancun late last year. And it's unclear whether the EPA will have the power to regulate greenhouse gases. Fortunately, we have a tool to help us make a real impact on slowing climate change: the Farm Bill.

Charter for a Healthy Farm Bill

U.S. health professionals are calling on new leadership in Congress to make health a priority in writing the next Farm Bill. National health leaders, including Dr. Andrew Weil and Dr. Marion Nestle, have signed onto a “Charter for a Healthy Farm Bill.” (See the full list of signatories at HealthyFoodAction.org.)

Hospitals support Minnesota farmers, purchase locally grown produce

Minneapolis, December 22, 2010 – Hospitals, as places of healing, have a natural incentive to provide food that’s healthy for people and the environment and to be models for healthy eating. A poor diet is a risk factor for four of the leading six causes of death nationally: heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cancer.

Public Input for the Study Regarding the Oversight of Existing and Prospective Carbon Markets

Comment on issues to be considered by the interagency group in the CFTC carbon market study mandated by Section 750 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act).

Empty global climate deal leaves agriculture behind

Cancun, Mexico – A watered-down United Nations climate deal reached early this morning missed another opportunity to support climate-resilient agriculture and global food security, according to the Minneapolis-based Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP).

Climate change demands a new way to feed the world

REMARKS OF JIM HARKNESS, PRESIDENT, IATP DIÁLOGO CLIMÁTICO, CANCÚN, MEXICO Cancún, December 5, 2010 — I would first like to thank our Mexican hosts and say what an honor it is to appear with such an inspiring group of farm leaders from around the world.

Grain Reserves: A Smart Climate Adaptation Policy

Consider these four developments: 1.) Climate change is having a profound effect on current and anticipated food production; 2.) Those effects are expected to be greatest in some of the world’s most impoverished regions, particularly in the countries that sit around the equator; 3.) The anticipated effects of climate change, coupled with the already evident disruptions to natural phenomena, inc