Publication archives

May 25, 2016

Five key takeaways from the TTIP leak for food and farming systems

The leaked Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiating texts published by Greenpeace Netherlands1 on May 2 provide a crucial snapshot of the status of the trade talks.
May 18, 2016

Nanomaterials in baby formula: why?

by
Dr. Steve Suppan
A new report from Friends of the Earth (FoE), “Nanoparticles in baby formula: Tiny ingredients are a big concern,” will prompt a lot more commentary than can be summarized in this blog. Two questions likely to be raised in all commentaries:
May 16, 2016

How the poultry industry is blaming farmers for H5N2

Over the past year, the Star Tribune, the largest paper in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area, has published almost all its articles on the outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N2 in its business section. 
May 11, 2016

Phantom Liquidity and Agricultural Price Shocks

by
Dr. Steve Suppan
Defenders of high-frequency trading (HFT) claim that they provide necessary capital to commodity derivative markets that enable commercial users of commodities to trade in “liquid” markets, i.e., to manage price risks by buying and selling what they want, when they want.
May 10, 2016

Contribution to Asia Regional Meeting on Agroecology

by
Shiney Varghese
Dr. M. Jahi Chappell
Minneapolis, May 10, 2016—The Regional Meeting on Agroecology in Asia in November of 2015 marked the culmination of four FAO meetings on Agroecology. These vibrant meetings confirmed a rising tide that we have written about previously: agroecology’s prominence is growing worldwide.
May 3, 2016

Climate Democracy for Rural Communities

by
Anna Claussen
In early March, farmers and rural residents of southeast Minnesota gathered for three intensive days of presentations, discussion and deliberation around the thorny issue of climate change. The Winona, Minnesota Climate Dialogue participants, most of them in shirts and jeans, were a blend of ages, cultural backgrounds and jobs.
Climate Democracy for Rural Communities
May 2, 2016

U.S. tries to export its biotech deregulatory regime

by
Dr. Steve Suppan
A long standing claim by the U.S. government and agribusiness lobby is that U.S. regulations on genetically engineered (GE) crops are science-based while European regulations are not.
Apr 29, 2016

Farm and Rural Groups Ask Congress to Reject TPP

by
Ben Lilliston
The controversial new trade deal, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, has been a tough sell for the Obama Administration. The top four Presidential candidates oppose its passage and support in Congress is waning.