Publication archives

Jun 11, 2012

A new day for food aid

by
Sophia Murphy
Today, a new multilateral Food Assistance Convention (FAC) is available for signature. Thirty-four counties and the European Union will be eligible to sign the convention (countries must be food aid donors to sign).
Jun 8, 2012

Overturning Citizens United

by
Ben Lilliston
From tractors, chemicals and seeds, to farmers and food workers, supermarkets and consumers, there's not a part of food and agriculture that big, often multinational, corporations don't dominate.
Jun 6, 2012

Moving the ball on local foods financing

by
Bill Wenzel
For many of us working on local food system development, one of the biggest challenges is forging the infrastructure needed to aggregate, process, distribute and market locally grown foods. These businesses are essential for meeting increased demand for local foods while creating jobs, connecting farms with buyers, and bolstering struggling local economies, both rural and urban.
Jun 6, 2012

Honesty is the best policy: BPA-free doesn’t always = toxic-free

by
Katie Rojas-Jahn
Just a few short years ago, BPA—at the time, a chemical relatively unknown to the general public—was used in a plethora of consumer products: from baby bottles, to receipt paper, to food can linings and more.
Jun 5, 2012

Critical issues in agriculture discussed during the climate change negotiations

by
Dr. Steve Suppan
Heated debates on equity of burden sharing and finance dominated much of the discussions at the UNFCCC negotiation in Bonn Germany. Within this broader debate, there is growing recognition of the urgent need to find new solutions to the challenges of agriculture and food security in the face of abrupt and violent climate events and slow-onset events, such as extended drought.
Jun 5, 2012

The Surprising Effect of Agriculture on Rising Sea Levels

by
Shiney Varghese
Efforts to meet freshwater demand by harnessing “fossil” groundwater contributes more to rising sea levels than melting glaciers.
Jun 4, 2012

UNFCCC parties kick the agriculture can down the road to Doha

by
Doreen Stabinsky
Parties to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) met in Bonn, Germany, for the past two weeks. On the rather full agenda for the meeting was an exchange of views on agriculture, mandated by a decision taken last year at the 17th Conference of the Parties in Durban, South Africa.
Jun 4, 2012

White House caves on antibiotics

by
Ben Lilliston
In another display of Big Pharma’s political influence, the Obama Administration will appeal a court ruling that would have protected public health by withdrawing certain antibiotics from being used in animal feed.