According to a new report by the Fairtrade Foundation, farmers in the developing world have come under intense strain amid skyrocketing prices for food, fuel and fertiliser. The report, which includes interviews with farmers’ groups in Uganda, Malawi, Nicaragua, India, Sri Lanka and the Caribbean, claims that houshold budgets for many farmers in these areas […]
You’ve been hearing me whoop and holler here about the activities of the new Administration and the new Congress. (Fear not: You’ll continue to have more of this from me.) But there’s going to be some other visible and important action on The Hill next week – on Monday, March 2, in fact. Capitol Climate […]
The Great Decisions 2009 article on the “Global Food Crisis” identifies U.S. agricultural subsidies as an example of a divisive issue between developed countries and developing countries, particularly as they try to negotiate a fair, free trade system. The U.S. government provides subsidies, or payments, to farmers or agribusinesses (often large-scale, corporate farms) for their […]
As the international community attempts to help Afghanistan rebuild, the Taliban insurgency and illegal opium growing remain among the largest detriments to peace and security. A no less deadly factor that also continues to threaten the well-being of Afghans is hunger. According to a recent article on Eurasianet, Afghans die from hunger and poverty each […]
The United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) released its Crop Prospects and Food Situation report on February 12th with some sobering findings. The report cites the presence of acute food shortages in 32 countries around the world and predicts a potentially disastrous fall in global cereal production. This UN News Centre press release highlights […]
“It’s the hottest day of the summer. You can do nothing, you can do something, or you can…” That’s what the poster for this 1989 Spike Lee joint says. “Do the right thing.” It’s what sustainability is all about. The “FT” answers the question Why sustainability is still going strong. Many are saying the worldwide […]
On February 19th, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) program PM aired a segment on a new United Nations report examining the global food crisis. In the piece, ABC interviewed food policy experts about the causal factors of the recent food crisis, including population growth, urbanization, climate change, and the development of biofuels. The experts are also asked […]
As food prices and the demand for alternative fuels increases, so do looming concerns about the effects climate change will have on the global food supply. Food policy experts contributing to this Time online article warn that the continued emission of greenhouse gases, prominent contributors to global warming, could mean that many climates will be […]
UPDATE 4/10/09: The Peanut Corporation plant in Texas fined for conditions that contributed to the salmonella outbreak in the company’s peanuts. On the heels of the Peanut Corporation of America’s president Stewart Parnell’s refusal to testify before Congress, the company filed for bankruptcy. The Washington Post takes a look at the “rise and fall” of the […]
As discussed in the Great Decisions 2009 article “Global Food Crisis,” many food policy analysts have argued against the current, prevalent strategy favored by developing countries for providing food aid. Called “dumping” by its critics, this strategy includes requirements to use the developed countries’ surplus crops as the source of food aid. An alternative strategy […]
It is the mission of the Foreign Policy Association to engage and educate the public on international issues. This blog has tried to play its part by disseminating information on the science, politics, policy and business of energy, the environment and climate change. Hopefully, it has stimulated some thinking and, ideally, some action. But the […]
I’ve been blogging on climate change for almost two years here – and having a great time, don’t get me wrong. But there are some new FPA sister blogs that are looking at this issue as well. Welcome aboard. Check out, for instance, Thawing Permafrost Could Accelerate Global Warming from Mia Bennett at the blog […]
When Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon, the world was listening and loved it. I feel as if we have come to a not-dissimilar moment in history. We have turned the corner, in the United States, and in much of the rest of the world, on reaching for a new frontier. We […]
…. here’s a terrific television show from the Foreign Policy Association. It’s part of the FPA’s signature Great Decisions program. The show is titled “Off the Grid: Energy and the U.S. Economy.”
I went to a panel discussion earlier this week at NYU’s Center for Global Affairs. This is where I’m teaching now and they have, in addition to their great MS and extensive Continuing Ed programs, quite a bit of excellent public programming. The Canadian Consulate in New York City cosponsored this event. Here’s what we […]