Food Crisis // Current TV

Banking on Haiti's Poor

What can the poorest people do to aid economic development in their own communities? A... more

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Aide internationale au Burundi

Development assistance can offer people an alternative to conflict in countries... more

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Ignoring the Obvious in Copenhagen - Just Add Water

By deliberately deciding not to make water impacts a central theme in climate talks,... more

jdecock
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Made in Benin

A year ago, 30-year-old mother of six Brigitte Adassin was like many poor African... more

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Made in Benin

A year ago, 30-year-old mother of six Brigitte Adassin was like many poor African... more

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Seeds of Hope

In 2008, global food price spikes and four successive hurricanes battered the... more

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Corporate patents on plants and animals threaten freedom and biodiversity

I was going to add a title saying I was stripping for sustainable agriculture to get more attention, but I decided not to. But seriously, is that really what we have to stoop to in order to get people to pay attention to such an important issue? When will this be considered important to media? When you are not able to buy or plant a seed without a corporation owning it? When you will not be able to eat anything but what they tell you to eat? When the number of crops grown dwindles down to 10 and biodiversity is all but gone? When the worldwide famine hits or we completely poison this planet into unsustainability?

Excerpt:

A global civil society coalition sent a public warning to the UN General Assembly that a new class of patents covering plants and animals endangers both innovation and food security, echoing the sentiments of the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food.

The "Global alert against Monstantosizing' our food" was released on 21 October by the "No Patents on Seeds" coalition, coinciding with the presentation of similar concerns by the UN Special Rapporteur, Olivier de Schutter, on the Right to Food, at the Third Committee (dealing with Social, Humanitarian and Cultural issues) in New York.

The alert was initiated by the organisations Berne Declaration, Swissaid, Misereor No Patents on Life (Switzerland), Greenpeace and The Development Fund (Norway), supported by farmer organisations from Europe, South America and Asia. They include Coldiretti in Italy, COAG in Spain, dairy farmers from Germany, Federacion Agraria Argentina and Bharat Krishak Samaj, an Indian farmer organisation.

Directed at governments, parliaments and patent offices, the alert warns about a new class of patents covering plants and animals derived from conventional breeding. "These patents even claim harvests and derived food products such as milk, butter and bread," the report revealed.

By speaking of "Monsantosizing", the signatories to the alert warned that the whole chain from seed to food production might be controlled by a few big international corporations like Monsanto, DuPont and Syngenta, leading to a process of oligopolies and increasing concentration.

"A radical change in both patent legislation and the practice of patent offices is needed to eliminate patents on plants and farm animals," said Francois Meienberg of the Berne Declaration.

"Corporations should not be allowed to continue to misappropriate and monopolise seeds, plants and farm animals via patent law. If they are, these patents will become a major threat to global food security, food sovereignty and innovation."

"The big companies are about to control seed, harvest, trade and even food production," warned Luis Contigiani at Federacion Agraria Argentina.

"We can see how Monsanto tries to license fees on soy production, imposing embargoes on European importers of Argentinean soy and derivatives based on patents that are not valid in our country. This is an example of the consequences when genetic resources are subjected to the logic of monopolisation by patent rights."

The alert quotes from the background report by the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food (A/64/170), de Schutter, which also raises concerns that seed patents might increase food crises. Citing de Schutter, "The oligopolistic structure of the input providers' market may result in poor farmers being deprived of access to seeds, productive resources essential for their livelihoods, and it could raise the price of food, thus making food less affordable for the poorest."I was going to add a title saying I was stripping for sustainable agriculture to get... more

JanforGore
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3 years ago
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Broke Britian to be forced to go veggie?

A new official assessment of the UK’s food security suggests that the British... more

CarolineS
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3 years ago
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Donate Fruit, Fight World Hunger

Launched today, naumesfruitgifts.com is a new, socially responsible gift giving... more

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3 years ago
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The Terminator, not science fiction but science reality

The terminator gene has from day one made the poor farmers that feed the world lives a... more

CarolineS
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3 years ago
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In next 50 years, humans must produce as much food as has been produced in history

“It is really hard for me to comprehend that in the next 50 years, we’ll... more

lookatmypix
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3 years ago
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Want to know how much sugar contain in your daily food? Check this out.

james106
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3 years ago
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100 Reasons to Become a Hyperlocavore « Hyperlocavore

Hyperlocavore.com, a social network, is here to help facilitate yard sharing. Yard... more

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3 years ago
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Man Escapes Prosecution for Barbecuing Pet Dog

In New Zealand, a man was accused of cooking Fido for Sunday dinner. They eventually... more

good_stuff
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3 years ago
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DAVID VERSUS MONSANTO

Imagine that a storm blows across your garden and that now, without your knowledge and... more

hawk5000
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3 years ago
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US House and Senate are about to pass a Bill that will OUTLAW ORGANIC FARMING (bill HR 875)

There is an enormous rush to get this into law within the > next 2 weeks before... more

Savvy888
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3 years ago
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Is Monsanto’s Goal Our Extinction?

This video straight-forwardly explains the scientific facts how Monsanto manufactures... more

organicjar
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3 years ago
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3 comments

Can You Eat on 1 Dollar a Day? Watch New Documentary ‘Food Stamped’

Did you know that 1 in 10 Americans are trying to live on $1 per meal? A new... more

organicjar
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3 years ago
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Naturopathic Medicine, What is it?

Naturopathy is a form of alternative or complementary medicine that promotes the... more

organicjar
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3 years ago
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Playground weed killer suffocates human cells

Glyphosate, POEA and all four Roundup formulations damaged all three cell types.... more

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3 years ago
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