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Destroying African Agriculture
Biofuel production is certainly one of the culprits in the current global food crisis. But while the diversion of corn from food to biofuel feedstock has been a factor in food prices shooting up, the more primordial problem has been the conversion of economies that are largely food-self-sufficient into chronic food importers. Here the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the World Trade Organization (WTO) figure as much more important villains.
Whether in Latin America, Asia, or Africa, the story has been the same: the destabilization of peasant producers by a one-two punch of IMF-World Bank structural adjustment programs that gutted government investment in the countryside followed by the massive influx of subsidized U.S. and European Union agricultural imports after the WTO’s Agreement on Agriculture pried open markets. .
African agriculture is a case study of how doctrinaire economics serving corporate interests can destroy a whole continent’s productive base.
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So this so called "secret" report by the World bank stating that "biofuels" are to blame for the world food shortage is in part propaganda to cover up their own participation in it. It is not 'biofuel' production in total that has caused it, but 'ethanol' production and mostly subsidized imports brought about by the destabilization of local economies in Africa, Asia, and Latin America that are raising prices. Biofuel production is certainly one of the culprits in the current global food crisis. But while the diversion of corn from food to bi... more -
The rise of food fascism: agrarian elite foment coup in Bolivia
Like many third world countries Bolivia is experiencing food shortages and rising food prices attributable to a global food marketing system driven by multinational agribusiness corporations. With sixty percent of the Bolivian population living in poverty and thirty-three percent in extreme poverty, the price of the basic food canasta--including wheat, rice, corn, soy oil and potatoes, as well as meat—has risen twenty-five percent over the past year with prices gyrating wildly in the local markets.
As in most other countries affected by the food crisis, the overall rise in food prices is attributable to the workings of the free market—when the price of one or several commodities goes up, the consumers turn to other food stuffs, thereby driving up these prices as well. In an effort to halt the effects of this unregulated market, the government has enacted price controls and even prohibited the export of beef, most of which is produced on haciendas. But these measures have been largely ineffective: A black market flourishes as agrarian commercial interests openly flaunt the central government’s price controls, even directly exporting commodities like beef and cooking oil at higher prices to the neighboring countries of Chile and Peru.
This is taking place as Bolivia’s first Indian president, Evo Morales, is facing a sustained challenge by a right wing movement for autonomy that is integrally linked to the very agribusiness corporations that are profiting from the upsurge in food prices. Based in the eastern province of Santa Cruz, a powerful agrarian bourgeoisie is determined to upend the government’s agrarian reform program and to halt Morales’ efforts to more equitably distribute the wealth that flows from Bolivia’s oil and gas fields. Its ultimate goal is to topple Morales and the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) that backs him.
The corporate dominated agro-industrial complex in Santa Cruz is centered on the growing, processing and export of soy beans. Two of the world’s largest agribusiness multinationals, ADM and Cargill, play a major role in the regional economy. They are primarily exporters of Bolivian soybeans and sunflower seeds while ADM co-owns with a Bolivian firm the largest vegetable oil processing plant, Sociedad Aceitera del Oriente. (1) Giant agribusiness corporations like John Deere have commercial outlets in Santa Cruz as Bolivia manufactures no heavy agricultural machinery. Multinational companies supply most of Bolivia’s agrichemicals, while Monsanto and Calgene are promoting genetically modified seeds. Peruvian and Colombian agribusiness interests have also set up processing plants in Santa Cruz, including the Romero Company from Peru which has joint international operations with Cargill, while large soy growers from the neighboring Brazilian state of Mato Grosso have settled on Bolivian lands.
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Multinational agribusiness is desecrating our planet and putting small farmers out of business. It's time for a global boycott of Monsanto, Cargill, Archer Daniels Midland, and all of these companies that have not only practiced food fascism, but also have human rights abuses attached to their resumes in these countries as well. Like many third world countries Bolivia is experiencing food shortages and rising food prices attributable to a global food marketing ... more -
Bush-led 'disaster capitalism' exploits worldwide misery to make a buck
Once oil passed $140 a barrel, even the most rabidly right-wing media hosts had to prove their populist cred by devoting a portion of every show to bashing Big Oil. Some have gone so far as to invite me on for a friendly chat about an insidious new phenomenon: "disaster capitalism." It usually goes well - until it doesn't.
For instance, "independent conservative" radio host Jerry Doyle and I were having a perfectly amiable conversation about sleazy insurance companies and inept politicians when this happened: "I think I have a quick way to bring the prices down," Doyle announced. "We've invested $650 billion to liberate a nation of 25 million people. Shouldn't we just demand that they give us oil? There should be tankers after tankers backed up like a traffic jam getting into the Lincoln Tunnel, the Stinkin' Lincoln, at rush hour with thank-you notes from the Iraqi government ... Why don't we just take the oil? We've invested it liberating a country. I can have the problem solved of gas prices coming down in ten days, not ten years."
There were a couple of problems with Doyle's plan, of course. The first was that he was describing the biggest stickup in world history. The second, that he was too late: "We" are already heisting Iraq's oil, or at least are on the cusp of doing so.
It's been ten months since the publication of my book The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism, in which I argue that today's preferred method of reshaping the world in the interest of multinational corporations is to systematically exploit the state of fear and disorientation that accompanies moments of great shock and crisis. With the globe being rocked by multiple shocks, this seems like a good time to see how and where the strategy is being applied.
And the disaster capitalists have been busy -- from private firefighters already on the scene in Northern California's wildfires, to land grabs in cyclone-hit Burma, to the housing bill making its way through Congress. The bill contains little in the way of affordable housing, shifts the burden of mortgage default to taxpayers and makes sure that the banks that made bad loans get some payouts. No wonder it is known in the hallways of Congress as "The Credit Suisse Plan," after one of the banks that generously proposed it.
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Those conspiring behind closed doors are not Democrats or Republicans to me. They aren't even real Americans. They are globalist elitist Fascists who use misery and tragedy to profit and to subjugate the weak and poor. That is not how a Democratic society built upon liberty and equality exists. I have thought for quite some time that the climate crisis was not being addressed properly because those in power want it to get worse so they can push their genetically modified seeds, milk, and other franken products on farmers...so they can take our water to commoditize it... so they can invade the Arctic to get its resources.... and so they can use war and environmental devastation to continue their march to global domination while weakening civil rights.
For in a truly Democratic society, pre-emptive war would not be waged against countries that had not attacked us. Climate change would be addressed properly as the urgent crisis it is for our survival. All people would have an equal voice in this process. Media conglomerates would not be owned by the governments and those associated with governments pumping out only what they want us to hear and other distractionary bs in lieu of telling truth and educating the populace. But that isn't what we have. What we have is global Fascism subtle as it may be, and if the people do not stand up to this now we will lose it all. Once oil passed $140 a barrel, even the most rabidly right-wing media hosts had to prove their populist cred by devoting a portion of ... more -
Doctors Without Borders: 'Plumpynut' new food advance to fight malnutrition
Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is calling for increased and expanded use of nutrient dense ready-to-use food (RUF) to reduce the five million annual deaths worldwide related to malnutrition in children under five years of age. Current food aid, which focuses on fighting hunger—not on treating malnutrition—is not doing enough to address the needs of young children most at risk.
What is therapeutic ready-to-use food?
Commercialized therapeutic RUF takes the form of a peanut/milk-based paste with all nutrients essential to treat severe acute malnutrition. It comes in individually wrapped airtight foil packets, that are resistant to bacterial infection and easy to distribute. The product has a long shelf life, making it easy to store, transport and to use in hot climates as an efficient way to provide milk to children under three.
"It's not only about how much food children get, it's what's in the food that counts," said Dr. Christophe Fournier, president of MSF's International Council. "Without the right amounts of vitamins and essential nutrients in their diet, young kids become vulnerable to disease that they would normally be able to fight off easily. Calls for increased food aid ignore the special needs of young children who are at the greatest risk of dying."
RUFs, which come in individually wrapped rations, contain all the necessary nutrients, vitamins, and minerals that a young child needs. This dense therapeutic food, which has milk powder, sugars, and vegetable fats, can be produced and stored locally and transported easily, and requires no refrigeration, making it ideal for use in hot climates. It allows a child to recover from being malnourished and catch up on lost growth. Being easy-to-use, mothers—not doctors and nurses—are the main caregivers, meaning far more children at risk can be reached.
"In Somalia we are giving acutely malnourished kids packets of ready-to-use food and we see them gain weight and begin thriving within a couple of weeks," said Dr Gustavo Fernandez, MSF head of mission in Somalia. "RUFs are practical to use in places like Somalia where security is very bad. General food distribution is also needed, but it is not going to be very effective to treat kids under three years old."
Severe acute malnutrition in early childhood is common in large areas of the Horn of Africa, the Sahel, and South Asia -- the world's "malnutrition hotspots." The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that there are 20 million young children suffering from severe acute malnutrition at any given moment and MSF estimates that only three percent of them will receive RUF in 2007.
Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is calling for increased and expanded use of nutrient dense ready-to-use food (... more -
Drought Threatens The Lives of Millions In Ethiopia
This is heartbreaking. Not only because this is happening to children, but because it is totally preventable. There are no longer any words to express my outrage at what is going on in this world. I cannot fathom the total lack of tolerance, intelligence, and planning on the part of governments. I cannot tolerate the absolute disregard for human beings by other human beings, and the conditions we exacerbate still knowing full well what is causing them with the ability to stop them. How does one who cares so deeply for the children of this world read something like this and not feel helpless?
These poor people are kept in total poverty for the benefit of organizations like The World Bank, and yes, even the UN, and I find it appalling. For all of the talk we hear year after year after year about eradicating poverty, famine, and water scarcity and pollution which are causing the diseases plaguing the developing world, we get little to no results in addressing it. For all of the money thrown at it we get little to no results.
This is simply so pervasive and so overwhelming in scope that it is beyond human comprehension. We as a species will never be able to live down what we have done to despoil not only this planet but our own species and those that have no voice. And the children... the innocent children who have known nothing but hunger, disease, and despair. What of them? Where is their hope? Where is their food? Where is their water? Where is the education to show them how to plant and build a life for themselves instead of depending on The World Bank and other bloodsucking organizations that loan them money they can never repay back thus keeping the cycle of poverty and inequality going round? Are they to now only be the focus of the media just to get ratings?
All I can say is, thanks to organizations like Doctors Without Borders these children will at least have a chance to get proper medical care and food. I have come to conclusion however, that governments around this world for all their talk are simply too corrupt, selfish, and inadequate to address the crises we face adequately with the moral fortitude necessary to conquer them.
NO CHILD IN THIS WORLD SHOULD GO HUNGRY OR THIRSTY. And to think we have all we need to make sure that doesn't happen but yet it still does is a shameful reflection on all of us.
More at http://water-is-life.blogspot.com
WATER IS LIFE. This is heartbreaking. Not only because this is happening to children, but because it is totally preventable. There are no longer any ... more -
End Water Poverty
This charity is working to bring clean water to the people living in poverty. It is a crisis that is killing as many as 50,00 children a day - the equivalent of 20 airliners filled with children lost everyday to an entirely preventable public health crisis, 1.1 billion lack access to clean water, 2.6 billion lack access to basic sanitation. It is a crisis driven by inequality and poverty, where the burden falls most heavily on women. It is girls who are denied an education because they are tasked with fetching water or drop out of school in adolescence because of inadequate sanitation facilities. And as adults, women continue to waste hours each day in the search for water and inevitably look after the children that are ill or dying from diarrhoeal diseases. It is a crisis that hampers economic growth and an entire generation. This charity is working to bring clean water to the people living in poverty. It is a crisis that is killing as many as 50,00 children... more
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Changing the World with Kiva.org
Kiva is changing the world through microfinancing. Kiva allows people to lend as little as $25 directly to the poor. They use that money to start a busiess that helps them get out of poverty. 99.9% of the loans have been paid back. Kiva is changing the world through microfinancing. Kiva allows people to lend as little as $25 directly to the poor. They use that mon... more
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Thousands Flee Violence In Zimbabwe & Escape Into South Africa.
This New York Times article is about how a Zimbabwean woman named Sarah Ngewerume and her child flees across the border into South Africa.
Please read This New York Times article is about how a Zimbabwean woman named Sarah Ngewerume and her child flees across the border into South Afr... more -
The Glorious Potato - Saving the World
As wheat and rice prices surge, the humble potato -- long derided as a boring tuber prone to making you fat -- is being rediscovered as a nutritious crop that could cheaply feed an increasingly hungry world...it comes in more than 5,000 varieties...
...Potatoes, which are native to Peru, can be grown at almost any elevation or climate: from the barren, frigid slopes of the Andes Mountains to the tropical flatlands of Asia. They require very little water, mature in as little as 50 days, and can yield between two and four times more food per hectare than wheat or rice...
...the United Nations named 2008 the International Year of the Potato, calling the vegetable a "hidden treasure"...
...a great source of complex carbohydrates...and have only 5% percent of the fat content of wheat...
...one-fourth of the calories of bread and...more protein than corn and nearly twice the calcium...they contain vitamin C, iron, potassium and zinc... As wheat and rice prices surge, the humble potato -- long derided as a boring tuber prone to making you fat -- is being rediscovered a... more -
The Wars Of The Future Will Be Fought Over Water
Blue gold. That is what the world's water resources are now becoming. In many areas of our world it is the most precious resource. Mismanagement, waste, pollution, outdated infrastructure or no infrastructure, climate change which is exacerbating droughts and floods, and corporate privitization of water are predicted to be the catalysts of future conflicts over this most precious and basic resources that gives us life.
There is a concerted effort taking place by major corporations to make water a commodity on the open market thereby raising the price and keeping it from being accessible to those who need it most: the poor in developing countries whose population increases are leading to food shortages and lack of sanitation causing disease.Conservation and education are the keys to addressing this crisis now, as is political will on a global scale to first declare water a human right. However, the U.S refuses to do so. This video of an interview with Maude Barlow explores the coming battle for water resources if we do not see this as the crisis it is. Blue gold. That is what the world's water resources are now becoming. In many areas of our world it is the most precious resource. Mis... more -
Making Poverty History.
Although I'm only 15, I love to help anyone with everything. The One organization is a great way for you to get started if your like me. They are just trying to get people's knowledge about One organization more sufficient. They also want to get the basic needs for every generation which includes health, water, education, and food becasue they belive things like this would completley change the world and I deffiently agree. Please take the time to check them out and maybe even sign up for the "decleration" to help stop poverty! Although I'm only 15, I love to help anyone with everything. The One organization is a great way for you to get started if your like m... more
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A Thirsty Planet Looks For Solutions To Water Shortage
Another important issue that should be on the news and in every newspaper, but isn't.
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Global economic growth, population pressures and the rise of mega-cities have all driven water use to record levels.
Mexico City, Jakarta and Bangkok, to name a few, have underground water sources -- some of them nonrenewable -- depleting at alarming rates.
In Beijing, home to 16 million, aquifers have fallen by more than a dozen metres (40 feet) in 30 years, forcing the government to earmark tens of billions of dollars for a scheme to ferry water from the Yangzte River in the south to the country's parched north.
Aggravating the shortages are pathogen and chemical pollution, which have transformed many primary sources of water in the developing world into toxic repositories of disease.
Desperation forces people to consume these contaminated waters.
"In the coming decades, water scarcity may be a watchword that prompts action ranging from wholesale population migration to war, unless new ways to supply clean water are found," comment a team of researchers in a review of water purification technology published Thursday in the British journal Nature.
But even as scientists and governments look for ways to satisfy a thirsty world, another threat looms on the horizon: global warming.
Rising sea levels are already forcing salt water into aquifers beneath megadeltas that are home to tens of millions, and changing weather patterns are set to intensify droughts in large swathes of Africa, southern Europe and Asia, according to UN's Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC).
Experts and policy makers point to three broad categories of initiatives to ease the shortage of clean, drinkable water, especially in the world's poorest regions: sanitation, purification, and water management.
end of excerpt.
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Another important issue that should be on the news and in every newspaper, but isn't. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ... more -
Today Is World Water Day...What will you do?
Today, March 22, is World Water Day. The theme for this year is sanitation. Every 15 seconds another child dies in this world from a waterborne disease due to lack of potable water and proper sanitation. This is the most crucial environmental crisis we face along with the climate crisis, and water shortages in many parts of our world due to lack of infrastructure, mismanagement of resources, and now climate change only lend to this crisis.
Please, take time today to do something to take action to save water and call for clean water for the children of our world. I will be sending letters to my Senators today and also sending a message to all of the presidential candidates to stand up for water and to make its conservation and availability and sanitation part of their environmental platforms, and that includes not supporting energy sources that pollute our waterways ( like coal and nuclear.)
Also, take a look at this site: http://www.water.org and consider pledging to give clean water to those in our world who need it. Water is our most precious resource. Water is life.
Thank you Today, March 22, is World Water Day. The theme for this year is sanitation. Every 15 seconds another child dies in this world from a w... more -
The End of Poverty - The "Homework" of Our Generation
My name is Shawn and I used to be a graduate student at the University of Notre Dame. I was inspired to put graduate school on hold and leave the comforts of home behind and come to Bangladesh after meeting Dr. Jeffrey Sachs. Dr. Sachs is author of the book called "The End of Poverty". His message is simple: we can end poverty in our lifetime and it doesn't take drastic changes for that to happen. I've been here since the last week of June '07 trying to do my part to help the poorest of the poor. This the first of many videos documenting my experiences here.
I also run a blog at http://uncultured.com
I look forward to being able to share this with the Current.com community! My name is Shawn and I used to be a graduate student at the University of Notre Dame. I was inspired to put graduate school on hold an... more -
The Right To Water And Women
Women coming together for a common cause have and can truly change the world.
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Yemen Sleepwalks Into Water Nightmare
With a population increase from 60,000 to 2 million people in the last fifty years and groundwater resources that cannot be replenished fast enough to keep up with consumption and population increases, Yemen is the perfect example of what this world faces in this century should current behavior continue.
I cannot wrap my head around this. I cannot fathom how people can continue to build populations while depleting resources. This truly is a nightmare and one we will see played over and over again unless the international community begins to add population to the resume of what we must address in solving the water/climate crisis.That means access to family planning and contraception in developing countries with an emphasis on education.
Any global climate treaty signed next year must include how the global community will address overpopulation in ratio to availability of resources combined with conservation efforts. With the population of this world fast approaching 9 billion people, we will simply not be able to sustain them all with our precious resources being wasted and lost to climate change. Something has to give, and it has to be us. In places like Yemen however, it may already be too late. So what can countries like this do to adapt? With a population increase from 60,000 to 2 million people in the last fifty years and groundwater resources that cannot be replenishe... more -
U.S. Launches Airstrike On Somalia After Oil Reaches $104 A Barrel
Coincidence? And of course these hits are always positioned against terror "suspects."
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The Global Water Crisis and the Coming Battle for the Right To Water
Maude Barlow is co-founder of the Blue Planet Project and a very vocal advocate for clean water for all. Her new book (The Global Water Crisis and the Coming Battle for the Right to Water) lays out three main plans that must be instituted in order for our planet to avert a catastrophe regarding this crisis that according to the UN should be our top priority which include: Water conservation, water justice, and water democracy. We must as a global community see beyond the borders to the moral courage necessary to conserve and share this precious resource, as well as working on a treaty like the one we hope to see regarding the climate crisis that sets goals for conservation, sharing of resources, providing technology necessary to developing countries that helps them with conserving through agriculture, infrastructure, and basic education. And most importantly, declaring access to clean water a human right.This along with the climate crisis is the most crucial environmental issue we will face in this century. For me it is the most crucial because without water there is no life. Maude Barlow is co-founder of the Blue Planet Project and a very vocal advocate for clean water for all. Her new book (The Global Wate... more
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Global Micro-Clinic Project
The Global Micro-Clinic Project works to empower people to prevent and manage diseases in impoverished and conflict-ridden areas of our world.
More info on this great nonprofit organization founded by Daniel Zoughbie can be found at:
http://microclinicproject.org/ The Global Micro-Clinic Project works to empower people to prevent and manage diseases in impoverished and conflict-ridden areas of ou... more -
Can multilateral trade work for the poor?
Protectionism, self-reliance and village republics are not enough to lift 1.3 billion of the world’s poor out of absolute poverty. There is sufficient empirical evidence to demonstrate that trade can be a powerful catalyst for poverty reduction, that free trade with fairer policies will benefit the world's poor more than aid or charity. The problem is that World Trade Organisation negotiations and global trade are far from free and fair, with the balance skewed in favour of powerful trading blocs like the US and EU and against poorer nations.
Protectionism, self-reliance and village republics are not enough to lift 1.3 billion of the world’s poor out of absolute poverty. The... more
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Global Poverty
