Harvest of Injustice
Adrianna Paz informs us in this article about an important issue that largely flies under the radar screen - the plight of seasonal agricultural workers brought to Canada from Southern countries to harvest crops. Since the mid-1990s, a federal government program has been in place to import workers for time limited periods. Despite living and working in Canada, these workers have been stripped of most of their rights. Justice/Justicia for Migrant Workers is a Canadian non-governmental organization that is working to bring this shameful situation to light and to effect long-lasting effective change. For this to occur, the root causes of this phenomena needs to be understood and the racism inherent in this system confronted. Please click here to read the article.
10:20 AM
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Monday, June 23, 2008
Leading the Charge, Leading the Change
In a recent address to the Northwest Harvest Food Bank Annual Meeting in Seattle, Mark Winne presents a challenge to the "reformers" in the food bank world. A growing number of leaders are ready to confront the inequity of the current food system, which sees a staggering 38 million Americans wondering where their next meal will come from. Winne answers a question that one food bank employee posed to him: "what can a single food bank do now, in concrete terms, to better serve its constituents as well as change the culture of the anti-hunger movement?" To read Mark Winne's answer, please click here. Mark Winne is the author of Closing the Food Gap: Resetting the Table in the Land of Plenty.
2:08 PM
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Tuesday, June 17, 2008
The Food Crisis Bites Back
When a crisis arises, opportunity knocks, says food analyst Sam Urquhart. In fact, the food system has been suffering from chronic hunger pangs for decades, the result of globalization, genetically modified seeds and the green revolution. The crisis has taken a different form and function depending on how it positioned and by whom. Version one focuses on the role of supply and demand, serving the interests of agribusinesses like Monsanto, Cargill, BP, and the like. The second version, represented by NGOs such as Food First, Via Campensina and GRAIN, counsels a reform in the system that supports small farmers, hence, food sovereignty, fair trade and sustainable agriculture. At the emergency summit in Rome, the author contends that the FAO has demonstrated selective hearing - excluding "alternative" responses to agricultural development and the voices of civil society. The acknowledged version of the food crisis will reflect the types of policies formulated to address the issue - hiccup! To access the article, please click here.
5:43 AM
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Thursday, June 12, 2008
The Food Crisis and Water
Biofuel, price speculators and free trade often grab the headlines when people struggle to explain the rapid rise in food prices and why so many people go hungry. Fred Pearce in this article reminds us of the factor of production that is perhaps the most scarce and largely mismanaged - water. From India and China to the United States, major rivers are being mined to support industrial and small scale agriculture. Water tables are dropping and salinization is having a devastating impact on the productivity of the land. Pearce prescribes three actions necessary to ensure that water shortages will not too drastically effect food production: a rethinking of biofuels, more food exports from countries enjoying a water surplus and last but not least, using this scarce resource more efficiently. To access the full article, please click here.
9:34 AM
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Thursday, June 5, 2008
Greener and Leaner
6:37 AM
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Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Eating From the Bottom of the Sea
In this article originally appearing in Eye Weekly, Pasha Malla examines the new book by Montreal-based Taras Grescoe - Bottomfeeder: How to Eat Ethically in a World of Vanishing Seafood. The book introduces food consumers to the mysteries, issues and challenges involved in eating fish in an environmentally sound way. Follow Malla and Grescoe on a tour of Montreal's Jean-Talon market in search for fish both tasty and environmentally sustainable. Is eating the bottomfeeders of the aquatic food chain the key to eating fish responsibly? Please click here to access the full article.
2:35 PM
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Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Mark Winne on High Food Prices
For some, these events may mean that those weekly strolls down the tastefully lit aisles of Whole Foods now become monthly. For those who have naturally spurned such discount pariahs as Wal-Mart, second thoughts may be in order....
10:02 AM
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