Fact Sheets
Green Economy: Commoditization of the Commons
Published March 13, 2012
Summary The shift from a focus on “sustainable development” at the first Earth Summit in 1992 to that on the “green economy” at the upcoming Rio+20 summit is more than changing terms. It reflects a fundamental change away from recognizing the need to limit some kinds of economic growth. The new...
Corporatizing Water: India’s Draft National Water Policy
Published February 28, 2012
A new consortium of business and international finance is systematically trying to influence how the world’s water will be allocated in future. The consortium seeks to promote policies that will treat water primarily as an economic good to be bought and sold, rather than a fundamental right. Because the...
Speculation Update: Progress Report on U.S. Commodity Market Reforms
Published February 24, 2012
The 2008 food and finance crisis ushered in a series of public debates on the causes of food price volatility and its contribution to growing hunger around the world. When U.S. food and energy prices rise, they affect prices around the world, both because of their contribution to global food supplies and because they...
Q&A: Why an agriculture work program at the UNFCCC is the wrong approach for farmers, animal welfare and development
Published February 23, 2012
There is global consensus that the agricultural sector is severely affected by climate change and also contributes to it. Debates are on in numerous national and multilateral forums about the right ways to address these challenges. In the context of the climate negotiations, agriculture is viewed in terms of “...
Learning from the Indirect Land Use Change Debate
Published January 31, 2012
For the last few years, environmental advocates and ethanol producers have been mired in a debate over something known as indirect land use change (ILUC), a measure of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused by, but not directly associated with, biofuel production. The controversy centers on these questions: Does...
Feeding the World?
Published December 5, 2011
In 1999, the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) published a groundbreaking report by Mark Muller and Richard Levins entitled Feeding the World? The Upper Mississippi River Navigation Project that examined agribusiness’ and the Mississippi River navigation industry’s claim that U.S. grain...
At Stake in Durban: Climate Deal for the 1% or the 99%?
Published November 29, 2011
Factsheet produced by IATP in conjunction with eight other NGOs analyzing mitigation issues in the Durban climate talks. The world is already reeling from major humanitarian emergencies exacerbated by climate change: floods in Thailand and Pakistan, landslides from extreme rains in many Latin American countries, and...
Elusive Promises of the Kenya Agricultural Carbon Project
Published September 9, 2011
Prefaced, summarized and excerpted by Steve Suppan from research in progress by Shefali Sharma. While the slow pace of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) talks and the weak global economy have delayed political and funding commitments, increasing climate variability and its devastating...
Back on track: Why BCAP is worth saving
Published July 1, 2011
Since the Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP) was rolled out in 2009, there has been an awful lot that’s gone wrong. But in the last few months, a lot has gone right: conservation plans under the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) are now required, and new funding will now be only awarded to...
2011 Mini Farmers Markets Accepting WIC and FMNP
Published June 25, 2011
Minneapolis has a thriving community of small farmers markets bringing fresh, locally grown vegetables, fruit and flowers to neighborhoods with limited healthy food options. The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) coordinates the Minneapolis mini farmers market initiative, helping to increase access to...
