The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy promotes resilient family farms, rural communities and ecosystems around the world through research and education, science and technology, and advocacy.

5/25: Yankton (S.D.) Press and Dakotan: Let's Support Our Farmers and Consumers, Not Agribusiness

5/19: Southwest Journal (Minneapolis): A Sense of Place

5/19: CBS-4, Boston: Much Poultry We Eat Contains Arsenic

5/19: KARE-11, Minneapolis: Coffee Boom in Minnesota

5/16: Associated Press: Cargill, ADM Differ in Food-Fuel Debate

5/16: CBS -4, Miami: Arsenic Chicken

5/15: CBS-3, Philadelphia: Concern Over Arsenic Levels in Chicken

5/14: Time Magazine: Healthier Hospital Food

5/11: CBS New York: Study: Arsenic Present in Some Grocery Chicken

5/10: KUTV, Salt Lake City: Arsenic in Chicken

Radio Sustain Launched

This week IATP begins its new podcast called Radio Sustain, a biweekly program on fair trade, resilient rural communities, safe food and a healthy environment. The podcast will report on the latest IATP work, including interviews with staff and colleagues. Check out our first edition at iatp.org.

• Listen to Radio Sustain for June 19 (MP3)

Making the Bioeconomy Sustainable

In the rush to launch the bioeconomy for things like fuels and plastics, many of the environmental, economic and social benefits could be lost. In the Spring issue of Ag Matters published by the National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture, IATP's Jim Kleinschmit and Farm Aid's Mark Smith examine how we can reach the full potential of the new bioeconomy.

• Read Biofuels or Bust?!? (PDF)

Help Sow the Seeds in Minnesota

IATP and the Wedge Coop in Minneapolis, the largest single store grocery coop in the U.S., have launched a new partnership to help support regional sustainable farmers and the Upper Midwest food system. The Sow the Seeds Fund uses donations and support from Wedge shoppers to grow the fund, and the proceeds are then distributed to worthy projects throughout the region. 

The Sow the Seeds Fund, in consultation with a board of local environmental and agricultural leaders, will distribute grants to farmers, organizations and applicants whose proposed projects strengthen the local food system and environment. It is expected that other regional food cooperatives and progressive businesses will also join the Sow the Seeds Fund.

• Visit Sow the Seeds Fund

IATP Staff Wins Invader Crusader Award

In the ongoing battle against invasive species in Wisconsin, individuals and organizations attempt to control, reduce the spread and eliminate harmful plants and animals that have been introduced into the state from other areas. To help draw attention to these efforts, the Invader Crusader Awards were announced for 2006 at a June 2 ceremony at the Wisconsin state capitol with Gov. Jim Doyle.

The 2006 Invader Crusader Award recipients included Gigi La Budde of IATP's Community Forestry Resource Center (CFRC). Gigi was recognized for the countless hours she spends each year working with landowners, foresters, loggers and others teaching about the identification and management of woodland invasive species through her position as Ecology Education Coordinator for the CFRC.

• Read more at Community Forestry Resource Center

Cheap Feed Crops
Subsidize Industrial Animal Factories

The consequences of low commodity prices are serious: farmers' bottom lines suffer, while multinational corporations win big. Based on new research from Tufts University on the implicit subsidies to industrial animal factories from below-cost feed, IATP's Dennis Olson writes on how agribusiness firms reap major gains at the expense of U.S. farmers and taxpayers.

• Read Below Cost Feed Crops (PDF)

WTO Faces Critical Deadline

The World Trade Organization faces a critical next two weeks. There have been numerous proposals on the table. The WTO Director General Pascal Lamy traveled to the U.S. last week to try to wrangle concessions. If the Doha Round of negotiations is going to be completed as scheduled by the end of the year, major progress must be made in the next month.

• U.S. Boxed Into a Corner at WTO (PDF): Explains why U.S. trade representatives have limited negotiating space to make a revised agriculture proposal at the WTO

  Other versions: español, Nederlands, français

• Why Doha is Failing (PDF): IATP's Carin Smaller reports on how recently published economic research on the limited benefits of trade liberalization is stiffening resistance to the Doha Round

  Other versions: français

• Moment of Truth (PDF): IATP's Carin Smaller and Sophia Murphy examine recent WTO member proposals on Special Products and their potential impact on food security and rural development

  Other versions: español, français

• On the Right Path to Development (PDF): IATP's Carin Smaller and Sophia Murphy analyze an exciting new proposal by the African Group designed to address the farm commodity crisis that has hurt farmers around the world

How the Big Fish Benefit:
Maritime Services and GATS

With most of the public focus at the WTO on the agriculture negotiations, many other important aspects of the global economy being negotiated are often overlooked. One such issue is maritime services—the transport of passengers and goods on oceans as well as related services such as the operation of ports, handling of cargo and documentation of transport. In the negotiations under the General Agreement on Trade in Services at the WTO, several countries are pushing to open maritime services to foreign ownership and operation. Fourteen WTO members, including Japan, the European Commission, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Korea and Taiwan, have submitted a plurilateral request (negotiated among many but not all WTO members) asking 24 developing countries and the U.S. to liberalize their maritime services.

What does the new request to liberalize maritime services mean for global shipping, security, and environmental and labor standards? A new IATP fact sheet explains why countries should be cautious before deregulating such a vital economic activity.

• Read How the Big Fish Benefit: Maritime Services and GATS (PDF)

Peace Coffee Builds with Habitat

A group of Peace Coffee employees and friends traveled to Guatemala on May 20 to build a house in the San Marcos region. The trip is a part of the Habitat for Humanity International Global Village program. The goal of the program is to give participants a short-term opportunity to contribute to Habitat's work firsthand. They worked for four days alongside members of the host community to build affordable and decent homes for families in the area. Peace Coffee, IATP's 100 percent organic and fair trade coffee company, gets most of its Guatemalan coffee from this region of the country.

To date, Habitat for Humanity has built more than 200,000 houses, sheltering more than 1,000,000 people in more than 3,000 communities worldwide.

• Habitat for Humanity
• Peace Coffee

Toxicants and Disease Database Enhanced

The Collaborative on Health and the Environment (CHE) has newly enhanced and updated its CHE Toxicants and Disease Database. This is a scientifically based Web database summarizing the evidence of exposure to chemical contaminants and over 180 associated human diseases or conditions. It is a useful tool for researchers, health professionals, health-affected groups and others interested in reviewing the weight of evidence between associated toxicants and diseases.

Another new feature of the database is that it is now searchable by Chemical Abstract Service number as well as by disease, disease category and toxicant. The database also features a new and extensive list of links to other useful databases and resources.

IATP developed the original database application for CHE as well as the recent technical enhancements.

• CHE Toxicants and Disease Database

Want to work in Rural Communities?

IATP's Rural Communities program is looking for an organizer/outreach coordinator. The person would work in the U.S. to organize rural community forums and farmer meetings, coordinate rural engagement with partners, and reach out to farmers and rural communities on issues of economic development, particularly the "bioeconomy" and the environment.

• Job description and application instructions

Donate to IATP! You can help. IATP does very important work to keep family farmers on the land, to ensure the safety of our food supply and to preserve biodiversity and the environment for future generations. We cannot do this work without you. Your tax-deductible contribution will help us secure a sustainable world. Please make your tax-deductible contribution today. If you would like more information about our programs, or if you would like to discuss different contribution options, please contact Kate Hoff, Development Director, at khoff@iatp.org or (612) 870-3404. We appreciate your interest in our work. Thank you for your support.

You can help support IATP by contributing online. We thank you for your continued support!

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Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP)
Jim Harkness, President
2105 First Avenue South Minneapolis, Minnesota 55404 USA
Tel. 1 (612) 870-0453 Fax. 1 (612) 870-4846
Email: iatp@iatp.org Web: iatp.org