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.

9/26: Agrinews. Major advances in renewable fuels technology seen

9/20: Scienceline. Food for Chickens, Poison for Man

9/12: Washington Times. Healthy Food Makes a Recovery

9/8: Bloomberg. Trade Ministers View Rio Meeting as Chance to Revive WTO Talks

8/26: Topeka Capital Journal. It was unions that built the middle class

8/6: Albany Times Union. Food Policies Fail to Spur Good Health

8/4: Interpress. Requiem for the WTO

7/25: KSTP-TV (Minneapolis). Is former banned fertilizer now safe?

7/2: El Financiero. "Equivoca" EU su política agrícola: IATP

Sustain Documentary Festival

On October 1, IATP kicks off the Sustain Documentary Festival with a stellar line-up of documentaries. The films cover different threats to global sustainability along with smart alternatives. The festival is being held on Sundays, October 1, 8, 15, 22 and November 5. The venue, Bryant-Lake Bowl (810 West Lake St., Minneapolis), is known for hosting independent theater and film and its award-winning menu featuring many locally grown and organic dishes.

The films are "Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price" on Oct. 1, "Broken Limbs: Apples, Agriculture and the New American Farmer" on Oct. 8, "Black Gold" on Oct. 15, "Life and Debt" on Oct. 22 and "The Yes Men" on Nov. 5. Tickets are $7 to $14 (sliding scale) and can be bought in advance by calling BLB's theater line at (612) 825-8949.

Join us!

• Sustain Documentary Festival
• Bryant-Lake Bowl (tickets, directions)

Minneapolis Mini-Markets Connect
Low-Income Communities and Farmers

A new project to introduce small farmers markets to low-income communities successfully launched four markets and contributed hundreds of pounds of fresh produce to local food shelves this year, announced IATP.

"The amazing thing about this project was how easy it was to set up these markets," said Mark Muller, Director of the Environment and Agriculture Program at IATP. "They expose how inefficient our food system is for many communities, and how these types of markets could become much more common."

The markets were made possible through the city of Minneapolis' initiative, STEPS to a Healthier Minneapolis. The markets were designed to increase access to healthy food in low-income neighborhoods that have traditionally lacked healthy food resources. Each market will run independently next year, when additional markets will be organized in other locations in cooperation with other groups.

• Photos from the markets
• Fact sheet (PDF)
• IATP press release (PDF)

Listen to the Latest Radio Sustain

Learn about the controversy over organic dairy standards, the shrinking middle class and the best booth at the Minnesota State Fair.

• Listen to Radio Sustain (MP3)
• Radio Sustain archives
• Subscribe via iTunes
• Subscribe via XML

Pediatric Environmental Health Toolkit

As more science becomes available on the link between environmental exposures and children's health, it becomes critical that the latest research findings get directly into the hands of physicians. The Pediatric Environmental Health Toolkit is a new resource on the relationship between environmental exposures and children's health for physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners and nurses in pediatric and family practices.

On Nov. 18, IATP and others will hold a free one-day training on the toolkit at the University of Minnesota. Making presentations will be: Mark Miller, MD, MPH, Director of the Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit at University of California-San Francisco/San Francisco General Hospital; David Wallinga, MD, MPH, Director of the Food and Health Program at IATP; Michelle Gottlieb, MEM, Co-Executive Director for Greater Boston Physicians for Social Responsibility; and Kathleen Schuler, MPH, environmental scientist and senior policy analyst at IATP.

The training is co-sponsored by the University of Minnesota and IATP in partnership with: Environmental Protection Agency; Greater Boston Physicians for Social Responsibility; University of Minnesota Center for Public Health Leadership in Maternal and Child Health; Minnesota Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics. The toolkit is endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the University of Minnesota Children's Hospital/Department of Pediatrics, Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Health.

• Conference information page

IATP Welcomes
Amy Stratton and Carin Skoog!

IATP is pleased to welcome Amy Stratton and Carin Skoog to the IATP team.

Carin is the new program coordinator for IATP's work on safer chemicals policy. Carin most recently worked for Grassroots Solutions as the Minnesota field representative for the National Environmental Trust, a media and environmental policy group based in Washington, D.C. In 2001, she developed and initiated a Duluth City Council resolution to join the Cities for Climate Protection campaign, and directed the energy conservation program for the City of Duluth from 2001 to 2004. Carin received a grant from the American Swedish Institute in 2000 to develop a collaborative project between two United Nations programs in Växjö, Sweden: the Agenda-21 program for sustainability and the program for Children's Rights. She holds a degree in environmental studies and Scandinavian studies from Gustavus Adolphus College and is a native of Duluth. Carin can be reached at cskoog@iatp.org.

Amy Stratton is IATP's new rural communities organizer, which will work with rural Midwestern communities to find viable solutions to economic and environmental challenges they face. Amy received her bachelor's in natural resources management from Colorado State University. Since then, she has held positions as NGO and government staff on natural resource and community development projects in South Dakota, Oregon and Minnesota. Prior to joining the IATP team, Amy worked with Resource Conservation and Development Councils in Minnesota. Amy can be reached at astratton@iatp.org.

Concentration Distorts Global Food Markets

The growing market power of international food companies is adversely affecting the lives of farmers and consumers worldwide, according to a new paper by IATP's Senior Trade Advisor Sophia Murphy.

Increased globalization has revolutionized food production, processing and distribution, according to the paper. International trade agreements have encouraged food market concentration. "The steady downward pressure on tariffs has opened up markets in ways that favor companies in a position to do business on a global scale," Murphy writes. "The strong policy push away from government interference in markets...has changed markets for farmers the world over."

Concentrated Market Power and Agricultural Trade is published by the EcoFair Trade Dialogue: New Directions for Agricultural Trade Rules. The EcoFair Trade Dialogue is an international project carried out by the Heinrich Böll Foundation in cooperation with MISEREOR and moderated by the Wuppertal Institute. More details can be found at www.ecofair-trade.org.

• Concentrated Market Power and Agricultural Trade (PDF)

Can Aid Fix Trade?

With the Doha Round's collapse, much of the focus at the WTO has shifted toward the "Aid for Trade" negotiations. The talks are important because they place questions about aid-who receives it, how much countries receive and how the aid is used-within the context of the WTO. There is a risk that Aid for Trade will distort multilateral trade negotiations and further complicate already delicate relations between developed and developing countries. Important questions still need to be answered before WTO members decide to go forward with this agenda: Is Aid for Trade a consolation prize for a failed Doha Agenda? Will Aid for Trade be used to pressure developing countries to open markets more than they otherwise would? Are donors serious about embracing Aid for Trade according to recipients' needs? Will there be enough money? And is the WTO the best forum for Aid for Trade? In a new paper, IATP's Carin Smaller answers the tough questions.

• Can Aid Fix Trade? Assessing the WTO's Aid For Trade Agenda (PDF)

Cross Retaliation in WTO Disputes

The WTO dispute resolution body is coming under increasing strain because some of the WTO's wealthiest members are not fully implementing dispute panel rulings. Non-compliance undermines the credibility and viability of the WTO's rules-based multilateral trading system. In the wake of the July 2006 collapse of the Doha Round negotiations, many experts believe there will be a significant rise in WTO legal disputes. In a new fact sheet, IATP proposes that developing countries consider using a new strategy to ensure compliance: cross-retaliation within the WTO system. Under this approach, winners would be able to force implementation by suspending commitments to WTO agreements not named in the dispute.

The fact sheet is based on a longer paper by IATP intern Nneka Morrison.

• Strengthening Compliance at the WTO (PDF)

WTO's Cotton Crisis and the Crisis in Commodities

Significant disagreements over new agriculture trade rules helped doom the WTO's Doha talks. Within the agriculture negotiations, addressing the crisis of low cotton prices was consistently pushed to center stage. If the Doha Round continues, the concerns of cotton-producing countries will have to be addressed. In a new analysis, IATP's Steve Suppan outlines the cotton initiative introduced by Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mali (the Cotton 4) and considers some factors affecting cotton prices that fall outside the WTO's current purview, particularly competition from oil-based and subsidized fibers. And it looks at the possibility of addressing the concerns raised by the Cotton 4 in the context of the wider African Group proposal on commodities.

• The WTO’s Cotton Crisis and the Crisis in Commodities (PDF)

Middle Class Losing Economic Power:
New Book

Increasing corporate power in the marketplace is causing stagnant wages, increased cost of living and massive debt for America's middle class, according to a new book by a University of Minnesota economist and Senior Fellow at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy.

Middle Class: Union Made (Itasca Books) by Dr. Richard Levins explains in a common-sense style the importance of market power in a globalizing economy. Dr. Levins is a professor emeritus of applied economics at the University of Minnesota. He is an award-winning author of books about policy and market power issues affecting the food system.

Dr. Levins writes, "All strategies that trade good jobs for cheap toasters eventually erode the market for the goods and services provided. A handful of hyper-wealthy individuals along with millions of people living on the economic edge are not the sound, stable market needed for growth. Only the middle class, with buying power widely distributed, can provide that."

• Buy the book
• IATP's press release (PDF)

Woody Biomass Project Update

Follow each step of IATP's Woody Biomass Harvesting and Utilization Project online at Community Forestry Resource Center. The project, based in northern Minnesota's Superior National Forest, includes partners the Laurentian Energy Authority, Forest Management Systems Cooperative and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service.

This page provides information on the project, photos, harvest and field day schedules, documents and news related to woody biomass harvesting.

• Woody Biomass Project at Community Forestry Resource Center

New Social Watch Calls for Reform

A new report from Social Watch calls for reform of the current international financial system to eradicate poverty and promote gender equity. IATP's Alexandra Spieldoch, Patricia Jurewicz and Steve Suppan authored the U.S. chapter of the report, "Impossible Architecture: Why the financial structure is not working for the poor and how to redesign it for equity and development."

• Social Watch 2006
• U.S. chapter (PDF)

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!

IATP News is an occasional publication reporting on recent events and activities at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP). It is sent to board members, supporters, partners and friends. To manage your subscription—including removing your name from this list—visit: IATP's listservs. Your comments and suggestions are appreciated.

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