Farm Bill a Lost Opportunity

The recently passed 2008 Farm Bill includes incremental gains for conservation, renewable energy, food aid and local food systems. However, it fails to address the deregulation policies of the previous two Farm Bills, which have increased market volatility to the benefit of global food corporations and at the expense of farmers, consumers, rural communities and the environment.

"Unfortunately, this Farm Bill became a narrow battle over budgetary issues, rather than which policies will work best for farmers, consumers and the environment," said IATP's R. Dennis Olson. "None of the commodity program reforms address the extreme market volatility we are experiencing today. Nor do they reverse the trends toward increased market concentration, speculation and manipulation, or address the range of issues contributing to rising food prices."

Read IATP's press release on the Farm Bill, Dennis Olson's Farm Bill summary and more at IATP's Farm Bill web page.

Tackling the Food Crisis

Rapidly rising food prices have shocked the global food system, with damaging results. At least 37 countries around the world are experiencing food shortages, and countries dependent on food imports are becoming increasingly desperate. In a series of papers, IATP identifies the causes of the food crisis and lays out the essential policy changes needed at the global, national and local levels.

In "A Time of High Prices: An Opportunity for the Rural Poor?" IATP's Anne Laure Constantin reports on how governments are unable to help farmers take advantage of higher prices due to free trade economics pushed by the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and World Trade Organization. Trade liberalization has encouraged the dismantling of agriculture programs in many developing countries, making it difficult to ramp up production and manage supplies to stabilize prices.

In "Seven Reasons Why the Doha Round Will Not Solve the Food Crisis," IATP's Carin Smaller outlines why the WTO is not equipped to address the main causes of the food crisis, including: market volatility, corporate concentration, climate change and rising oil prices.

In "Presidential Candidates and the Food Crisis," IATP's Alexandra Spieldoch and Dennis Olson identify steps-at the international and national level-for the next U.S. president to help alleviate the food crisis, including greater regulation of financial markets, reforming food aid and addressing price volatility.

In "Food, Water and Climate Challenges," IATP's Shiney Varghese discusses the important interaction between climate change and access to water in farming communities around the world seeking to increase production.

In April, the International Assessment of Agriculture Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development-a six-year long process led by the United Nations and the World Bank-issued its report urging major changes in global agricultural systems to address the food crisis and climate change. IATP's Steve Suppan was the lead author for the policy options chapter, which called for greater international support for small-scale farming within diverse ecosystems. The report has been endorsed by over 57 countries.

IATP's Think Forward blog has devoted a special section to keep up with the latest on the food crisis.

IATP and Other Groups Spied on by Security Firm

An exclusive report by Mother Jones details years of spying, thefts and break-ins by a private security firm run by former Secret Service agents. One of the organizations targeted was GE Food Alert, a coalition pushing for greater safety testing and labeling of genetically engineered food. IATP was a founding member of GE Food Alert. Read the full story.

U.S. Attempts to Export Flawed Food Safety System

A Bush administration interagency working group is pushing a flawed import food safety system that prioritizes trade considerations over public health, according to a new report by IATP’s Steve Suppan.

"Import Food Safety in the Twilight of the Bush Administration" analyzes recommendations of the Interagency Working Group (IWG) on Import Safety, a group established by the Bush administration following a series of recalls of contaminated and hazardous pet foods and toys imported from China last year. The report found that many of the IWG's recommendations are designed to reduce import inspection and testing, and instead emphasize safety certification of foreign export facilities.

The report includes a series of recommendations for the next administration to improve import food safety, including: increasing inspection, limiting ports of entry and increasing enforcement against importers. In addition to the full report a separate executive summary is also available.

The Downside of Global Biofuels

The rapid growth of the biofuel sector is exacerbating agriculture's impact on biodiversity in many parts of the world. Global trade rules are one of the drivers behind the expansion of the biofuels sector. IATP has published two recent reports covering these new challenges posed by a global biofuels market.

In "Biofuel and Global Biodiversity," Dr. Dennis Keeney and Claudia Nanninga report on three regions that have been growing much of the feedstock for biofuels around the world: the U.S., Brazil and Malaysia/Indonesia. The report found that biofuel feedstock production is being overlaid on a broken agricultural production system, causing enormous damage to fragile ecosystems around the world.

In "Multilateral Trade and Investment Context for Biofuels," published by IATP and the London-based International Institute for Environment and Development, Sophia Murphy concludes that the long-term sustainability of the global biofuels market will depend on changes to international trade and investment rules that govern energy, environment, agriculture and rural development. Murphy writes, "It is critical that governments set global rules that support environmental sustainability and economic development for more than just a few companies."

Taking the Toxic Out of Consumer Products

The evidence is clear that the U.S. system for regulating toxic chemicals used in everyday consumer products is broken. Each of us has significant levels of unwanted toxic chemicals in our bodies. And consumers are hungry for safer consumer products. When "The Today Show" mentioned IATP's Smart Plastics Guide, the immediate surge of traffic crashed our web site.

With Clean Water Action of Minnesota, IATP has been leading Healthy Legacy, a state-wide coalition to phase out some of the most toxic chemicals in consumer products like baby bottles, sippy cups and toys. Healthy Legacy successfully helped win the overwhelming passage of legislation in the Minnesota legislature to phase out the toxic flame retardant deca-BDE (found in electronics and televisions) and phthalates (used to soften PVC plastic in rubber duckies and teething rings). Unfortunately, the Minnesota governor vetoed the bill. But we'll be back in Minnesota. And we are working closely with coalitions in other states to take these issues to the federal level.

The Minnesota legislative effort has raised public awareness about the need for broad chemical reform. Canada and the European Union are taking the lead in getting tougher on toxic chemicals. And companies like Wal-Mart, Nalgene and Toys "R" Us are agreeing to take some these same targeted chemicals out of their products.

To find out more, read "Scare isn't the last, only the latest," by IATP's David Wallinga, M.D., and Lindsay Dahl, or visit Healthy Legacy.

A Fair Trade Whirlwind

Peace Coffee, IATP's 100 percent fair trade and organic coffee company, has had a busy spring, including: organizing events at the Specialty Coffee Association Convention; hosting a tour of fair trade coffee producers, and traveling to Guatemala to meet with coffee farmer cooperatives. You can read all about it at Peace Coffee's newsletter, Common Grounds.

Blogging on the Food Crisis, GMO Crops and the Farm Bill

At IATP's Think Forward blog, Carin Smaller will blog from Rome, the site of the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization conference on the food crisis and climate change. You can also read more on the Farm Bill and the latest developments on genetically engineered crops. Read Think Forward.

Upcoming Events

First Rural African Summit-October 26 and 27-St. Cloud, Minn.

IATP Hiring
IATP is currently hiring staff in its Local Foods and Rural Communities programs. Find details here.

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. For 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.

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. 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