Document Library

Format: 2013

February 2012

Corporatizing Water: India’s Draft National Water Policy

Posted February 28, 2012

Globalization, Water

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...

A Dialogue on Food and Agriculture in the 21st Century

Posted February 27, 2012

  A Dialogue on Food and Agriculture in the 21st Century     Frequently asked questions   What is the Dialogue Project? Organized and lead by FarmFoundation, NFP, the DialogueProjectwillgenerate opportunities for stakeholders across a broad spectrumof perspectivesto deliberate on food and...

Speculation Update: Progress Report on U.S. Commodity Market Reforms

Posted February 24, 2012

Markets, Market speculation

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...

Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association Vs. Monsanto

Posted February 23, 2012

Agriculture, Agribusiness, GMO

  We, the Plaintiffs in this lawsuit, seek relief from the court because organic, biodynamic,and other farmers of non-transgenic crops need legal protection against contamination by Monsanto’s transgenic crops and the resulting real threat of patent infringement lawsuits. Monsanto’s crops can also...

Q&A: Why an agriculture work program at the UNFCCC is the wrong approach for farmers, animal welfare and development

Posted February 23, 2012

Food Justice, Agriculture, Climate Change, Development, Globalization

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 “...

Can a Food Justice Movement Improve Nutrition

Posted February 21, 2012

Food Justice

   ABSTRACT In response to increasing obesity, diabetes, and food-related contributions to climate change, many individuals and organizations are mobilizing to advocate for healthier and more just local and national food policies and systems. In this report, we describe and analyze the food movement in New...

Using Small-Scale Adaptation Actions to Address the Food Crisis in the Horn of Africa

Posted February 20, 2012

Agriculture, Climate Change

Abstract: The countries Kenya, Uganda, Somalia, Ethiopia and Djibouti are facing the worst food crisis of the 21st century as a result of devastating droughts. The crisis is causing starvation and leading to a lack of access to clean water and sanitation for over 12 million people. Not only are the direct drought...

New study highlights need to regulate arsenic in food

Posted February 16, 2012

Food and Health, Health, Toxics

MINNEAPOLIS – Dr. David Wallinga, senior advisor for science, food and health at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP), issued this statement following the release of a new study published online from Environmental Health Perspectives which found arsenic in infant formula and cereal...

A CAP for the future!?

Posted February 6, 2012

Agriculture, Common Agriculture Policy (CAP)

Our main recommendations for a better CAP Having discussed and critically analysed the Commission’s proposals, we want to conclude by offering four sets of our main recommendations to improve the CAP proposals. 1. What’s good, but needs improving  Eligible hectare: it is good to (gradually) abolish the...

January 2012

Learning from the Indirect Land Use Change Debate

Posted January 31, 2012

Agriculture, Climate Change, Energy, Food, Food security

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...

The Role of Local Food Systems in U.S. Farm Policy

Posted January 25, 2012

Local Food, Agriculture

Congressional Research Service January 20, 2012 Summary Sales of locally produced foods comprise a small but growing part of U.S. agricultural sales. USDA estimates that farm-level value of local food sales totaled about $4.8 billion in 2008, or about 1.6% of the U.S. market for agricultural products. An estimated...

Minnesota businesses plan for future in green chemistry

Posted January 25, 2012

Green Jobs, Business and industry, Environment, Green chemistry

MINNEAPOLIS – Over 200 business owners, entrepreneurs and green chemistry advocates will come together for the second annual Minnesota Green Chemistry Conference tomorrow, co-hosted by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) and the University of Minnesota’s Center for Science, Technology and...

Food, Inc.

Posted January 20, 2012

Agriculture, Markets

UK Food Group report from 2003 by former IATP staff member, Bill Vorley, detailing the corproate control of food world-wide.

Antibiotic-resistant MRSA bacteria widely present in retail pork, new study says

Posted January 20, 2012

Agriculture, Antibiotics, Food, Health

MINNEAPOLIS – New peer-reviewed research published January 19 found methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in pork samples collected from retail stores at a higher rate than previously identified. The study, by researchers from the University of Iowa College of Public Health and the...

Navigating a Critical Juncture for Sustainable Weed Management

Posted January 18, 2012

Agriculture, GMO

Agricultural weed management has become entrenched in a single tactic—herbicide-resistant crops—and needs greater emphasis on integrated practices that are sustainable over the long term. In response to the outbreak of glyphosate-resistant weeds, the seed and agrichemical industries are developing crops...

Resolving the Food Crisis: Assessing Global Policy Reforms Since 2007

Posted January 18, 2012

Agriculture, Markets, Food security, Market speculation

Executive summary The recent spikes in global food-prices in 2007-08 served as a wake-up call to the global community on the inadequacies of our global food system. Commodity prices doubled, the estimated number of hungry people topped one billion and food riots spread through the developing world. A...

IATP letter to EPA Administrator on Dioxin Reassessment

Posted January 17, 2012

Health

January 17, 2012 The Honorable Lisa P. Jackson Administrator U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 1200 Ariel Rios Building Washington, DC 20460 Dear EPA Administrator Jackson: Thank you for your attention to dioxin. The Dioxin Reassessment document is extremely important to the health of the American people and we...

Measuring the Economic Impact of Cooperatives in Minnesota

Posted January 12, 2012

Rural Development

Executive Summary Cooperatives as a form of business have been a part of Minnesota’s economic and cultural history. Its 1,026 cooperatives make it one of the leading states in the country with this form of business structure. The ability to collectively create an organizational structure to meet community needs...

The Road to Rio +20

Posted January 11, 2012

Climate Change, Gender, Globalization, United Nations, Water

Factsheet compiled by IATP, the Alliance for Democracy, Council of Canadians, Earth Law Center, Food & Water Watch and the International Indian Treaty Council. 

Minnesota Green Chemistry Conference 2012: Strategies for Growth Flyer

Posted January 10, 2012

Environment, Green chemistry, Health

 Conference agenda and details for the 2012 Minnesota Green Chemistry Conference: Strategies for Growth