Document Library
March 2012
Submission of the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy to the UNFCCC on issues related to agriculture for consideration by the SBSTA in the context of Article 4.1(c) on cooperative sectoral approaches and sector-specific actions
Posted March 6, 2012
The COP, in its decision 2/CP.17, requested the SBSTA to consider issues related to agriculture at its 36th session, in the context of deliberations on Cooperative sectoral approaches and sector-specific actions, in order to enhance the implementation of Article 4, paragraph 1(c), of the Convention.
Submission in response to the request for comments by the Chair of the Ad Hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change: New market mechanism
Posted March 6, 2012
77. Defines a new market-based mechanism, operating under the guidance and authority of the Conference of the Parties, to enhance the cost-effectiveness of, and to promote, mitigation actions, bearing in mind different circumstances of developed and developing countries, which is guided by decision 1/CP.16, paragraph...
Submission in response to the request for comments by the Chair of the Ad Hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
Posted March 6, 2012
73. Emphasizes that various approaches, including opportunities for using markets, to enhance the cost-effectiveness of, and to promote, mitigation actions, bearing in mind different circumstances of developed and developing countries, must meet standards that deliver real, permanent, additional and verified...
Arsenic, Organic Foods, and Brown Rice Syrup
Posted March 2, 2012
Abstract
Background:
Rice can be a major source of inorganic arsenic (Asi) for many subpopulations. Rice products are also used as ingredients in prepared foods, some of which may not be obviously rice-based. Organic brown rice syrup (OBRS) is used as a sweetener in organic food products as an alternative to high...
February 2012
Corporatizing Water: India’s Draft National Water Policy
Posted 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...
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
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
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
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
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
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
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...
