Agriculture

Climate change, CAFTA and forced migration

On the last day of April, 16-year-old Juan de León Gutiérrez died in U.S. government custody in Texas. It was just 10 days since he had crossed the border after migrating from his home in Guatemala.

Regulating agricultural futures markets to benefit producers, processors and consumers

How difficult can it be to trade contracts based on the cash value of wheat, crude oil, unroasted coffee beans and other raw materials? Sure, there are future risks, physical and financial, but they can be usually managed with the help of trading exchanges, standardized data and lightning-fast computer technology.

Food standards on the menu at U.S.-EU talks

With the endorsement on April 15 by a majority of the heads of government of its member states, the European Union has finally taken the formal step needed to move ahead with trade negotiations with the United States.

FAO to elect new Director General

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization is set to elect a new Director General in June. Decisions and actions of this organization have impacts on food and agricultural systems around the world. IATP believes this position is critical, as the Director General plays a key role in navigating the challenge of global hunger and climate change.

Family Farm Action rally challenges U.S. presidential candidates

On March 30, Midwest farmers rallied in Storm Lake, Iowa, calling for legislators and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to implement a nine article Farmers Bill of Rights which would aspire to, among others actions, enforce fair market practices and natural resource conservation rules.

Latest agriculture emissions data show rise of factory farms

New data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) shows a steady increase in agriculture-related greenhouse gas emissions, much of it linked to industrial systems of crop production and the rise of factory farm systems of animal production. The annually updated GHG data is designed to track U.S.

Farm Bill appropriations and implementation: Conservation and local food programs

In late December 2018, President Trump signed the $867 billion Farm Bill into law.

Fair prices and a bold new deal in Mexico

The Mexican government and President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador are advancing plans to transform its agriculture system to achieve self-sufficiency in basic grains and strengthen rural livelihoods.

The state of the USDA: A quiet dismantling

As President Trump prepares the State of the Union address at the midpoint of his term, fights over the U.S.-Mexico border wall, the Russia investigation, and his latest tweet are dominating headlines. But beneath the noise lies a remarkable, relentless, and often secretive two-year effort to structurally weaken and starve the Department of Agriculture.

Uprooted Episode 57: The Farm Bill: A Citizen's Guide

Josh talks with Dan Imhoff and Christina Badaracco about the 3rd edition of their book, The Farm Bill: A Citizen's Guide. We talk about the history of the Farm Bill, how it got the way it is, and how it can be transformed to support a future of sustainable agriculture and food security.