Democracy & Civics

Food Crisis Renews Biotech Farming Debate

By |

As global food prices climb, the debate over genetically modified agriculture is once again heating up. The Christian Science Monitor reports that resistance to the use of modified crops is declining in some regions, as farmers contemplate increased profits, and governments feel the economic pressure. After the cost of non-genetically modified corn more than doubled, for example, Japan and Korea have “quietly” begun allowing modified corn in snacks and drinks. In France, following a contentious debate, a bill to allow gene-altered crops passed in parliament by one vote — but can’t be enacted until the European Union lifts its ban. The Monitor reports that Europe’s farmers and agribusiness — such as Germany’s BASF corporation, which is pushing a genetically modified potato to market — are even pondering legal action to open up continental markets to their biotech food products.

Economy

A Merrie Olde Credit Crisis

By |

Aftershocks from the mortgage and credit crises are rattling nerves around the world — particularly in England’s banking and lending sector. The Telegraph reports that investors have pulled more than 2.77 billion pounds (approximately $5 billion) from the British lender Bradford & Bingly, following the revelation of a cash crunch resulting from declines in its mortgage business. Faced with a shortfall from low-rate mortgages, the bank had apparently been hoping — in vain — for an upturn in mortgage lending at higher prices. Other banks may face a similar threat, one analyst said, describing the situation as a “mortgage market contagion” that could spread throughout the system. Source:
“U.K. bank shares fall as investors bail out”
The Telegraph (U.K), June 3, 2008

Economy

Virtual water and real thirst

By |

The recent hike in the price of food worldwide is usually blamed on the price of oil or the conversion of food crops to biofuels. But a handful of experts have pointed to a simpler cause: a shortage of water. “The two underlying causes of the world food crisis are falling supplies and rising demand on the international market,” writes environmental consultant and author Fred Pearce in the London Telegraph. “Why falling supplies? Because of major droughts in Australia, one of the world’s big three suppliers, and Ukraine, another major exporter.

Democracy & Civics

Ghana’s Oil — Blessing or Curse?

By |

With the discovery that Ghana is sitting atop an estimated three billion barrels of oil, the impoverished West African nation is facing not just a flood of new wealth, but also its potential “undoing.” So said President John Kufuor at an extractive industries forum in March. His words echo widespread concerns that the unrelenting poverty and corruption that plague other African oil nations could easily take hold in Ghana. According to the United Nations news service, Ghanian officials say managing the flow of oil and revenue, expected to kick off in 2010 at 100,000 barrels a day, is the country’s greatest challenge since its independence 51 years ago. The “Nigeria Scenario” is considered the benchmark to avoid.

Democracy & Civics

Cultivating Change in Lebanon

By |

Caught between warring militias and Israeli reprisal, Lebanon’s farmers have a hardscrabble life that is only exacerbated by the threat of unexploded munitions littering the fields, forests and mountain slopes. Radio Netherlands reports that support for rural communities is “scant,” and blamed a “clannish and corrupt” government of elites for their plight. Enter Rami Zurayk, a professor at the American University in Beirut, whose small aid group Land and People provides technical assistance, marketing support and more to rural communities in need. This includes programs to shift from chemical fertilizers to banana-leaf compost, and financial aid to purchase a mechanical shredder vital for the composting process. Land and People also helped a women’s baking cooperative market its goods, and supports soapmaking operations using wild berries in the bombed-out village of Ayta al Shaab.

Economy

King Tobacco, Balkan Crime Lord

By |

Cigarette counterfeiting and smuggling in the Balkans is one of the primary drivers of crime and corruption in the region, according to a coalition of investigative reporting projects. Bosnia-Herzegovina alone is estimated to lose $200 million each year in tax revenue from tobacco smuggling, a sum that could approach billions worldwide. The Organized Crime & Corruption Reporting Project, with bureaus and partners in Sarajevo, Albania, Bulgaria, Ukraine and else- where, has assembled a massive investigative package on tobacco smuggling, and particularly the involvement of government officials in the region. High prices and taxes on tobacco in the West are driving the smuggling boom, with a packet of cigarettes purchased in Ukraine for less than a euro selling for seven euros in London. Extortion, murder are common, and a variety of dubious and notorious public figures are implicated, according to the report.

Democracy & Civics

U.S. Guest Workers Kept Like "Pigs in a Cage"

By |

Almost 100 Indian guest workers at a Mississippi shipyard stormed off from their jobs one day earlier this month, claiming their employer had treated them like slaves. Now the group is suing the company and marching from New Orleans to Washington, D.C., to demand a meeting with the Indian ambassador. The men were part of a group of 500 Indians who were brought into the United States after Hurricane Katrina to work as welders and pipe fitters for Signal International, a company that makes marine oil platforms and other equipment in Mississippi and Texas. The company housed them in trailers where 24 men shared a room, paying $1,050 in rent, India-West reported. According to the Web site of the AFL-CIO, the workers say they were also pressured into paying other fees by Signal and forced to live like “pigs in a cage.”

Democracy & Civics

Debt Waived for India Farmers

By |

Small and marginal farmers in India will get almost $15 billion in debt relief, thanks to legislation orchestrated by the populist son of the Nehru-Gandhi political family. Rahul Gandhi, whose family includes several former prime ministers and a turbulent history of assassination, said the farmers deserved the same treatment as “industrialists” who default on billions of rupees borrowed from banks, and then have their obligations waived. While some farmers complained that they were excluded from debt relief, critics said Gandhi was playing at being “Santa” for the sake of political populism, without concern for the economy, and praised his decision to limit loan waivers. Taking a cue from Gandhi’s actions at the federal level, state officials in Andrha Pradesh are moving forward with their own debt relief plan, aimed at more than 4 million women and minorities. Sources:
“Can’t play Santa beyond a point, realises Rahul”
Economic Times (India), March 26, 2008
“When industrialists dont pay, why should farmers: Rahul”
Deccan Herald (India), March 26, 2008

Economy

From Sweatshops to Cotton Fields: Child Labor Goes Rural

By |

Far from the urban industrial sweatshops, child labor remains widespread in rural parts of the developing world. In the Philippines, advocates say tens of thousands of children are working on farms, in mines, and even in deep-sea fishing. The Philippine Department of Labor and Employment, in a press release late last month, claimed to have rescued 76 children under age 15 from working at a single sugar plantation. The agency plans to send the children back to school, and also to provide them with medical care and economic assistance. Wire services reported last month that the United States has promised $5.5 million to the Philippines to help it with a stepped-up campaign to combat child labor.

Economy

Much Puffery About Air-Powered Car

By |

An automobile that runs on compressed air got a boost this week with an investment from India’s Tata Motors. MDI Industries, of Carros, France, designed the cars based on technology invented by Guy Negre, a former Formula One engineer. The project has been in development for 14 years, but no carmaker has yet put the car into production. Now, according to some reports, Tata is planning to manufacture and sell air cars in India later this year for the equivalent of about $5,000. But, in the Financial Times of London, Tata’s managing director downplayed expectations, saying: “It’s a very exciting concept, this way of running a car.