Putting Food First in the Constitution of Ecuador
by Karla Pena
Unprecedented!
Ecuador established Food Sovereignty in their Constitution approved by a referendum vote of 64% of the population on September 28, 2008. The people of Ecuador have the right to "Good Living," a healthy environment ecologically harmonized to guarantee the right to food. The State will enforce the established rights to aid in recent food price increase and localize their food systems by supporting their small and medium farmers in sustainable development (Agroecology).
Is this new constitution a prototype that other countries can look to?
Green Gold: Why cellulosic ethanol is a threat to farmers and the planet
By Annie Shattuck
Cellulosic ethanol has everyone from John McCain to the Natural Resources Defense Council excited with the promise of greening the planet and the economy in one stroke. … The irony of cellulosics however, is the unprecedented threat they pose to small farmers, the environment and our global carbon balance: the very things they pretend to protect.
| Download | Size | |
|---|---|---|
 | greengold_10-6-081.pdf | 56.55 KB |
Small farms as a planetary ecological asset: Five key reasons why we should support the revitalization of small farms in the Global South
by Miguel A. Altieri
President, Sociedad Cientifica LatinoAmericana de Agroecologia (SOCLA)
What's for dinner? Corn ethanol, feedlots and what you eat
by Annie Shattuck
April 10, 2008
The debate over renewable energy is raging. The U.S. Congress recently passed a renewable fuels mandate which will effectively create an artificial market for at least 15 billion gallons of corn ethanol per year. Numerous studies have criticized ethanol's environmental footprint. From negligible greenhouse gas savings to increased ground level ozone, and dependency on high-input agriculture–corn ethanol's critics have painted a picture of a costly band-aid for our energy crisis.
The environmental effects of ethanol production plants: citizen responses
In the wake of the current ethanol boom, many agro-fuel supporters have argued that their environmental benefits make them an environmentally viable alternative to imported oil. The proponents of agro-fuels often argue that increased usage of ethanol will reduce greenhouse gases and help fight global warming. However, a more detailed examination of agro-fuels reveals some disturbing environmental effects.
Fact Sheet: Food Aid in the New Millenium - Genetically Engineered Food and Foreign Assistance
Please download the PDF and distribute widely.
Fact Sheet: Food Aid in the New Millenium
Genetically Engineered Food and Foreign Assistance
Disturbing evidence has come to light which suggests that US taxpayer dollars are being used through foreign assistance programs to subsidize the export of genetically engineered (GE) foods to the Third World and to finance GE research. This raises very serious ethical questions about our foreign aid dollars.
Hunger, Homelessness, Poverty and Healthcare: Bush and Kerry - Where Do They Stand?
As Democrats and Republicans debate war and terrorism, a war has been waged against the poor at home. The numbers of Americans suffering from hunger, poverty, homelessness and lack of healthcare have dramatically increased since 2000. The latest U.S. Census found that several million more slipped into poverty and lost their healthcare insurance last year. Yet these vital issues of human security--food, housing, health care--are missing from the presidential debates, buried under headlines of war and threats of terrorism.
Welfare Reform: The Failed Anti-Poverty Prescription
Republicans and Democrats alike have quickly heralded welfare reform a success by pointing to the drop in welfare caseloads. But no one knows what has happened to the mothers, children, and elderly who left welfare.