How do you fight obesity, food import dependence, global warming and food price inflation, while eating great Japanese food? Live in Japan!

Here's a public service announcement from the world's largest importer of food which ends with a "why can't consumers, producers and the food industry all get along - after all we're all Japanese?" message which ignores the reason we're in this mess at the moment. But the video nonetheless pushes the question - what's your ministry of agriculture doing to join the dots between hunger, obesity and the globalisation of food? [Via DD]

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Posted on 19 January, 2009 - 18:27

From the ever-important InterPress Service comes this news in the wake of Haitian food riots. It's a reminder that, above all, the riots had a political origin, and will need a political solution. And it's a reminder that the politics won't come from above, but from the grassroots.

New Peasant Alliance Demands Action on Food Crisis

... read more »

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Posted on 16 January, 2009 - 18:48

More on the New Scramble for Africa, courtesy again of the Financial Times. One of the most poisonous British companies, Lonro (formed from "London" and "Rhodesia", the colonial name for Zimbabwe) is looking to relive the glory days of Empire, by getting a 25,000 hectare land deal in Angola. ... read more »

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Posted on 16 January, 2009 - 18:24

Crooks and Liars have observed this typically dry press release from the United Nations. The short of it is that there was a vote on the right to food at the UN. In favour - 180 countries. Against: The United States.

Seriously. And in a related vote on the right to development, 177 countries voted for. Against: The United States. Abstaining: Canada, Israel.

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Posted on 15 January, 2009 - 05:48

An Appeal For Help From The Palestinian Farmers Union

January 10, 2009

At the time we try to pull together our wounds, our voices are calling for help and support. We in the Palestinian Farmers Union appeal to all our brothers in the farmers and peasants Unions, we also appeal to all international organizations and solidarity with Palestinians organizations to work to stop the massacre, to stop the siege and to help and assist the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, for what they are facing steadfastly of Barbarian fierce attack by the Israeli occupation forces, as this aggressive bombardment reached children, women and the elders and even trees and stones. ... read more »

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Posted on 15 January, 2009 - 02:57

The Financial Times ran an op-ed with a fine title, Rhodes Redux. It covers the latest in a series of land-grabs in Africa, by China, Kuwait, Sweden, and major multinationals around the world. Guess who doesn't get to grab land in Africa? Women. ... read more »

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Posted on 15 January, 2009 - 02:52

An IFPRI report, released in October 2008, has this wee accompanying widget. Drag the flag to find out the hunger index in your country. As with all these indices, it's important to remember that it's a national average - countries with low averages might still have pockets of high hunger, particularly if the country's wealth is unequally shared.

Teasing this apart is an important InfoChange article from India, which not only provides nuance about regions within the country, but also the increasing hunger rates since India adopted its free market policies. So, go figure. Free market policies increased death rates in Russia, and it's causing hunger in India. Turns out that the free market isn't quite as liberating as it pretends. ... read more »

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Posted on 15 January, 2009 - 02:42

The ever popular Men's Health Worst Foods in America has been updated for 2009. The winner is this dose of diabetes, the Baskin Robbins Large Heath Bar Shake. It has 2310 calories, and gives you three days' worth of your recommended daily allowance of fat.

For the curious, here's the ingredients list (worth reading to the end ... read more »

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Posted on 15 January, 2009 - 02:28