Articles in the nutritional science journals tend to be fairly bloodless. So it was nice to receive, through a correspondent, the text of this splendid article on the nutrition transition in Africa. It's a piece that puts the blood right back into nutrition.

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Posted on 3 November, 2007 - 16:33

South Africa's Mail and Guardian newspaper has a splendid article on the conflict between the 'green' issue of climate change and the 'red' issue of poverty eradication. There is, of course, no dichotomy here. Sustainable ways of addressing climate change *have* to involve the eradication of poverty. It's true that livestock farming contributes to climate change. What's interesting here is a new twist.

While most of the environmentally destructive livestock production happens in the Global North in Concentrated Animal Feedlot Operations (CAFOs), it is poor farmers, usually in the Global South, who end up being the scapegoat for environmental degradation. We've seen similar tactics at work before, in the blaming of small farmers for bird flu, a disease incubated and spread by large-scale poultry operations. For those of us concerned both about climate change, and about eradicating poverty, this remind us to point the finger in the right direction.... ... read more »

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Posted on 10 October, 2007 - 16:20

Moving a little north for this African posting, it was pleasing to see this article in the New York Times last week. One of the most dangerous ideas in international development is the notion that food aid is designed to help the poor. In fact (and I go into this at some length in the book), it was invented to find a home for a domestic crop surplus, as part of the war on communism. Under this rubric, it didn't much matter that food aid, dumped into a country where the poorest people are farmers, and struggling to survive an already parlous situation, had the effect of wiping out any possibility of earning money for the 'beneficiaries'. Instead, they were reduced to penury, hooked on the largesse of food aid. Mission accomplished. ... read more »

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Posted on 22 August, 2007 - 15:50

The good folk on the Retort mailing list sent around this BBC article on street children at the World Social Forum. I responded by rejigging a previous blog posting. Since the reply was a little funnier than the original, and has a few more details on how food was a central feature of life at the World Social Forum, I thought I'd post it here. Apologies for the repetition.

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Posted on 30 January, 2007 - 19:53

Following up on this posting, the daily newspaper here at the World Social Forum has a front page article on how the poor broke into the forum.

Centrally, the action took place right opposite a pricey cafe ($3 for a beer in a country where $8 is a week's wage) owned by Kenya's Internal Security Minister, John Michuki (aka The Crusher). Last year, he attracted worldwide attention by sending police to raid a newspaper critical of the government, justifying it with the words, "If you rattle a snake, you must be prepared to be bitten by it." ... read more »

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Posted on 24 January, 2007 - 08:06

Here's a brief newsy post from the Via Campesina's first day of activities at the World Social Forum - expect a tidied up version of this on the Via Campesina site soon...

The 2007 World Social Forum is a place where many of the world’s contradictions are writ small. A single plate of food from the vendors outside the gates costs the same as the average weekly wage here in Kenya. One group, the Via Campesina peasant movement, was reminding the world that everyone has to eat, and advancing its vision of ‘food sovereignty’, a programme that promises food for all, and a secure livelihood for those who grow it. ... read more »

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Posted on 23 January, 2007 - 15:51

What a difference a day makes. Yesterday, I posted a newswire report about thousands marching for social justice at the World Social Forum. As ever, there’s more to protest than meets the eye, and now that I’m here in Nairobi, I’m getting a slightly better sense (no doubt one to be revised and qualified tomorrow).

I’ve come here because I’m part of the Land Research Action Network, and staying the Via Campesina peasant delegation, a little ways outside town. One of the features that distinguishes Via Campesina from the world of non-governmental organisations is that it is a body comprised of peoples’ movements. It was formed because peasants/campesinos, farmers and the rural poor were sick of being misrepresented by both their governments, and by NGOs that purported to be working on behalf of the rural poor, but ended up making compromises in their name which they would never have sanctioned. Suffice it to say that the member organisations of Via Campesina take their democracy, and their capacity to represent themselves seriously. ... read more »

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Posted on 22 January, 2007 - 09:20

As part of the Land Research Action Network (with whom I've just co-edited this book) I'll be attending the World Social Forum in Nairobi, Kenya.

Depending on the internet connection, news from me might be a little slow in the next few days. But in the meantime, you can check out this experimental food newswire which has the latest from many of the best thinkers and doers in the world of food politics. ... read more »

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Posted on 20 January, 2007 - 14:08