It's been a while since we had a post mentioning bird flu, but in the past couple of days, folk've written in with avian influenza news. So it seems appropriate to acknowledge, first, that bird flu is alive and killing people - over 100 in Indonesia (out of 124 cases - those aren't good odds). But it's also spreading dangerously through India, in West Bengal. The Times of India quotes Mamata Banerjee even going so far as to say that it's "man-made" and part of a concerted strategy to destroy the rural economy. ... read more »

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Posted on 28 January, 2008 - 18:55

Okay, I admit, it's a frivolous title for a fairly important event, but I couldn't resist. A number of news sources, like the FT and Al Jazeera have covered the march of over 10,000 people in Jakarta, who are protesting the soaring price of soy. The price of bean curd and tempeh has doubled over the past few weeks. Why? Because the demand for biofuels have diverted production from food to flame. The result? Soaring prices of the key source of protein for a nation of over 200 million people. ... read more »

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Posted on 20 January, 2008 - 05:55

Here's something that ought to give the free trade crowd something to chew on. Free trade in rice and the subsequent dumping of cheap rice into rice-growing economies hurts rice farmers, who aren't terribly well off to begin with. I believe the technical term for this observation is "No, duh". ... read more »

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Posted on 9 November, 2007 - 05:25

Palm oil is to South East Asia what sugar-cane is to Brazil: a license for some to print money, and for others to become landless, while at the same time sacrificing the environment for chimerical carbon savings. Not good. Not good at all. The full BBC Story is pasted below.

Losing land to palm oil in Kalimantan
By James Painter
BBC News, West Kalimantan

Barto is more sad than angry. He is a leader of a Dayak Kanayan community in a remote part of the rainforest in deepest Borneo. ... read more »

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Posted on 3 October, 2007 - 00:18

Currently headquartered in Indonesia, Via Campesina is

is an international movement which coordinates peasant organizations of small and medium sized producers, agricultural workers, rural women, and indigenous communities from Asia, America, and Europe. It is an autonomous, pluralistic movement, independent from all political, economic, or other denomination. It is integrated by national and regional organizations whose autonomy is jealously respected. Via Campesina is organized in seven regions as follows: Europe, Northeast and Southeast Asia, South Asia, North America, the Caribbean, Central America, and South America. Via campesina has one member and is collaborating with other organisations in Africa. ... read more »

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Posted on 1 December, 2006 - 21:46