Food First's blog

by Raphael Grojnowski

By Wolf Rendall

With the advent of agrofuel blending mandates in the US and EU, investors from Europe and United States are currently looking to Africa to help sate the global economy's thirst for energy-and driving many African farmers off their land. More than 80 percent of all land allocated for agrofuel production in Africa is located in productive farmlands and forests that would otherwise be used to grow or gather food.

tkerssen [at] foodfirst [dot] org

by tkerssen [at] foodfirst [dot] org

Bill Gates, Co-Chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, delivered his first major address on agriculture last week on the occasion of the 2009 World Food Prize symposium in Des Moines, Iowa. The World Food Prize is awarded annually to pioneers in biotechnology, and Mr. Gates, whose foundation is at the forefront of launching a ‘new' Green Revolution in Africa, gave the keynote presentation.

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tkerssen [at] foodfirst [dot] org

By Zoe Brent

Dear Secretary Solis,

By Zoe Brent

As we left the community of La Ayuda, palm oil expanding into the horizon on both sides of the narrow road, Marta—a local leader from the Comité Unidad Campesina (CUC)—pointed our attention to two knee-high metal posts.  There was one on each side of the road.  A couple of years ago, these unremarkable posts became the object of a fierce fight, which was eventually settled in court.

By Sophie Turrell

The USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service recently reported good news for farmers’ markets, farm stands, and CSAs in a document entitled Facts on Direct-to-Consumer Food Marketing. The report, based on the 2007 Census of Agriculture, shows that direct-to-consumer food purchasing—food bought from farmstands, farmers’ markets, and community-supported agriculture (CSAs)—has increased substantially since earlier censuses in 2002 and 1997.

By Isabella Kenfield
August 12, 2009

Michael R. Taylor’s appointment by the Obama administration to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on July 7th sparked immediate debate and even outrage among many food and agriculture researchers, NGOs and activists. The Vice President for Public Policy at Monsanto Corp. from 1998 until 2001, Taylor exemplifies the revolving door between the food industry and the government agencies that regulate it. He is reviled for shaping and implementing the government’s favorable agricultural biotechnology policies during the Clinton administration.

By Christine White

Dow AgroSciences – an agro-chemical multinational corporation - has requested permission from the EPA to use sulfuryl fluoride (SO2F2) as an experimental pesticide. Sulfuryl fluoride, a highly toxic gas fumigant, acts as a powerfully dangerous greenhouse gas. In fact, over a 100-year time span, it is 4,780 times as potent a greenhouse gas as carbon dioxide. Dow has proposed to apply this dangerous pollutant on farm fields across four states (Florida, Georgia, Texas, and California).

By Colin Murphy

Senators Richard Lugar (R-IN) and Dick Casey seek to combat hunger through a new bill, the Global Food Security Act of 2009. Stressing the importance of long-term agricultural development, the bill marks a shift away from traditional aid methods in favor of enabling the hungry to feed themselves.
The legislation has not surfaced without discontent, however.

By Christine White

Announced this past week, former Monsanto director Michael Taylor has joined the FDA as “senior advisor to the commissioner”. In accepting this position, Taylor takes on the role as what critics have claimed “a kind of food czar of the Food and Drug Administration”. His FDA appointment includes the following responsibilities:

- Assess current food program challenges and opportunities
- Identify capacity needs and regulatory priorities

- Develop plans for allocating fiscal year 2010 resources