Agrofuels in the Americas.
Edited by Richard Jonasse.
As California considers new carbon-accounting standards for liquid fuels; a significant percentage of which will come from agrofuels; it is a perfect time to review what the past several years of the "Agrofuels Gold Rush" have wrought. This book looks primarily at the consequences in the U.S. and Latin America, but the problems with Agrofuels, in terms of Food Security, labor rights, and environmental destruction are widespread.
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Individual Articles Below.
Agrofuels in the Americas looks at the ways in which agribusiness and energy
corporations are taking advantage of peak oil, climate concerns, and global free
trade rules to shape the future of agriculture to their advantage. The
following articles illuminate the dynamics of trade relations, global capital
flows, and their symbiotic relationship with international financial institutions
such as the WTO, the World Bank, and the IMF. They open the black box of
biotechnology strategies, the corporate cooptation of the genetic commons, and
the voracious land and resource consumption of the agrofuels industry. Finally,
these pieces discuss the human tragedy of agrofuels' effects on peasant
farmers, rural labor, indigenous peoples, and the environment--and the corporate
externalization of their social and environmental costs. They provide a picture
of the future of agriculture, labor, and the biosphere if the forces capitalizing
on current global crises can push their plans through. Agrofuels in the Americas touches on these key concerns with the aim of informing the current debates around food, fuel, and human rights.
Introduction: Agrofuels and our Endangered World. By Richard Jonasse
I. The Ecological and Social Tragedy of Crop-based Biofuel Production in the Americas. By Miguel Altieri & Elizabeth Bravo
II. When Renewable Isn’t Sustainable: Agrofuels and the Inconvenient Truths Behind the 2007 U.S. Energy Independence and Security Act. By Eric Holt-Giménez and Isabella Kenfield
III. The Free Market in Agrofuels: Regulation and Trade in the Americas. By Gretchen Gordon & Jessica Aguirre
IV. Agribusiness’ Field of Dreams: IFIs and Latin America’s Agrofuel Expansion. By Richard Jonasse
V. The Environmental and Social Consequences of “Green Capitalism” in Brazil. By Maria Luisa Mendonça
VI. Agrofuels Plantations and the Loss of Land for Food Production in Guatemala. By Laura Hurtado
VII. The Agrofuels Trojan Horse: Biotechnology and the Corporate Domination of Agriculture. By Annie Shattuck
VIII. Magical, Myth-Illogical, Biological Fuels?? By Rachel Smolker & Brian Tokar
IX. Will Sustainability Certifications Work? A Look at the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels. By Annie Shattuck
