Politics & Globalization
International trade agreements force the U.S. and other participting countries to "harmonize" food and envrironmental safety standards to the lowest common denominator. Often these agreements are negotiated behind closed doors, shutting out Congress and the public, while granting corporations and trade associations a seat at the table. It's no surprise that these agreements give transnational corporations "special rights", allowing companies to challenge individual countries' environmental, worker and food safety laws and regulations.
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Rose and Ronnie· Joe volunteer© 2008
In the spring of 2017, a European Union working group of environmentalists, academics and lobbyists was having a technical discussion on green farming practices when a map appeared on an overhead screen. In an instant, the room froze. A farm lobbyist objected. Officials murmured their disapproval.
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As millions of acres of American farmland sat under historic floodwaters this spring, a remarkable pattern began to emerge. Even among fields that sat side-by-side, with the same crops and the same soil type, researchers and farmers noticed that some bounced back faster than others. What made the difference?
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Jackie Fielder, a member of the Three Affiliated Tribes, is only 25, but she’s been pretty busy for the past few years. Fielder is an activist who has campaigned against the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline; helped organize public banking efforts in San Francisco; and worked to defeat a city initiative that would loosen taser use for police in the Bay Area.
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Two new pieces of legislation introduced this month would strengthen the government’s role in regulating CAFOs. One, introduced in the House by Representative Rosa DeLauro, a Democrat from Connecticut, and in the Senate by New York Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand, would give the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authority to investigate livestock operations implicated in outbreaks of foodborne illness.
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Economic tyranny lies at the root of the unrest in Hong Kong, India, Chile, France, Iran, Iraq and Lebanon as well as the rise of right-wing demagogues and false prophets such as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
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Defying the machinations of discredited President Sebastian Pinera—who abruptly cancelled the Global Climate Summit in Santiago, Chile in reaction to the nationwide grassroots uprising that erupted here on October 18—an intrepid band of North and South American farmers, food activists and climate campaigners, under the banner of Regeneration International, came together in the Chilean capital of Santiago to share experiences and ideas, and to develop a common strategy for reversing global warming and resolving the other burning issues that are pressing down on us.
With global
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Activist Greta Thunberg has criticised governments at the UN climate talks for avoiding taking action to cut greenhouse gas emissions. In a speech at the COP25 talks in Madrid, Spain, the Swedish teenager, who inspired the worldwide school strikes for climate movement, said: "Our leaders are not behaving as if we are in an emergency."
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France and a group of Brazilian states plan to announce a partnership to preserve the Amazon rainforest, the group’s leader said on Monday, bypassing Brazil’s federal government after a spat between the presidents of the two countries.
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In November 2018, I was enjoying a post-midterms vacation when I saw the news: Six days after Democrats had taken back the House, a scrappy group of 150 young people staged a sit-in at Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s office because they weren’t convinced by her pledge to push forward on climate change legislation.
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Senator Bernie Sanders spoke to an audience of over 75 organic farmers on Thursday about the issues facing family farmers in the Midwest and beyond, according to a press release from the Organic Farmers Association.
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