An Appeal For Help From The Palestinian Farmers Union
January 10, 2009
At the time we try to pull together our wounds, our voices are calling for help and support. We in the Palestinian Farmers Union appeal to all our brothers in the farmers and peasants Unions, we also appeal to all international organizations and solidarity with Palestinians organizations to work to stop the massacre, to stop the siege and to help and assist the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, for what they are facing steadfastly of Barbarian fierce attack by the Israeli occupation forces, as this aggressive bombardment reached children, women and the elders and even trees and stones.
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The Financial Times ran an op-ed with a fine title, Rhodes Redux. It covers the latest in a series of land-grabs in Africa, by China, Kuwait, Sweden, and major multinationals around the world. Guess who doesn’t get to grab land in Africa? Women.
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An IFPRI report, released in October 2008, has this wee accompanying widget. Drag the flag to find out the hunger index in your country. As with all these indices, it’s important to remember that it’s a national average – countries with low averages might still have pockets of high hunger, particularly if the country’s wealth is unequally shared.
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The ever popular Men’s Health Worst Foods in America has been updated for 2009. The winner is this dose of diabetes, the Baskin Robbins Large Heath Bar Shake. It has 2310 calories, and gives you three days’ worth of your recommended daily allowance of fat.
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Here’s a short piece that came out in the UK’s Food Magazine late last year.
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Rob Weissman at Multinational Monitor has the lowdown on the 10 worst corporations, and I’m pleased that he included an agribusiness giant among them – Cargill. Read more (including quotes from your blogger) here.
Eric at Food First told me about this article, from the Chicago Tribune, which outlines the Democrats’ case for appointing an agribusiness insider to run the USDA. It’s basically a manifesto for agricultural imperialism, with the US on a mission to feed the world and, while they’re at it, reduce the trade deficit. This isn’t the first time that a worthy mission and a domestic policy consideration have been aligned – the Cold War food aid program was also both a mission to save the world from communism, promote US interests, and prop up agribusiness. It’s just surprising to see how very little the language has changed over the past sixty years. Looks like we’re beginning 2009 in 1948.
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The new year begins with a posting frenzy here at S&S, and the posting frenzy begins with a fine article from the InterPress Service on how poor communities are helping themselves through gardening in South Africa. A good thing too, as the South African government seems to want to have less and less to do with them.
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Dear Mr Obama
I owe you an apology. In the run-up to the election, I said that you had been flying around in the Archer Daniels Midland jet, implying that you were still doing it. My mistake. Your team made it clear that you paid for all your own travel.
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This has, at best, a tangential relation to food. Above, George Bush proves that he’s The One. More recent graphic commentary can be found at this Wired article, including the pie- and hence food-related Three Stooges visual below.
