In The News

Let Them Eat Bread

Annia Ciezadlo April 4, 2011
Many factors are at play in the ongoing Middle East protests, and while bread often goes unmentioned, Annia Ciezadlo places food prices in the spotlight. Governments in the Middle East import grain and then subsidize bread for their populations. The inexpensive bread has artificially sustained the rule by non-democratic governments, staving off unrest. In 50 years, nations went from self-...

World Water Day Report: African Cities Outgrow Their Water Supplies

March 23, 2011
A limited supply of freshwater could threaten fast economic and population growth for Africa’s cities. Water, so crucial for survival, is taken for granted by many, and March 22 is set aside to mark World Water Day. According to a United Nations assessment, 40 percent of Africa’s 1 billion people live in urban areas with inadequate water supplies and sanitation, reports Environment News Service...

Quinoa’s Global Success Creates Quandary at Home

Simon Romero, Sara Shahriari March 23, 2011
In recent years, quinoa, a traditional Andean crop rich in amino acids and other nutritive properties, has become popular in health-food stores of the developed world. Foreign-aid organizations encouraged Bolivian farmers to take advantage of increased demand and grow more of the crop for export. As prices tripled over the past five years, local farmers earn more and fewer Bolivians immigrate....

Let’s Avoid Food Riots

Nayan Chanda March 15, 2011
Rather than address the root causes, governments tackle emerging food shortages, climbing prices and angry publics like a carnival game of Whac-a-Mole: Like little moles poking their heads from random holes, crises emerge and leaders whack at them in a frenzied race against time. Food insecurity is the new normal, explains YaleGlobal Editor Nayan Chanda in his regular column for Businessworld,...

Heat Damages Colombia Coffee, Raising Prices

Elisabeth Rosenthal March 10, 2011
Is global warming now making your cup of coffee more expensive? Rising temperatures, heavy rains and fungus are certainly reducing coffee yields throughout Latin America, reports Elisabeth Rosenthal for the New York Times. The reduced yields coincide with attempts in Colombia to establish brand certification based on flavor and origin. Some commodity analysts suggest that the nation has hit a “...

How a One Drink Changed Fortunes, Incited Protests

Farok J. Contractor March 9, 2011
Tea, native to Asia, reached Europe in 1606, after Dutch traders sent a bulk tea shipment; within a century, the caffeinated drink became a popular beverage. Globalization’s pace was slower then, but the resulting prosperity and pain were still immense, explains Farok J. Contractor, professor of management and global business. He traces the course of tea’s globalization over the centuries: High...

Putting Poppies in the Gas Tank

Nicholas Schmidle March 1, 2011
The global demand for opium fuels poppy production in Afghanistan, which funds the Taliban. For years, the US military worked to eradicate poppy crops. But US veterans doing contract work in Afghanistan pointed out that poppies could be used for biofuel. The veterans drew on research from Tasmania, home to the world’s largest legal poppy fields, reports Michael Schmidle for the Atlantic, and...