In The News

Globalization Is Destroying the World's Oceans

Thomas Schulz August 13, 2008
An expanding global population, a growing demand for fish and ruthless technology that sweeps the ocean floors clean are ravaging global saltwater fish populations. “About one-fourth of all known fish populations are already overfished to the brink of extinction, including once-abundant species cod and tuna,” explains Thomas Schulz for Spiegel Online. “According to the United Nations Food and...

Obama’s Biofuels Policy Tension

Roger Harrabin August 13, 2008
Ethanol subsidies are popular among voters in the American Midwest, where farmers grow millions of acres of corn to produce the biofuel. It’s no surprise, then, that Barack Obama – as a senator representing Illinois – has embraced such subsidies. Yet while ethanol may be popular politically, it has proven disastrous as a matter of policy: Research suggests that producing ethanol creates more...

Trade Talks' Failure Weighs on Other Issues

Bob Davis July 31, 2008
The collapse of the Doha trade talks suggest that the motivation for global cooperation is waning. The goal of the Doha round was to eliminate special subsidies and tariffs on agricultural products to boost economies of the world’s poorest nations. WTO rules require that all 153 members reach consensus on such trade decisions. But the emerging economies of China and India looked to protect their...

The Furor Over Genetically Modified Foods

Laura H. Kahn July 22, 2008
With the world's population booming and the food prices skyrocketing, biotechnologists suggest that genetically modified foods could boost supplies. However, genetically modified foods are greeted with wariness in many regions, particularly Europe, for many reasons. Some question whether such food products pose a safety hazard for humans, while other critics express concern about the...

More Pressure on Global Fish Stocks as Scientists Warn of Underreporting of Catches

Tim Radford July 17, 2008
Scientists have long known that global fish stocks were in trouble. Countries overfish and deplete stocks without thought to long-term consequences and population collapses. Researchers from the Sea Around Us, an international research group based at the University of British Columbia, visited 20 locations, talked to locals and estimated the amount of fish that were caught. They reached the...

The Global Food Fight

Moisés Naím July 10, 2008
Food prices have doubled during the past two years, and Moisés Naím of Foreign Policy observes that politicians, journalists and economists often blame the recent hikes on growing demand by rising middle classes in the developing world. But Naím cautions against blaming people in India and China for wanting what’s routine in the wealthiest nations. Instead, government leaders have only...

UK Is Wasting Far Too Much Food - Brown

Patrick Wintour July 7, 2008
The United Kingdom wastes about 4 tons of food a year, and Prime Minister Gordon Brown has called upon the British to be more conservative on their food purchases and preparation. Even as people in some developing nations go without food and other countries hoard, demand remains high in the wealthiest nations. The high demand, combined with some grains being siphoned off for biofuels, contributes...