In The News

Talks Collapse on U.S. Efforts to Open Europe to Biotech Food

David Leonhardt June 20, 2003
While the US thinks it is perfectly acceptable for the American people to consume genetically modified (GM) food, Europe remains adamant, unwilling to compromise consumer safety for consumer choice since the long term effects on human health of GM food are still unknown. The US has lodged formal complaints against the European Union with the World Trade Organization (WTO) alleging protectionism...

‘Dubai Aid City’ Launched

Jamila Qadir June 16, 2003
Plans for “Dubai Aid City” were recently released by the United Arab Emirates with promises that the complex will have both humanitarian and economic benefits. The site, described as a “fully integrated aid distribution and storage facility,” will provide a strategic location for international aid organizations to dispense aid to surrounding locales, including Iraq, Eastern Europe, the Indian...

The New Global Food Fight

Kathleen McAfee June 6, 2003
Genetically modified (GM) food offered as aid by the US is not simply manna from the heavens for people in famine-stricken countries, says Yale scholar Kathleen McAfee. African nations have refused GM food aid from the US not just because they fear losing access to the European Union market, where imported GM foods are subject to substantial restrictions. They also worry about environmental...

The GM Mirage Will Not Help the Poor

Alex Wijeratna June 4, 2003
It is profits and not an altruistic desire to end world hunger that is behind the emergence of the genetically modified (GM) agriculture industry, argues Alex Wijeratna of the UK based international development agency, ActionAid. Wijeratna's essay adds to the US's concern over export restrictions on GM treated food from the US to countries in the European Union. Recently, US President...

Globalization with Few Discontents?

June 3, 2003
As a sub-section of the Pew Global Attitudes Project survey, "View of a Changing World," this article examines the global public's attitudes towards globalization in the past five years. Generally, peoples of the world agree - albeit to different degrees - that after experiencing globalization through trade, finance, travel, communication and culture, they favor an interconnected...

Nations Join the U.S. in Banning Canada's Beef

Clifford Krauss May 22, 2003
For the first time, mad cow disease appeared in a ranch in North America. While Canadian officials are trying to find out where this cow might have gotten infected and convince people that beef from Canada is still safe to be eaten, several countries have decided to put a temporary ban on beef imports from Canada. Farmers and people in related businesses in Alberta complain that their cattle...

Solutions for Coffee Crisis

May 22, 2003
As a world glut cut down the price of coffee, some coffee-growing countries have decided to convert some of their coffee areas to other crops, increasing the diversity of their agricultural production and raising world coffee prices. At a recent round-table discussion, the World Bank and the International Coffee Organization urged rich countries to lower their agricultural tariffs and reduce...