In The News

Postcards from Planet Google

Jennifer S. Lee November 28, 2002
With 150 million queries a day coming to its search engine site from more than 100 countries and in 86 languages Google is the ultimate proof that global village has arrived. As the New York Times story notes "Despite its geographic and ethnic diversity, the world is spending much of its time thinking about the same things. Country to country, region to region, day to day and even minute to...

Spotlight Falls on a Heavily Globalised Industry

Daniel Dombey November 20, 2002
After the oil tanker, the Prestige, broke in half off the Spanish coast and began gushing forth its slick contents, thousands of fishing families and businesses who depend on the ocean and pristine beaches began asking who should be held liable. As this Financial Times article notes, "the Prestige, registered in the Bahamas, owned by a Liberian company, managed by a Greek company and...

What AIDS Means in a Famine

Alex De Waal November 19, 2002
With 29 million Africans infected with H.I.V. and a life expectancy of under 40 for countries hit hardest by the disease, the last thing African governments need is a famine. Without assistance from resource-poor African governments, African families will have to develop new tactics to confront the dual threat of H.I.V. and famine. Prior to the outbreak of AIDS, families were experts at...

Emptying the Oceans

Michael Richardson November 17, 2002
World fisheries are suffering. With huge fishing fleets subsidized by governments, ineffective or non-existent multi-lateral agreements to control overfishing, and rampant piracy, the world’s oceans are not merely overfished, they are being laid bare. Add new technology that allows fishers to trawl in waters previously unsafe, and supermarkets that offer big payouts for uncommon fish, and the...

Tainted Soybeans Raise Fears About ‘Biopharming’

Mike Toner November 17, 2002
The discovery in a Nebraskan grain elevator of genetically modified crops for chemicals amongst crops meant for the nation’s food supply has led to the quarantine of a half-million bushels of potentially contaminated soybeans. This is the latest in a series of incidents in which the government has been forced to take drastic measures against the potential contamination of the nation’s food...

North Sea Cod Crisis Brings Call for Nations to Act

Craig S. Smith November 7, 2002
For the fisheries in ports and towns that depend on the North Sea cod, even more restrictions—or even a ban altogether—will soon follow the release of a scientific report outlining the perilous number of North Sea cod. The seemingly interminable discussions of the European Union’s fishing ministries on the matter have only let the cod stock dwindle. Other leaders, like the European Commissioner...

Asian Fast-Food Outlets Find Brisk Market

October 18, 2002
While some anti-globalization activists deplore the spread of American culture via such food outlets as McDonald’s and KFC, there is evidence that the exchange of food culture is not simply uni-directional. Filipino, Japanese, and Hong Kong fast food chains are spreading into US markets, bringing ‘comfort food’ tastes to immigrants and exposing American palates to Asian quick-stop foods. –...