Here's a bit of a plug for the new book - out in the UK in December, in the US in January. I was lucky enough to get to make this book trailer with Scott Hamilton Kennedy, whose documentary about the South Central Los Angeles farm, The Garden was spectacular, well deserving the Oscar nod that it got (and it was a particularly good year to be nominated ). ... read more »

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Posted on 17 November, 2009 - 04:10

The USDA has released its data for hunger in the United States, and the numbers aren't good.

In 2007, 36 million people were classified 'food insecure'. In 2008, the figure was 49 million - an increase of 13 million.

Children were badly affected, though older children took the hit if they had younger siblings. Those in the front lines were, of course, women. The graph shows the differences in US hunger between 2007 and 2008: single mothers and women living alone were worst hit. ... read more »

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Posted on 16 November, 2009 - 21:52

Photo: G Online

I often get asked whether I think fair trade is a bad idea, and my response is usually "it's much better to buy fair trade than to buy unfair trade- but if you care about farmers, ask them what they want". In general, I'm not favourably inclined toward green consumerism.

The notion that somehow we can transform the world by shopping is a debilitating one, and it's one that George Monbiot has recently done a fine job of skewering. In his latest, he references a piece in the journal Nature in which it appears that consumers who buy green goods feel that their purchases allow them to behave in ways that are environmentally far worse. The researchers call it 'the licensing effect'. ... read more »

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Posted on 9 November, 2009 - 15:52

I know I bang on a lot about food sovereignty on this blog, but it's not all hot air. I've just guest edited a section of The Journal of Peasant Studies (really the most hard-hitting academic journal of its kind) and was lucky enough to pull together some excellent papers and interviews. Although the JPS can get dry in parts, the section I edited was the Grassroots Voices bit, which is intended as a forum and resource for activists. And they've decided to make it available free (as opposed to the $100+ individual subscription rate).

Update The section is attached below, or head straight here for the full issue. ... read more »

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Posted on 5 November, 2009 - 23:15

Last night, I had the chance to be on a panel with Brahm Ahmadi, Vini Bhansali and a new friend, Jeff Conant.

Jeff told a fantastic story, from his experience with the Yaqui indigenous people. They were the original recipients of Green Revolution technology, when Norman Borlaug was busy inventing hybrid corn. So what news from the people who've been living with the Green Revolution the longest? They're dying. The apocalyptic ecology, and economics, of the Green Revolution has hit them hard. And their deaths weren't remembered, or even mentioned, when Norman Borlaug shuffled off his mortal coil.

Jeff continues the story below... ... read more »

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Posted on 5 November, 2009 - 22:49

Well, it has only been two years, but in Internet time, that's almost a generation. Which is why, soon, StuffedAndStarved.org will be taken out behind the sheds, patted on the head, and put out of its all-too-2006 misery.

But don't worry. Over the next month, I'll continue to write about food, gender and other things, but it'll happen at RajPatel.org. Why? Because my new book, The Value of Nothing, is about to hit the stands, and it doesn't really make sense to start a new site every time a new book comes out.

Right now, you don't need to do anything. You can see the new site here, and I'll be easing into writing over there in the next month. But come December, if you visit www.stuffedandstarved.org, you'll be redirected to my new writing home. Just a heads up. In the meantime, if you've got any ideas about the new site, do let me know. ... read more »

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Posted on 4 November, 2009 - 21:16

Variants of this quote has been cropping up a great deal recently:

It is not acceptable for women to constitute
70 per cent of the world’s 1.3 billion absolute poor. Nor is it acceptable for
women to work two-thirds of the world's working hours, but earn only one-tenth
of the world's income and own less than one-tenth of the world's property.

I've been going a little nuts trying to find the source because, well, I wasn't able to get the quote right.

In the excellent Penguin Atlas of Women in the World, in the 'Feminisms' entry, I found a lead. It was said by Noeleen Heyzer, Director of UNIFEM, at the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995. You can find the full text here. ... read more »

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Posted on 4 November, 2009 - 20:46

From the Pesticide Action Network and the national Family Farm Coalition, here's a last-minute heads up on key positions in the US Dept of Agriculture about to be filled by agribusiness insiders. Click here to find out more (and to sign a petition), the text of which is below the fold... ... read more »

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Posted on 3 November, 2009 - 04:49