Saturday, June 7, 2008

Free market wont solve the food crisis

Sign the Petition: Free Trade is Not the Answer to the Food Crisis
In response to the current food crisis, Grassroots International and the Oakland Institute are asking you to sign a petition demanding that the International Financial Institutions (World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and the World Trade Organization) not use the crisis to push through more failed free trade policies. Such policies have exacerbated hunger worldwide by allowing among other things rich countries to dump their agricultural products on poorer ones that can't compete. Our petition urges the UN and FAO to instead put pressure on countries to:
  • Increase cash contributions for food aid geared towards local food purchasing in hard-hit countries
  • Develop sustainable agriculture systems through genuine agrarian reforms
  • End speculation on food as a commodities in the global financial markets
Be a part of real solutions. Sign the petition here. (Thanks Annie)

See other Briefing Papers, Policy Briefs by the Oakland Institute at www.oaklandinstitute.org

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

As the co-author of SPIN-Farming, what I see every day are more and more entrepreneurial first generation farmers from all over the U.S., Canada, Australia, the UK and South Africa using SPIN’s sub-acre farming system as an entry point into the farming profession. They are using front lawns and backyards and neighborhood lots as their land base. More and more people are taking food production, literally, into their own hands, and no one in the status quo is seeing this coming. If this sub-acre entrepreneurial farming movement gains traction it will have a significant impact on the current food system. Perhaps most importantly, it is happening without significant policy changes or government supports. You can see some of these entrepreneurial sub-acre farmers in action at www.spinfarming.com