Showing posts with label corporate. Show all posts
Showing posts with label corporate. Show all posts

Monday, August 6, 2007

the great killer: migration

"Seeking health care in Ethiopia can be a difficult task. For every hundred thousand people, only two doctors are available as the country's physicians flock to the west.

Many of the world's least developed countries are losing large parts of their already shallow pool of skilled professionals - hindering their ability to pull themselves out of poverty, a report by the UN said yesterday.

A decade ago, Uganda lost nearly $10m after the EU banned the import of its fish due to poor sanitation facilities and a lack of basic infrastructure. A large injection of funds to educate businesses and new facilities to meet health and safety standards saw the ban lifted, and Uganda's fish exports surged to $86m (about £45m) in 2003 from $28m in 1997.

Though the report stressed the importance of expanding employment opportunities outside of agriculture, it added that productivity in this sector through science-based development needed to be boosted. Agriculture accounts for 70% of the workforce yet donor commitments to agricultural research, education and training in the LDCs halved between 1998-2000 and 2003-2005.

Explainer

Economists usually argue that greater openness to international trade and investment brings new technologies to poorer nations, but UNCTAD says that progress needs to come from within the developing country itself. For instance, in Africa most foreign direct investment is focused on mineral extraction and spillover to domestic firms and joint ventures is limited. Similarly in poor Asian countries, rapid growth in garment manufacturing has not led to a corresponding development of domestic firms' technological capabilities and knowledge. Investment also tends to be highly concentrated in countries rich in commodities. Oil-producing Angola, Chad, Sudan and Equatorial Guinea received more than half the total foreign direct investment in the 50 least developed countries in 2000-05."

Saturday, August 4, 2007

a spot of milk?

"There is a very sad story behind the introduction of powdered milk to our nation.

At one time we were self sufficient in milk. The multi national companies gradually and surreptitiously changed our consumption habits of the “Nation” by offering milk food at a very competitive price so that the farmers were compelled to close the dairy and sell the cows.

The change of food habits also led to the production of our cattle where some time back it was with utmost reluctance that the villager sold his cow for slaughter. The cow, treated as second mother was used for milking and the bull to pull the cart and in the paddy field. Killing cattle for meat is unacceptable. Now the values have changed, we are now meat and beef eating nation.

Recently there are protests and agitations regarding the increase of milk to unbearable levels. It is true that the prices of liquid milk and powdered milk have gone up drastically. Two decades ago Sri Lanka was a country where fresh milk was freely available at an affordable price.

In 1981 under the policy of liberalisation and privatisation the government took decision to close the national milk board and signed an agreement with a multinational company, to develop the dairy industry.

After 20 years there is no fresh milk available in the market, the entire milk food sector is in the hands of just two or three large companies which market only milk powders imported from the West."


Saturday, July 28, 2007

GMOfuel

Below is an excerpt from the 2007 half year report of mega agribusiness corporation Syngenta.

"Seeds: Sales of corn grew worldwide driven by higher crop prices and acreage expansion. In the USA this was offset by a decline in soybean sales as planted acreage dropped sharply. Syngenta is transforming its US corn portfolio from a conventional to a fully traited offer and the launch of Agrisure(TM) RW marked further progress. The market for corn biotechnologyis expanding rapidly and Syngenta plans to increase R&D investment furtherto capture all opportunities;"

Traited corn is, if I understand it correctly a euphemism for GMO corn, in the sense that it is corn to which desirable genetic traits have been added using biotechnology. GOM corn is used to make "bio"fuel.

and this is how much Syngenta makes:

"'Strong performance: improved market outlook' -- Reported sales up 9 per cent to $5.7 billion -- Crop Protection sales up 7 per cent (1) to $4.3 billion -- New products sales 15 per cent(1) higher at $760 million -- Seeds sales up 4 per cent(1) to $1.4 billion -- Earnings per share(2) up 16 per cent to $12.13 -- Free cash flow $306 million: full year cash return increased to around $1 billion"

$4.3 billions worth of pesticides!

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Royal corporation

"Delta Two, the investment fund owned by the Qatari royal family has indicated it plans to invest over £3billion in the business, massively expanding the company in the UK, creating thousands of new jobs and expanding overseas. This would almost certainly lead to increased demand for seafood along with all other types of food and produce.

The Sainsbury board, chaired by Sir Philip Hampton, yesterday confirmed it had received a preliminary approach and was in discussions with Delta. The two parties are expected to meet in the next few days to clarify the extremely detailed proposal.

It is understood the Qatari's plan is to expand the Sainsbury's brand overseas, opening stores in the Middle East, Korea and China, where the Qatar government has strong links."

Saturday, June 30, 2007

Consumerism and imperialism

"All around the world, America is invading nations through its foods, medicines, consumer products, dangerous economic practices, synthetic chemicals and intellectual property. And everywhere that American products are adopted, widespread disease and death soon follows.



The World Trade Organization, for its part, makes sure that targeted nations comply with imperialistic western trade practices. The huge push of Big Tobacco into Asia, for example, is the result of support by "world trade" proponents who threatened to impose trade sanctions against Asian nations if they tried to ban cigarette advertising. Today, more than a third of Chinese men are addicted to cigarettes, generating billions in annual profits for Big Tobacco companies who are right now producing more Chinese casualties than any war in China's long history.



America is the world's largest exporter of disease. Through our popular soda products, cigarettes, fast food chains and manufactured foods, we have caused more death and disease around the world than any nation in human history (including Hitler, Stalin and Pol Pot). And it all remains perfectly legal. Our chemical companies even manufacture and export pesticide chemicals that have been banned in the United States. Poor agricultural nations openly use those deadly pesticides on their crops, then ship the produce back to the U.S. where consumers buy it at grocery stores. It's all perfectly legal and, in fact, encouraged by U.S. political leaders.

Resistance is futile

It's actually more than legal: It's required! Any nation that says "no" to western products and intellectual property is immediately branded an enemy of world trade and is targeted for legal action by the WTO. Even creating pro-consumer safety standards such as banning aspartame, sodium nitrite or hydrogenated oils can be deemed a violation of international trade agreements. Product sales, you see, are the No. 1 priority, even when nations are being decimated by the products manufactured and exported by American companies.

Poor nations with undereducated populations suffer enormously under western economic imperialism. It's easy to sell Pepsi, cigarettes and lotto tickets to people in a country like Panama, for example, where the education level remains low and people are easily tricked into thinking that western products will make them happier. Pepsi, in fact, is the dominant consumer product throughout most of Central and South America. You can hardly travel anywhere south of the U.S. / Mexico border without being inundated with Pepsi propaganda. The Pepsi logo is more prominent than images of the Virgin Mary or the Pope, even though many South and Central American populations are Catholic. (It's quite clear what they actually worship!)

These international product invasions are important to the bottom line of U.S. corporations, of course, who are expanding their propaganda campaigns to non-U.S. countries following the wising up of American consumers. Only uneducated, ignorant consumers drink soft drink products in America these days. It's the same crowd that buys lotto tickets, smokes cigarettes, watches TV infomercials and lives on frozen dinners. Smart consumers in America switched to healthier drinks long ago. That's why soda sales continue to fall each year, and that's why U.S. soda corporations have to increasingly crank up their marketing machines in countries that haven't yet caught on to the toxicity of aspartame or the links between diabetes and high-fructose corn syrup. "


Read and weep. An excellent article, an absolute must read. The last part is a sort of a manifesto for sustainable nations, an alternative development strategy.

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Corporate bread

"Leading Greek food and dairy group Vivartia has informed the local media that it will be establishing a joint venture in Saudi Arabia with Western Bakeries and Olayan Financing Company.

The Greek food firm will control 25% (worth 14 million euro) of the new company. Another 60% will belong to Western Bakeries, and the remaining 10% will go to Olayan."