Suchergebnisse

Introduction : trade versus development? -- 1. Trade negotiations and trade liberalization -- 2. Key issues, misconceptions, disagreements and alternative paradigms -- 3. Dumping and subsidies : unraveling the confusion -- 4. The impacts of liberalized agricultural trade -- 5. Alternatives for a different agriculture and food system -- Conclusion : another food system is possible.

In this article, agrofuels are examined in the context of the world food price crisis and the "food sovereignty" proposal for addressing the crisis. Both short- and long-term causes of the crisis are examined, and while agrofuels are presently not a prime causal factor they are clearly contraindicated by the crisis. Food sovereignty, including a moratorium on agrofuels, is argued to offer the best option for managing the crisis.

In light of the 2007/08 global food crisis, it is argued that correcting the world food & agriculture system requires turning away from unsustainable industrial monocultures & toward revitalizing family & peasant farming. Discussion opens with a look at the concept of "food sovereignty" as proposed by the international alliance of key farming & rural actors called La Via Campesina. Contending that redistributive land reform & the reversal of dominant trade policies are critical to fostering a smaller farm, family-based or cooperative model of agriculture, current developments in agrarian reform are reviewed, identifying those led by the World Bank & Latin American states before turning to "land reform from below" by new social movements. Attention is then given to redistributive land reform's role in the push for sustainable development, addressing issues related to poverty, productivity, & the environment. Adapted from the source document.