Egypt: Its the Economy (Food, Fuel), Stupid...

For the last week, the world media has turned its focus on the ongoing protests in Egypt and other countries in the region. Many ask why there are thousands of young people taking to the streets. Democracy? Free Speech? Israel? Dictators? US foreign policy? Like in Tunisia, based on the reaction of the Egyptian protesters interviewed by the media, all of the above play a role.

While most Westerners who don't usually follow news out the Middle East may have initially thought the upheavals had something to do with Islamic fundamentalism, most protesters are not only complaining about US-backed dictators who suppress free speech, but also about many of the same issues Americans are worried about - high unemployment and skyrocketing basic living costs. With the most recent U.S. unemployment numbers out this week, Americans and Egyptians might actually have more things in common.

According to the International Labour Organization, the Middle East has the world's highest unemployment rate. Unemployment in the region is 10.3 percent compared to 6.2 percent on average globally, and approximately 40 percent of those under 25 years of age in the region are jobless.

While the IMF already predicted a "strong recovery for the job markets in Europe and the United States," the Middle East still has to work on structural factors capable of changing their dynamics. The priority, both for oil-producing countries and those that do not have energy reserves, is to absorb an already high number of young people ready to enter onto the job market, a figure that continues to grow on a yearly basis.

Furthermore, when the spike in the cost of living is added on, then you really have a problem.

Food costs are among the grievances of demonstrators around the region as global food prices hit record highs in December, above levels that prompted riots in 2008, according to the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organisation, which warned prices of cereals, oilseeds, dairy, meat and sugar are set to climb.

Also, Egypt is the world's largest importer of wheat, bringing in 11 millions tons into the country each year. Many observers are starting to blame the growing biofuel industry. In particular, the U.S. government has been encouraging farmers to grow less wheat and more corn - thanks to subsidies, and more corn is being used to produce fuel instead of food, which contributes to rising food prices.

So, it really doesn't matter when or if Hosni Mubarak leaves office because really these bigger picture issues need to be addressed better to actually bring change for people in the region.

Food in 2011: The Nutrition Recession

Yesterday I listened to Living on Earth's Holiday Special, where they had on Firoozeh Dumas, an Iranian-American humorist, who talked about her assimilation into America's food culture. While growing up in Iran, Dumas talked about going to farmers' markets with her mother and buying food fresh.

When we moved to America, we all of a sudden discovered that there were all of these foods here that were already prepared. So, in Iran, if you opened our pantry or our refrigerator, all you found was basically raw rice or lentils, or in our refrigerator, it would be raw meat and limes. And, in America, we used to go to the grocery store and we would just buy these boxes and cans not quite sure what's in them, and try them. You know, a lot of times people go to other countries and they discover the new culture through museums, well, we were not cultivated people, so we just ate our way through America.

And eat she did. She continued on to say that she discovered Baskin Robbins, Kentucky Fried Chicken and vending machines - all things that would lead to her own childhood obesity problem.

America being a land of immigrants has prided itself for embracing the many food traditions that have been imported to these shores over the last 500 years. But in recent years, no thanks to the way the American food system is set up, many healthy ethnic foods are being erased for a more processed and packaged diet of Chicken McNuggets, KFC Double Downs and Slurpees.

With the generosity of a friendly dietitian, I attended the American Dietetic Association's Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo last November. I had the opportunity to speak to many experienced dietitians and other health professionals about this crisis in the new immigrant community. One person said that this phenomenon is part of a larger problem around food in this country - a "nutrition recession" to be precise. America is the richest country with the most resources, yet its population has the worst diet.

Also at the conference. Peter Menzel and Faith D'Aluisio, authors of the new book "What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diets," were on hand to discuss what in the world - literally - is happening to the global feast. And it seems like some other countries are unfortunately catching up to America's food system.

"Traditional foods are being replaced by processed foods," said Menzel. "Add on the lack of physical activity, obesity is becoming a global problem."

D'Aluisio said that unlike processed foods, "people who cook traditional foods know exactly what they eat and the exact measurements for ingredients in their meals. Subsistence farmers in the developing world tend to be in better physical shape because of the hard labor involved with their work and their diets generally comprise of foods they grow."

One workshop I attended highlighted this problem within the Hispanic community. The presenter used real life examples of two middle-aged, Hispanic men - one upper middle class real estate agent from Arizona and a poor corn farmer from Tijuana. The real estate agent owned his own business, was married with two kids and lived outside of Phoenix. However, the man and his family were all obese from eating fast foods two times a day and virtually no physical activity.

Across the border, the corn farmer lived in a rented, three-room apartment with his wife, mother and six children. The man, his wife and the mother were all thin because they work the farm all day and only eat what they grew. However, the children are starting to gain weight because of their desire to eat American foods. Also, because of NAFTA, over the last 15 years the farmer has found it more expensive to buy fresh food from his own country on his meager wage, and has been forced to purchase the cheaper brands from America. He is now thinking about immigrating with his family to America since the need for corn farming in his country has become scarce.

"America drives what we put on our dinner plates," said the farmer.

But is this a good thing - I think not.

Haiti's Rice Problems

Over the weekend, I had a chance to catch the Frontline/World segment on Haiti's aid problems since the earthquake earlier this year. The report specifically focused on the dilemma foreign aid has "caused" on the island, especially for Haitians who sell rice. My issue with this report was the fact that Haiti has had a rice problem long before the earthquake, thanks in part to U.S. policies towards the island.

Excuse me for bringing this up - since NPR won't do it - but last time I checked, Haiti used to grow its own rice. I am surprised that nowhere in the program was this mention. It was almost a given that the United States was suppose to give rice to Haiti, rather than allow it to be food secure with its own agricultural resources.

A little history lesson...

From Reader Supported News:

Today, little rice is grown in Haiti; instead, the nation is a market for the subsidized rice crop grown in the United States. Human Rights lawyer Bill Quigley, now at the Center for Constitutional Rights, wrote about this trend in the spring of 2008, as food riots shook Haiti and other parts of the developing world:

In 1986, after the expulsion of Haitian dictator Jean Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) loaned Haiti $24.6 million in desperately needed funds (Baby Doc had raided the treasury on the way out). But, in order to get the IMF loan, Haiti was required to reduce tariff protections for their Haitian rice and other agricultural products and some industries to open up the country's markets to competition from outside countries. The US has by far the largest voice in decisions of the IMF. "American rice invaded the country," recalled Charles Suffrard, a leading rice grower in Haiti, in an interview with the Washington Post in 2000. By 1987 and 1988, there was so much rice coming into the country that many stopped working the land.

Haiti is now the third largest importer of U.S. rice in the world. The rice is "dumped" on the island by American farmers receiving subsidies from the US government to grow surpluses of rice at a rock-bottom rates, undercutting Haitian rice farmers.

And some Americans have the nerve to call Haiti "the basket case of the Western Hemisphere," when, in fact, the United States and their friends at the WTO and IMF are undermining the very structure it needs to survive.

Disgusting...

Natural Disasters and Food Security

The Icelandic volcano eruption has wreaked havoc on the worldwide air traffic system. Not only are airline travelers throughout Europe grounded, but food and other basic essentials are not being flown in, highlighting why we need to seriously rethink the local food idea.

From the Guardian:

Britain's supermarkets could soon run short of perishable goods including exotic fruits and Kenyan roses as the ongoing ban on UK air travel brought Britain's largest perishable air freight handling centre to a standstill today...

The UK imports about 90% of its fruit and 60% of its vegetables. While the vast majority come by sea – Fair Trade bananas from the West Indies, for instance, are regularly delivered to Southampton and Portsmouth – some of the more exotic inhabitants of the UK's shops come by air. Air freight makes up about 25% of all British imports by value, but just 0.5% of all imports by weight.

It is quite disturbing that any country is so dependent on another country for its food security. Meanwhile in Kenya...

...Kenyan farms have laid off 5,000 staff, and growers have warned thousands more workers could be told to stay at home if flights did not resume by Tuesday, which would deal a serious blow to the country's economy...

...Kenya's flower council says the country is haemorrhaging $1.3m a day in lost shipments to Europe. Kenya normally exports up to 500 tonnes of flowers daily – 97% of which is delivered to Europe. Horticulture earned Kenya 71 billion shillings (£594m) in 2009 and is the country's top foreign exchange earner...

...Farmers say they have been able to avoid avoided major losses since flights from Kenya were suspended early Thursday morning. But if they can't start shipping in earnest in the next day or two, they will have to dump much of their product...

A question to the multinationals: How is that new African food colonialism going for you?

African Land: The New Colonialism

And you thought colonialism was over...

I just read a fascinating article that just about sums up everything that is wrong with globalization. Guardian environmental editor John Vidal recently wrote about how multinational companies, governments and rich individuals are acquiring every piece of available (and unavailable) land in Africa for their own food and biofuel production.

From The Guardian:

The land rush, which is still accelerating, has been triggered by the worldwide food shortages which followed the sharp oil price rises in 2008, growing water shortages and the European Union's insistence that 10% of all transport fuel must come from plant-based biofuels by 2015.

In many areas the deals have led to evictions, civil unrest and complaints of "land grabbing."

This article uses the example of the Ethiopian born, Saudi businessman Sheikh Mohammed al-Amoudi buying up land in his impoverished homeland, but here is the kicker.

Ethiopia is one of the hungriest countries in the world with more than 13 million people needing food aid, but paradoxically the government is offering at least 3m hectares of its most fertile land to rich countries and some of the world's most wealthy individuals to export food for their own populations.

According to the article, al-Amoundi's 1,000 hectares (2,470 acres) of greenhouses could potentially employ 10,000 Ethiopians. My concerns with this and other such agricultural ventures being made by "The Outsiders" are the following:

1. Sure, it is good to give jobs to poor people, but are they getting good jobs? Decent wage? What about worker exploitation?

2. Why isn't any of the food being produce in Africa not being resold in Africa?

3. There seems to be little concern about land rights for the indigenous populations...

4. Isn't anyone worried about the already sensitive problem of food security in Africa? With more biofuel production comes less food for Africans (and the rest of the world).

5. The environmental impact goes beyond water intensive farming. What about the carbon impact of flying food from Africa to another continent?

6.The new land grab doesn't look any different from the original Scramble for Africa?

NAFTA Drama

Forget the Real Housewives of Atlanta - the real drama is going down this week south of the border, where President Obama is meeting with Mexico's Felipe Calderon and Canadian Stephen Harper.

NAFTA was such a great idea that I thought I would give a wrap up of what's really going on.

From Canada Country Guide:

...Hit hard by low prices for their crops, many Mexican farm families have been forced to relocate to large cities or find work at border-town maquiladoras (factories using low-cost labour to make cheap goods for export to the U.S. and elsewhere), the NFU said.

Forced off the land into major urban areas, Mexico's farmers find these cities to be "increasingly lawless and dangerous" due to rising organized crime spurred by poverty and desperation, the NFU said.

"Many Mexicans are now trying to escape. Some are coming here. We need to connect the dots. Many of the Mexicans coming to Canada are refugees from NAFTA," the NFU's Saskatoon-based international co-ordinator Martha Robbins said in the group's release.

What's ironic, Robbins said, is that "as we are forcing open Mexican borders to our products, we are closing our borders to a significant portion of the Mexican people." ...

What about food safety?

From Foreign Policy in Focus:

...The abject failure of NAFTA and its SPP offshoot to bring "security and prosperity" to North America is clear with the economic, environmental, and social crises now affecting this region and much of the world. Unemployment is high, global warming is escalating, and the need to transition away from carbon-intensive energy sources is irrefutable. Multiple food and consumer product safety scandals, notably the recent swine flu epidemic that has been linked to poorly regulated meat processing plants that have spread throughout Mexico since NAFTA came into effect, have called the bluff of business lobbies seeking further deregulation. So has the financial crisis — which resulted from unregulated trade in novel financial products totally detached from the real economy...

Leave it up to lobbyists to spread the wealth of NAFTA to the rest of the world.

From Eyes on Trade:

Reuters reported on Wednesday that the leaders of six major U.S. business groups have called for President Barack Obama to back speedy passage of NAFTA-style “free trade” agreements (FTAs) with Colombia, Panama and South Korea. Wisely, the president has yet to send Congress any of the bilateral trade deals negotiated by former president George W. Bush with the three nations. In addition to pressing for passage of the three pending trade agreements, the groups urged Obama to pursue “major market-opening agreements with the Asia-Pacific and beyond,” essentially advocating for even more NAFTA-style FTAs.

In a letter to the president, the associations acknowledged that trade agreements can ship jobs overseas, and stated that "[T]rade agreements can have adverse effects on specific industries, workers and communities…”. Actually, this is true, and Obama knows it. On the campaign trail, President Obama repeatedly expressed opposition to NAFTA and promised to usher in an era of U.S. trade policy that would require respect for labor rights, environmental standards, and human rights. The Colombia FTA is especially controversial due to the repressive regime of President Álvaro Uribe. Colombia has a longstanding and egregious record of violations of labor and human rights, especially with regard to those of its indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples...

Oh, yeah, no love between Colombia and Venezuela these days either.

From BBC News:

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has accused Colombia of carrying out a military incursion into Venezuela.

Mr Chavez said Colombian soldiers had recently been seen crossing the Orinoco river, which forms part of the border, and entering Venezuelan territory.

He said the incursion - which Colombia denies happened - was a "provocation".

South American leaders are gathering in Ecuador for a summit which is set to discuss Colombia's planned accord to allow the US use of its military bases.

Mr Chavez has been embroiled in a diplomatic row with his Colombian counterpart, Alvaro Uribe, since news of the plan emerged.

"The threat against us is growing," he said. "I call on the people and the armed forces - let's go, ready for combat!"

There goes the neighborhood...

Better Trade, Not Aid

President Barack Obama is in Ghana right now, and sustainable food security for the African continent is one of his top issues. Obama was able (I think) to get the other G8 leaders to fork over $20 billion to deal with world hunger.

From New York Times:

The food security initiative is designed to transform traditional aid to poorer countries beyond simply donated produce, grains and meats to assistance building infrastructure and training farmers to grow their own food and get it to market more efficiently.

The $20 billion amounts to a substantial commitment if carried out, but it remains unclear how much is actually additional money. The American share of $3.5 billion over three years represents a doubling of previous spending levels.

“The sums just aren’t adding up,” said Otive Igbuaor, head of ActionAid’s hunger campaign. “Is this all really new money? Given the Group of 8’s record on delivery, this is still very much a work in progress. So far they have been counting not just apples and oranges but more like apples, oranges, cauliflowers and beets.”

Well, good on Obama for taking on the mantra of "why give them fish when you can teach them how to fish." I have been saying this for years.

However, in order to do this, there is serious need for Washington to overhaul its trade policies towards developing countries. We can't begin to have a discussion about food security without talking about the business of food.

Africa is the most resourceful place in the world. So, one would believe that the continent should be in better shape economically and be able to feed itself. However, because of disasterous trade agreements the developing world has with many Western powers and the "good" folks over at the World Trade Organization and International Monetary Fund, poverty in the most vulnerable countries have only gotten worst over the last 40 years.

From Christian Science Monitor:

Although American and European chicken farmers do not receive direct subsidies, the grains used to feed their birds do qualify for state aid, and this indirect assistance puts the African farmers at a disadvantage. "Even after shipping it over and the retail markup, the imported chicken can sometimes be 40 percent cheaper than birds reared here in Ghana," explained Mr. Quartey, who has had to lay off 50 workers this year alone.

Global imports of chicken into Ghana are ten times what they were a decade ago. After much lobbying from the industry, which directly employs an estimated 10,000 people, Ghana's government agreed to double tariffs on imported chicken to 40 percent.

However, in March this year, using emergency legislation, parliament overturned the hikes in a move government officials, trade campaigners, and poultry farmers alike attribute to pressure from the International Monetary Fund, which sits atop a pyramid of donors on whom Ghana relies for 45 percent of its money.

So what's a West African poultry farmer to do? Quartey believes the key to pressuring the World Trade Organization into cutting them some slack is banding together and speaking out.

Here are some current stats on US-Ghana trade relations:

Total two-way trade between Ghana and the United States was valued at $840 million in 2008. Ghana is the fifth largest sub-Saharan African market for U.S. goods.

The leading U.S. exports to Ghana were motor vehicles, machinery, and mineral fuel. U.S. imports from Ghana are primarily oil, cocoa, and timber.

The Obama administration has not spent much time discussing trade since coming to the White House, as health reform has been prioritized. Nonetheless, based on some of the language I have seen come from his people, there may be hope for a better, fair trade world.

From 2009 Trade Policy Agenda Report:

Expanded trade can make an important contribution to boosting growth in developing countries and lift their national income levels. Economic growth in these countries benefits the American economy by expanding markets for American exporters. We shall promote trade policies, including technical assistance for capacity building, that will help these countries engage successfully with the world economy.

Trade preference programs help entrepreneurs in developing countries compete effectively in the world trading system. Many of our nation's trade preference programs are coming due for legislative review. We will work with the Congress and public stakeholders on their renewal and reform. We will give careful consideration to proposals to concentrate benefits.

I guess we have to wait and see how sincere Obama is on this issue.

No love for Gordon Brown

Meanwhile, President Obama isn't the only head of state getting slammed over the economy.



Whether or not you agree with this dude, you have to give him credit for calling out the PM. Could you even imagine anyone at Capital Hill doing this to Obama?

Doha revisited?

While President Obama was doing the comedy circuit last week, the global economy continues to collapse.

From Washington Post:

Global trade will shrink by 9 percent this year in the most devastating collapse since World War II, the World Trade Organization said Monday.

The WTO said commerce in rich countries would fall furthest, by about 10 percent. But poorer nations may suffer the most because they are more dependent on exports for growth.

Trade has grown unabated since 1982.

For the last 30 years trade has been an ever increasing part of economic activity, with trade growth often outpacing gains in output," WTO chief Pascal Lamy said.

"The depleted pool of funds available for trade finance has contributed to the significant decline in trade flows, in particular in developing countries."

Meanwhile in Addis Ababa, the Doha Round may still be breathing.

From Reuters:

"African countries would highly benefit from the conclusion of the Doha negotiations," WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy told reporters at a conference of African Union trade ministers.

Lamy said WTO ministerial discussions had been delayed for reasons including the change of administration in the United States.

He said he intended to resume the political discussion "as soon as possible" but was waiting for the right time.

"I'm waiting impatiently for signals because (a ministerial meeting) would be the right way to respond to the desire of developing countries and to give a signal that during this crisis, at least the low hanging fruit has been cropped."

African trade ministers have been discussing the global crisis and their relationship with the Group of 20 nations for two days at African Union headquarters in Ethiopia.

Lamy warned that protectionist policies by western governments could hurt poor countries during the crisis.

"Africa would probably be the biggest victim of protectionism if we don't resist it," he said. "We have to make sure we don't constrain trade more with protectionist policies."

The truth about Rahm Emmanuel

I know I am bit late on this, but this Rahm Emmanuel scares me. The confetti has not even been purchased yet for the inauguration, and Obama might already be making a mistake with his first hire.

From Marc Lamont Hill:

...Based on recent history, Rahm Israel Emmanuel is by far one of the most conservative politicians on his side of the aisle. As a member of the New Democrat Coalition, Emmanuel and his comrades have been major allies to the Right-wing’s efforts to undermine fair trade, disempower unions, and disregard environmental considerations. For example, policies like the Clinton Crime Bill and NAFTA, which was heavily critiqued by Obama, are directly attributed to Emmanuel’s influence. For a president who got elected by distancing himself from Bush, Obama's selection of a powermongering Lieberman Democrat wreaks of contradiction.

While most Democrats are attempting to responsibly reduce military spending, Emmanuel has repeatedly voted in favor of, and resisted attempts to limit, George W. Bush’s reckless and dangerous military expenditures. Also, Emmanuel was a hardcore supporter of the Iraq war, arguing that he would have supported the invasion regardless of whether or not weapons of mass destruction really existed. Today, Emmanuel continues to instigate military action against Iran by overstating its nuclear capacity.

Perhaps most disturbing about Emmanuel is his stance on Israel. As a fervent Zionist, he is further to the Right than President Bush on all issues related to Israel. From Israel’s assassination policy to well-documented human rights abuses, Emmanuel has failed to offer the slightest critique of America’s most coveted ally. Of course, it is not difficult to find the filial source of Emmanuel’s stances. His father, Benjamin Emmanuel, was a well-known gun-runner for Irgun, a pre-Israel terrorist organization that launched a series of vicious attacks against Palestinians and British civilians. In 1991, Emmanuel himself volunteered for the Israel Defense Forces during the Gulf War...

And there's more:



Change I can't believe in!

Battle of Seattle Revisited

If you thought the anti-war rally this weekend in Denver was lackluster at best, it might be time to look back at "real" protests.



The new film, Battle In Seattle, reenacts the events around the 1999 WTO protest in Seattle. Based on what people who have seen it have said about it, it looks interesting and seems accurate.

The film will be opening:

September 19: New York, San Francisco and Seattle
September 26: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Sacramento and Washington, DC.

Groups of 25 or more receive discount tickets. To find a theater near you call 866-758-1258 or visit www.battleinseattlemovie.com/labor

To organize an event around the film's release, contact Michael Crawford at 202-546-4996 or mcrawford@citizen.org

The Battle of Niger Delta

While the world bemoans the soaring costs of crude oil, no one is really paying attention to ongoing war in Niger Delta, an area where nearly two million barrels of crude is extracted daily. The oil rich peninsula of Bakassi was recently given over to Cameroon by Nigeria.

But all is not well in Bakassi.

From ConnectAfrica:

Its isn’t yet one week since the final hand-over ceremony of the bakassi peninsular from Nigeria to Cameroun took place and the stories emanating from the ceded region can best be described as unpalatable. On Saturday there were reports that several bakassians had fled the beleaguered community following growing tension between Cameroun gendarmes and militants from the Niger-delta. The Cameroonian gendarmes’ aggression was always a factor to contend with when several days to the hand-over, stern looking Cameroonian security forces sealed up the peninsula’s entry point only allowing departures. More worrisome were reports of a number of unprovoked shootings by some reckless gendarmes, but It isn’t that I did not expect sooner or later there’ll be unrest but then to imagine that Nigeria and Cameroun according to the dictates of the greentree agreement would be jointly cooperating in the administration of the peninsular for five years and there’s already a spanner in the works less than a week gone leaves my stomach churning.

Fighting in the Delta is not news, MEND has had violent battles with Shell for years. But now there is another rising problems. Human trafficking and sexual violence has always been a topic of concern in Niger Delta. However, the rise in of HIV/AIDS incidences has exacerbated this problem.

From Kaiser HIV/AIDS Report:

Conflict in Nigeria's oil-rich delta region is contributing to the spread of HIV in the country, IRIN/PlusNews reports. According to IRIN/PlusNews, rapes being committed by militants fighting for a greater share of the region's oil wealth and the military are contributing to the spread of HIV. "Rape is prevalent: these militants do anything they like, and when there is conflict, the military move in, and they too will commit rape," C. Okeh, chair of the State Action Committee on HIV/AIDS, said. Although SACA works with police and certain army brigades, other military task forces are not included under the committee's umbrella, according to IRIN/PlusNews.

In addition, the commercial sex industry established around the region's oil refineries is contributing to the situation. The region is "dotted with oil and gas activities, and commercial sex workers follow the camps," Okeh said.

Nigeria's Rivers State has an HIV/AIDS prevalence of 5.4%, compared with the national average of 4.4%, IRIN/PlusNews reports. In addition to the delta conflict, there are multiple factors contributing to the spread of HIV in the state, according to IRIN/PlusNews. A National HIV/AIDS and Reproductive Health Survey found the region has the highest incidence of sex work and the largest number of people who have sex with more than one partner per year. The city of Port Harcourt, which has a sea port and international airport, also is a popular destination for migrants. Okeh said, "We are finding a rising [HIV] prevalence in rural farming and fishing communities -- we have communities with very high unemployment rates." Okeh also said he is concerned that unrest in the region will undo the work his committee and nongovernmental organizations have done. He said that at the very least, a "crisis situation means that you don't have time to listen to [HIV/AIDS] messages -- you're thinking of your immediate survival."

According to IRIN/PlusNews, Rivers State has an estimated 120,000 HIV-positive people, of whom about 5,230 currently receive antiretroviral drugs through seven public health centers. One of the centers, located on an island an hour boat ride from Port Harcourt, receives supplies irregularly because of the threat of piracy. David Fabara, coordinator of antiretrovirals and surveillance in the state, said, "We suspect there definitely will be a problem of [drug] resistance" as a result of treatment interruption. Okeh added that the insecurity of the situation is "very challenging, because we are in a situation of a widespread epidemic with very high prevalence across the state, even the interior" (IRIN/PlusNews, 8/14).

HIV/AIDS and Trade Justice

After much hesitation, the HIV/AIDS advocates are finally realizing that a discussion needed to happened on how bilateral and regional trade agreements have detrimental effects on those living with the disease.

Specially there was a workshop at the XVII International AIDS conference in Mexico City last week to discuss the negative side of globalization on patent drugs and food security. Workshop moderator Ellen 't HOEN of Doctors without Borders admits that even "free trade really isn't free."

Here were some interesting notes from the workshop.

From Rapporteur's Report:

Review of regional and bilateral trade agreements restricting space created by Doha declaration on TRIPS and public health. Trade agreements, especially with US and EU, set additional TRIPS+ measures placing greater restriction e.g. patent term extensions.

These agreements are negotiated in secrecy. The measures related to medicines are negotiated as part of greater policy with complicated range of considerations. MOH has to become patent police to stop compulsory licensing.

Competition is the best way to get price reduction. Approaches to find solutions to patent system include UNITAID considering patent pool. Need to stimulate local production of essential medicines.

EU negotiating FTA with most developing countries. EU tries to get countries to harmonise to European law to limit access to generics. European Parliament has urged EU not to pursue this.

WTO can impose TRIPS + on countries wishing to join. Bilateral investment treaties place infinite data exclusivity which means government can never grant a compulsory license.

FTA between US and other American countries including NAFTA&CAFTA place significant barriers to access. In Guatemala data protected drugs cost from 249% to 846% more than non-data protected drugs.

CS has gained expertise in supporting the use of TRIPS flexibilities. Thai PLHIV brought FTA negotiations with US to a halt.

Activists play a role in pushing US gov and developing country CS have to

There is possibility of using international human rights law. Malaysia was called before the Commission on the Rights of the Child on the basis that the impact of TRIPS+ denying children the right to health.

Argument that IP is necessary for ongoing AIDS research premised on claim that Pharma spend a lot on R&D. Private industry is only running 15% of clinical trials, US gov 70%.

Always room to negotiate: can take a pro health perspective or a pro IP perspective.

Doha: the same song again

All bad news out of Geneva tonight:

From BBC News:

[World Trade Organization head]Pascal Lamy confirmed the failure, which officials have blamed on China, India and the US failing to agree on import rules.

EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson said the result was "heartbreaking".

The talks were launched in 2001 in Doha and were seen as providing a cornerstone for future global trade.

The main stumbling block was farm import rules, which allow countries to protect poor farmers by imposing a tariff on certain goods in the event of a drop in prices or a surge in imports.

India, China and the US could not agree on the tariff threshold for such an event.

Washington said that the "safeguard clause" protecting developing nations from unrestricted imports had been set too low.

Again, what else is there to say? I have all but given up on fair trade for the rest of the world.

WTO Meeting: Who Cares?

The usual suspects are gathering this week in Geneva for another "feel good" opportunity to look like they care about the well being of the rest of the world.

From The International Herald Tribune:

Pascal Lamy, the director general of the World Trade Organization, has called a week-long meeting of ministers next month aimed at reaching a breakthrough deal on liberalizing global trade, officials and diplomats said Wednesday.

Since the so-called Doha trade round was started in 2001, talks have repeatedly become deadlocked because of disagreements between major trading powers like the United States, the European Union, Brazil and India.

The upcoming meeting is scheduled to be held over five days at WTO headquarters in Geneva starting July 21, with the goal of agreeing to specific tariff and subsidy cuts. Up to 40 countries are expected to attend.

Sean Spicer, the assistant U.S. trade representative, warned that important differences still remained between trading partners on the crucial areas of agriculture industrial goods and services, the areas on which the talks would focus.

But Spicer still said there was "an opportunity for success" over the coming weeks if other countries "work with the same spirit" and "make the same intensive efforts" as the United States.

Lets be clear: The United States only cares about providing an "opportunity for success" for itselft. This meeting is a waste of time, and nothing will be accomplished on behalf of the developing world as far as trade policy is concerned.

But lets pretend for a moment that the United States and the rest of the industrialized world does want to engage in fair trade:

From Oxfam America:

1) Act first. The US should put a new offer on the table that will reform US farm programs and cut real spending on agricultural subsidies that distort global trade. It should include tighter disciplines on the WTO "box" system of classifying trade-distorting subsidies in order to eliminate loopholes that permit unjustified spending. The 2008 Farm Bill was a step backward in this regard. The US should do much more to allow developing countries to enhance their domestic food production, and should do so before demanding concessions from developing countries.

2) Implement the WTO Brazil Cotton Case ruling. The WTO dispute body has ruled repeatedly that US cotton subsidies violate WTO law. Continued refusal to implement the ruling undermines the credibility of the US and, ultimately, the WTO itself as a forum for resolving trade disputes. The US must commit to reforming or reclassifying the direct payment program, reforming and effectively limiting trade-distorting cotton subsidies, repealing the new Step 2 Program, and fully reforming US export credit guarantee programs.

3) Stop demanding harsh reciprocity from poor countries. This is the WTO's Doha Development Round, not the Doha tit-for-tat round. Rich countries must stop demanding harsh concessions from developing countries in agricultural market access, nonagricultural market access, and services, especially when rich countries are unwilling to make real reforms to their agricultural support programs. Developing countries must retain the right to safeguard vulnerable livelihoods and promote development and food security.

4) Reform food aid. Stronger disciplines are needed at the WTO to ensure that food aid does not hurt developing country farmers or local markets. The US food aid program is an obstacle to reform at the WTO. While some minor advances were made in the new Farm Bill to use some funds for local and regional purchases, the US must go further at the WTO and move to cash food aid except in emergency cases in which there are shortages and in-kind donations from the US are most appropriate.

G8 final notes: The song remains the same

Earlier this week the 34th G8 Summit concluded in Hokkaido, Japan. While leaders from the industrialized world feel that progress was made at the gathering, anti-globalization activists thought it was business as usual. Here are some thoughts:

Filipina activist Ana Maria Nemenzo:

"I had no great expectations from this summit meeting, but I was willing to
be surprised. However, the statements from the G8 ministers on issues of world
economy, food security, climate change. etc, only reinforced my greatest fear
that they continue to insist on their single-minded focus on pushing through
with trade liberalization at any cost. Their commitments on those topics are
ambiguous and not real commitments. What comes out most clearly is their bias
for pushing the market, opening up economies, and their eagerness to find
investment opportunities, even in times of crisis and protecting these
investments, at every instance.

I find most disturbing the mention of their urgency of “concluding the
DOHA round” to solve the food crisis, as well as to stave off the financial
crisis of their economies, and their unequivocal admission that they are going
to “resist protectionist pressures against international trade and investments
in all its manifestations”, without an equally strong commitment to consider the
concerns of developing countries. This poses the clearest and biggest obstacle
to the right to development of developing countries."

NPR's "Tell Me More" had a great segment on its show yesterday, with guest Nigerian journalist Constance Ikokwu also speaking about why the developing world needs fair trade not aid.

McCain's magical free trade adventure

Presumptive Republican Presidential nominee John McCain finished his "free trade is fabulous" tour of Mexico and Colombia this week, following a stint in the Midwest where many Americans have lost work due to NAFTA.

BTW, not to be a conspiracy theorist, but is it me or is it just coincidence that three U.S. government contractors captured by FARC, just so happen to be "rescued" by the Colombia government while McCain is in the country. It smells of McCain and Uribe trying to look like they are defending "freedom and patriotism" the same week of July 4th. I'm just saying...

But back to the subject at hand, just like his "I'm down with Negroes" tour a few months back, where he tried to fool Americans into believing that he actually cares about black people, McCain's Latin American trip is designed to convince Americans about the benefits of globalization.

From The Wall Street Journal:

...He was also highlighting his support for the pending free-trade agreement with Colombia, which he says is needed to support a vital partner in the region. Sen. Barack Obama and many Democrats say there are still too many human-rights abuses, particularly against labor activists, to allow the pact to go through.

Sen. McCain declined to mention Sen. Obama by name, even though his host, Mr. Uribe obliquely said he was pleased with recent comments by Sen. Obama.

"The only discussion I had concerning the presidential campaign was that I believe that any partisanship ends at the water's edge," he said.

The partisan skirmish persisted in the air en route to Colombia, though. Aboard his plane, the Arizona senator told reporters that Sen. Obama would represent a step backward for trade that could endanger the U.S. economy.

"He's a protectionist and anti-free trade," he said.

Sen. McCain told reporters that he raised human rights with Mr. Uribe and said he was assured that progress is being made. Mr. Uribe appeared with Sen. McCain at the evening news conference but declined to answer any questions.

Earlier in the week, Sen. McCain said that the abuses are not bad enough to hold up the agreement. "I balance [human-rights abuse] against Uribe and his administration's rescue of Colombia from a failed-state status," he told reporters in Pennsylvania Monday. The abuses do not justify the need "to throw out the entire theory of free trade..."

For the record, Obama also has a NAFTA problem.

However, let me get this straight, according to McCain and the Bush Administration (one in the same), FARC are human rights abusers because they captured Americans, but Colombia's abuse of its own people is not bad enough for the United States to rethink its trade policy with the country.

God bless America!

American caravan blogs Cuba trip

Description: The United States has had a contentious relationship with Cuba for nearly half a century. With the recent change of political powers from Fidel Castro to his brother, Raul, and new leadership in the White House next year, many American activists see this as an opportunity to improve relations with the communist state. A group of pro-Cuba activists are blogging about why U.S. policies towards Cuba should change as they travel to the country.

Tools Being Used: Blogs

What Are They Doing: The 19th annual US-Cuba Friendshipment Caravan, comprised of 100 Pastors For Peace volunteers, have been traveling across North America for the last month, educating the public about what they say are the detrimental effects of U.S. policies on Cuban society. Specifically the 1992 Cuban Democracy Act prohibits foreign companies that trade with the U.S. from also trading with Cuba. The law also prevents travel to Cuba by American citizens and imposes limits on how many times Cubans living in America can travel to their homeland to visit family. In 1996, the U.S. government enacted a penalty of 10 years imprisonment and a fine for violators of the embargo.

They are using their blog as a travel journal, publishing photos and stories from their trip.

"This caravan is the true face of the US people," said Rev. Lucius Walker, Jr., executive director of IFCO/Pastors for Peace in a statement. "The immoral and ignorant policy of the US government toward Cuba represents the power of a mean-spirited minority. This caravan embodies the true inner feelings of the US majority. We will keep challenging this unjust blockade until our government rescinds this inhuman policy that causes our neighbors so much suffering."

Yesterday the caravan converged in McAllen, TX, and plans to cross the Texas border into Reynosa, Mexico early on Thursday, July 3. From there they will commit the act of civil disobedience by flying into Havana, Cuba. While there, the caravan plans to give out donated aid to the needy and interact with Cuban civil society activists on a "people to people" mission.

Lisa Valanti, founder of the U.S.-Cuba Sister Cities Association, has been traveling with the caravan every year since its inception without accepting a license from the U.S. Treasury Department.

“Most Americans favor ending this embargo,” she said in a interview the Boston-based Bay State Banner. “What kind of people are we if we don’t demand this?”

S. Koreans got beef with US beef; so should Americans

Nearly 100,000 South Koreans demonstrated in central Seoul Tuesday, which was a culmination of anger over the decision by the Bush regime's new BFF South Korean President Lee Myung-bak to lift a 5-year ban on US beef in accordance with a new trade deal.

The Korean-US Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA) is the yet to be signed deal that will be the most important milestone in US-South Korean relations since the end of the Korean War. A signed agreement would approve a substantial amount of money flowing between the two nations.

But President Lee poorly misread the sentiments of most South Koreans. The protesters are not having any to do with US beef, due largely to concerns about the meat being contaminated with mad cow disease.

From The New York Times:

To many South Koreans, however, the beef dispute was not entirely about health concern or science. It was not entirely about the economy, either — beef from the United States is half the price of homegrown meat. To them, it is also the latest symbolic test of whether their leader can resist pressure from superpowers, even if there is good reason for the pressure, as is the case in the beef dispute. South Korea had promised to lift the ban once the World Organization for Animal Health ruled American beef fit for consumption, as it did last September.

South Korea has built the world’s 13th largest economy largely through exports. Nonetheless, historical resentments linger.

South Koreans in their 40s remember a popular childhood song handed down from their fathers and grandfathers: “Don’t be cheated by the Soviets. Don’t trust the Americans. Or the Japanese will rise again.” Koreans still chafe at the fact that the United States and the Soviet Union divided Korea after liberating it from Japanese colonial rule at the end of World War II.

But getting back to the beef (the meat that is), this only begs the question - why are Americans not as outraged about contaminated foods?

Well, for one thing, the US media has no interest in telling the American people the truth behind bad food. I am not a conspiracy theorist, but as a journalist who has seen a lot of "stuff" happen behind the scenes, it is not a coincidence that most major news outlets are giving the South Korean protests, which have been going on for the last six weeks, either little or no attention as to why the protests are really happening. Could it be that most news media today (NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox, MSNBC, NYT, Time, Newsweek etc) is owned by corporations that sleep in the same bed (or in polite company, sit on the same boards) with other corporations that put out crap food?

hmmm, thinking out loud...

Secondly, Americans have become simply oblivious about bad food. The latest recall from the Food and Drug Administration are for salmonella-tainted tomatoes, which have reportedly sicken over 160 Americans. Everyday during lunch I go to this supermarket around the corner from work that has a pretty decent salad bar. (Yes, I am on the diet watch, y'all!) For the last few days I have been going there, not only does the supermarket still put out tomatoes at the bar, but I see customers taking the ticking red time bombs, like it was no big thing. And probably it isn't a big thing. Hell, if we stopped eating everything that had to be recalled, there wouldn't be a lot to eat.

However, due to globalization, there are going to be more food recalls and more people getting sick, simply because we are not demanding to be educated about the consequences of the food we eat as a result of today's global economy.

If the following doesn't bother you, than I don't know what will.

From Alternet:

Earlier this month the Bush administration urged a federal appeals court to reverse a lower court ruling that allowed Arkansas City, Kan.-based Creekstone Farms Premium Beef to conduct advanced mad cow testing on its animals -- presumably because it would raise consumer questions and make other packers look bad. (viz. BST-free milk labels)

"This is the government telling the consumers, 'You're not entitled to this information,'" protested Creekstone attorney Russell Frye, according to the Associated Press -- a charge also heard in March when the USDA refused to name companies selling 143 million pounds of recalled Westland/Hallmark beef because the information was "proprietary."

Meat from 200,000 dairy cows was impounded after a Humane Society of the United States undercover video was released depicting slaughter of downer cattle -- a violation of U.S. mad cow regulations.

The video may even have reached South Korea.

The South wants food sovereignty back

World leaders and policy makers gathered this week in Rome for the three-day UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) summit to mainly discuss the worldwide food crisis and its effects on the Global South. Everyone who was anyone attended the summit, including 'suspect' people like Zim President Robert Mugabe and WTO officials. But it seems like a whole group of people were noticeable M.I.A. - the Global South.

From IPS:

More than 100 delegates from international social movements, farmers organisations, indigenous groups from the South and NGOs are holding a five-day forum on food sovereignty.

The civil society forum Terra Preta (black soil, in Portuguese) has been organised by the International Planning Committee (IPC), a global network of NGOs and civil society groups concerned with agricultural issues.

IPC includes social organisations representing small farmers, fisher folk, indigenous peoples and agricultural workers' trade unions. It works as a facilitation mechanism for dialogue between social movements and the UN agencies dealing with food and agriculture.

"We are here to remind governments that they cannot take any effective decision to solve the food crisis without consulting those who feed the planet," Antonio Onorati from IPC told IPS.

"While 80 percent of the world food comes from their work, farmers are not represented enough at the official meeting," he said. "Normally those desks are occupied by the interests of the big agro-alimentary transnational companies and financial institutions like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), that asks for a further liberalisation of the agricultural market, which would foster uncontrolled food price rise."

Across from the FAO headquarters in Rome, farmers have set up a table with empty plates on it to represent world hunger. Demonstrations continue outside the building.

In addition, civil society organizations delivered a letter to WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy, stating their disgust with his wack views on why he thinks finishing the Doha Rounds will solve the food crisis.

Grassroots International and the Oakland Institute are circulating a petition to get the United Nations and FAO to not use the food crisis to push through more failed free trade policies. New free trade policies would increase hunger and poverty worldwide, while permitting Western nation to continue dumping their agricultural products on poorer ones that can't compete.

According to the petition, pro-Global South trade policies will increase cash contributions for food aid geared towards local food purchasing in hard-hit countries, develop sustainable agriculture systems through genuine agrarian reforms and end speculation on food as a commodities in the global financial markets.

Please consider signing the petition to stand in solidarity with the people who are actually being affected by the food crisis.