Posts Tagged ‘corporate control’
Colonisation Never Ended
Seed patenting laws are a global threat, but people are fighting back. For over 10,000 years, seeds have been the bedrock of human civilisation. From the moment our ancestors traded their nomadic hunter-gatherer ways for a life rooted in place, communities have freely collected, cultivated, saved, exchanged, and sown seeds as acts of sustenance and…
Read MoreThe Global/Local Conundrum: Backing Away from Technocracy
Decades ago, some interesting ideas were in circulation about how to combine global awareness with local action. The phrase “Think globally, act locally” was in vogue and represented an attempt to combine planetary and ecological awareness with actions at the local community level that fostered those values in a pragmatic way. This line of thinking…
Read MoreTwenty years of bilaterals.org, twenty years of fighting FTAs
When bilaterals.org was set up back in 2004, the world looked rather different. There was a global network of activist organisations fighting the World Trade Organisation (WTO), coordinated for the most part by Our World is Not for Sale, while social movement struggles against bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) and investment treaties were very isolated from…
Read MoreEmissions Accounting: Cooking the Books
Ready for a quick climate change quiz? See if you can identify the climate hero in the scenario below: Jared and Annette arrive at a potluck, each bringing a mixed salad with the same ingredients. By a strange coincidence they’re also wearing identical Christmas sweaters. They compare notes, and it turns out that Annette’s salad…
Read MoreResisting US-India Agri-Imperialism
A “high-powered US trade delegation” recently visited India to “explore opportunities in the country’s huge agribusiness sector and further promote American products among India’s rising middle class.” So reads the opening line of one of a few recent articles (see others here and here) in the Indian elite press announcing this momentous visit, and in…
Read MoreWhy Artificial Intelligence Must Be Stopped Now
The promise of AI is eclipsed by its perils, which include our own annihilation. Introduction Those advocating for artificial intelligence tout the huge benefits of using this technology. For instance, an article in CNN points out how AI is helping Princeton scientists solve “a key problem” with fusion energy. AI that can translate text to audio…
Read MoreFood Inflation
Food inflation: the math doesn’t add up without factoring in corporate power – Large farmers’ protests broke out in at least 65 countries over the past year. From India to Kenya through Colombia and France, desperation has hit a breaking point. Farmers warn that without better prices and more protection, their future is at risk.…
Read MoreGlobalising Hope – the Courageous Journey of La Via Campesina
Collective work cannot succeed in homogeneity —the foundations for a better world lie in the power of plurality; of thought, of cultures, of perspectives. La Via Campesina, the world’s largest peasant and social movement, with over 200 million members across the globe, has demonstrated for the past 30 years that unity is key to advancing…
Read MoreRegenerative Agriculture: a Good Idea Until Corporations Got Hold of It
Food and agribusiness giants have coalesced around the term “regenerative agriculture” to signal their commitment to climate change and sustainability. This year’s COP28 will showcase regenerative agriculture prominently, and the term is gaining traction in policy circles, investor conferences and supermarket shelves. But it’s just the latest iteration of an on-going corporate strategy to undercut…
Read MoreWater Grabbing: Squeezing Communities Dry
In 2023 the United Nations’ authority on water warned that a global water crisis was imminent. For many communities, this crisis is already upon them, with water shortages affecting over a third of the world’s population, and many others dealing with devastating floods caused by climate change. The UN predicts the situation will get significantly…
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