Groups Call for Obama to Address Speculation

IATP and over 180 organizations wrote President Obama and Congressional leaders calling for action on commodity speculation. Excessive speculation in agriculture commodity markets has played a major role in the rise and fall of global food prices, according to an IATP report.

• Letter to Obama on excess commodity speculation  PDF
• Commodities Market Speculation: the Risk to Food Security and Agriculture  Report | Nov 13
• Betting Against Food Security: Futures Market Speculation  Fact sheet | Jan 30  | PDF
• Especulacion en las bolsas de materias primas: riesgos a la seguridad alimentaria y la agricultura  Fact sheet | Dec 8
• IATP Testimony to House Ag Committee on Speculation  PDF

Ideas on the Global Financial Crisis

The UN has organized a special commission to make recommendations on addressing the global financial crisis. IATP's Steve Suppan submitted comments on how better regulation of commodity speculation could effect food security.

• IATP's Comment to the Commission  PDF
• Compilation of Civil Society Comments  PDF
• UN Commission of Experts on Reforms of the International Monetary and Financial System 

Madrid Meeting on Food Crisis Lacked Clarity

A high level UN meeting to address the global food crisis ended with encouraging statements, but lacked a clear path forward. IATP's Alexandra Spieldoch and Anne Laure Constantin attended the meeting.

• Mobilizing Political Will to Eradicate Hunger  Press release | Jan 27  | PDF
• IATP's Alexandra Spieldoch blog on the meeting 

The Food Crisis and Global Institutions

The food crisis should move us toward a new era of global cooperation, one that is democratic and accountable to people and the planet, writes IATP's Alexandra Spieldoch for Foreign Policy in Focus.

• The Food Crisis and Global Institutions  Commentary | Aug 5

The WTO and the Food Crisis

In September, IATP convened a high level meeting at the WTO Public Forum to discuss the food crisis. Representatives from the IMF, UN, India's Ambassador to the WTO, the Asia Pacific Network for Food Sovereignty and the Canadian Dairy Farmers participated.

• Listen to the full discussion 
• IATP's Anne Laure Constantin blogs about the meeting 
• The Global Food Price Crisis  Fact sheet | Oct 7  | PDF

NGOs Call for Real Solutions to the Global Food Crisis

Over 230 NGOs, including IATP, outlined five ways to address the global food crisis in a letter to ministers attending the FAO meeting in Rome on food security.

• Civil Society Calls for Real Solutions  Press Release
• The WTO's Doha Round Will Not Solve the Global Food Crisis  PDF
• Le cycle de negociations de Doha de l'OMC ne resoudra pas la crise alimentaire mondiale  PDF
• La Ronda de Doha de la OMC no resolvera la crisis alimentaria mundial  PDF

Food Aid Emergency

For people experiencing hunger, a long-term solution to the food crisis won't come quickly enough. The UN and donor countries can make emergency food assistance more effective, writes IATP's Sophia Murphy for Foreign Policy in Focus.

• Food Aid Emergency  Commentary | Aug 7

U.S. and EU Bear Special Responsibility for Global Food Crisis

Policies enacted by the U.S. and the EU, and aggressively pushed through global institutions, laid the ground for the ongoing food crisis, finds a new report by IATP and CIDSE.

• Global Food Responsibility: The European Union and United States Must Chart a New Path  Report | May 19  | PDF
• Europe and U.S. bear special responsibility for food crisis, new report finds  Press release | May 19

A Sustainable Response to Crises

Responding to the water, food and climate crises requires an integrated approach toward more sustainable practices in agriculture, finds a new IATP report by Shiney Varghese. The World Water Forum this week in Istanbul offers an opportunity to address these challenges together.

• Integrated Solutions to the Water, Agriculture and Climate Crises  Report | Mar 16  | PDF
• Integrated Solutions Needed for Water, Climate and Food Crises, New Report Finds  Press release | Mar 16  | PDF
• Integrated Solutions to the Water, Agriculture and Climate Crises  Fact sheet | Mar 16  | PDF

The G-8's Missed Opportunity on Hunger

When G-8 Agriculture Ministers met in Italy in April, they failed to shift course from economic policies that have created the global food crisis.

• G-8 Ag Ministers’ Support for Free Trade and Biotech Undermine Progress to Eradicate Hunger  Press release | Apr 21  | PDF
• Hunger: Is the G-8 Ready to Clean Its Plate?  Commentary | Apr 16  | PDF

Will the World Be Able to Feed Itself in 2050?

IATP's Sophia Murphy recently gave a talk as part of the One Just World series on why trade is not the solution to food security. Read her blog entry about the forum and the full version of her talk.

• Food Security and the Developing World   PDF
• IATP's Think Forward blog 

Why Free Trade Won't Solve the Food Crisis

In the latest issue of Food Ethics magazine, IATP's Sophia Murphy explains why free trade policies have increased price volatility for agriculture and maps out a new path to address the food crisis.

• Will Free Trade Solve the Food Crisis?  Commentary | Jun 3  | PDF
• Food Ethics - The Food Crisis 

A New Era for Agriculture?

An international assessment finds the world needs more small farms and greater diversification to cope with hunger and climate change. IATP's Steve Suppan was a lead author for the policy options chapter of this groundbreaking report.

• International Assessment of Agriculture Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development 
• IATP's Steve Suppan blogs on the report  Commentary | Apr 28
• Listen to IATP's Steve Suppan talk about the report