former Fellow; Institute for Food and Development Policy
Writer, activist and academic; author of Stuffed and Starved: The Hidden Battle for the World Food System and The Value of Nothing: How to Reshape Market Society and Redefine Democracy; former fellow at the Institute for Food and Development Policy (also known as Food First)
Our Unsustainable Table: Another Global Food Crisis? In 2008, a combination of natural events and economic conditions drove food prices so high that food riots erupted in many parts of the world. This year, there's concern that the same thing may be happening again. But the ravages of 2008 aren't yet over.
Does the World Face Another Food Crisis? Two years ago, a combination of natural events and economic conditions drove food prices so high that food riots erupted in many parts of the world. While the ravages of 2008 aren't yet over, this year, there's concern that the same thing may be happening again. The UN says: Be Prepared. Drought has led Russia to ban wheat exports; America's corn harvest is down and climate change is helping to drive world prices higher. Meantime, farmers make more by using their land for sugar, cotton, soya and bio-fuels. Is industrialized agriculture at fault? What are the prospects of another global food crisis, and what are the chances of heading it off?
The G-20 and the Future of the Global Economy As the old G-7 becomes the G-20 , there's talk of economic "recovery," but good times may be limited to the financial industry. In the so-called "jobless recovery," millions of people still can't make ends meet, and protesters in the streets of Pittsburgh claim Wall Street is running the government. Even some market fundamentalists say they're right. Are the same people who presided over one disaster in charge of preventing another? Will the G-20 approve new regulations to crack down on excessive risk that endangers the world economy?
The World's Biggest Challenge: Feeding Humanity The G-8 leaders took heat from Britain's Guardian newspaper this week for discussing the world's food crisis over a 19-dish dinner prepared by 25 chefs in Hokkaido, Japan. Meantime, the World Bank reported that 75% of the rise in food prices is due to bio-fuels. The rising prices of food and fuel are being called "the first real economic crisis of globalization." In the past three years, increased food costs have pushed 400 million into the ranks of the world's poorest, those who live on less than a dollar a day. Other factors include global warming, meat consumption, politics and financial speculation. We look at the worldwide food chain, stressed so thin that any disruption means it can't keep up with growing demand.
The longest US war: Will Trump send more troops to Afghanistan? The Trump White House is divided over the Pentagon's request for more troops in Afghanistan—where the US has been fighting for the past 16 years. Is there a formula -- either for "victory" or a political settlement? Is there an end in sight for America's longest war?
President Trump: US to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord Trump says he was elected to serve Pittsburgh, not Paris.
Replacing Obamacare: Now you see it… now you don’t As the Senate deliberates replacing Obmacare, health coverage for millions of people is at stake. There've been no public hearings, and a draft measure won't be made public. Is the House version so unpopular that that Senate is hiding a version that looks much the same?
Who's to blame for the opioid crisis? Some of the lawyers who took on Big Tobacco are now going after Big Pharma. It’s all about the deadly epidemic of opioid use. Are the drug companies to blame? What about the users? Later, on today’s Talking Point: making sense of Britain’s upset election.