back to home

 

Business and Human Rights: a resource website

 

 Agriculture & livestock industry: Oct. 2001 - July 2002 

See also other materials on agriculture industry.

Oct. 2001 - July 2002:

South African sugar farmers ease environmental impact -...The key contentious issue between farmers and nearby towns is the burning of cane during harvesting season. (Allan Seccombe, Reuters, 30 July 2002)

Bananas get on tables courtesy of child labor [Ecuador] - Plantation owner top candidate for Ecuador president (Juan Forero, New York Times, in San Francisco Chronicle, 28 July 2002)

Rio + 10 Series: Report Finds Fundamental Flaws in WTO's Agreement on Agriculture - An Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy report argues that the Agreement on Agriculture fails to account for agri-business' monopoly over global agricultural trade...A recent report critiquing the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Agriculture (AoA) noted that five privately owned companies (Cargill, Continental, Louis Dreyfus, Andre, and Bunge) control up to 90 percent of global grain trade. (William Baue, SocialFunds.com, 26 July 2002)

ECUADOR: Accord Signed To Eliminate Child Labor On Banana Plantations - Ecuador has moved to eliminate child labor in a new accord signed Tuesday by representatives of the banana industry, UNICEF, the International Labor Organization and the country's ministries of labor and education...Ecuador's four largest exporters -- Bananera Noboa, Rey Banano del Pacifico, AGROBAN and the Del Monte subsidiary in Ecuador, Bandecua -- are included in the agreement (UN Wire, 25 July 2002)

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: "Monterrey Bridge" Coalition Launched - Seeking to raise the visibility of the link between agriculture and conservation at next month's World Summit on Sustainable Development, a group of agriculture and conservation organizations yesterday launched a new coalition called the Monterrey Bridge. (Jim Wurst, UN Wire, 24 July 2002)

Letter of Protest: Brazil: trade unionist tortured to death [Bartolomeu Morais da Silva, of the Federation of Agricultural Workers of Para] (International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, 24 July 2002)

New ICFTU report reveals widespread discrimination and occurrences of child labour in Europe - Salary discrimination against women of up to 35% still exists across Europe... The report also finds “unacceptable exploitation of children” occurring in most countries to some degree, “mainly in unregulated activities and in agriculture.” (International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, 24 July 2002)

Lampung people threaten to take over palm plantation [Indonesia] - Following a violent clash with security personnel on Thursday, hundreds of striking workers from a PT Budi Dharma Godam Perkasa (BDGP)-owned oil palm plantation in North Lampung have threatened to take over the 2000-hectare plantation because of the management's failure to end a prolonged land dispute...The communal land was appropriated by force by the former military-style New Order regime and handed over to a Jakarta businessman for the oil plantation. (Jakarta Post, 22 July 2002)

Concern about rice production practices - "There is an increasing concern about the current rice production practices meeting demands, contributing effectively to rural poverty alleviation and minimizing environmental degradation," the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warns (UN Food and Agriculture Organization, 17 July 2002)

Corporate Human Rights -...For several years, a small group of lawyers and labor advocates has been trying to hold transnational companies responsible for their actions by suing them in the United States for abetting and/or benefiting from human rights abuses overseas. Finally, these corporation-chasers are beginning to see signs of possible success. [refers to lawsuits against Unocal, Shell, Texaco, Rio Tinto, Coca-Cola, Del Monte, DynCorp, Drummond Company, ExxonMobil] (David Corn, The Nation, 15 July 2002)

ECUADOR: Presidential Hopeful Accused Of Using Child Labor On Plantation - A dozen Ecuadorian children and many adults have said in interviews with the New York Times that leading presidential candidate Alvaro Noboa, the richest man in Ecuador, uses child labor on his Los Alamos banana plantation, the Times reported Saturday. The 1,300-worker plantation produces Bonita bananas sold in the United States. (UN Wire, 15 July 2002)

MEXICO: Government, UNICEF To Assist Children Of Agricultural Laborers - UNICEF and Mexican officials yesterday announced the launch of a program to improve living conditions for children of agricultural laborers in the country, providing them with the means to exercise their "fundamental rights" (UN Wire, 10 July 2002)

Banned hormone use by Dutch farmers more widespread - Dutch investigators have uncovered more pig farmers using a banned growth hormone (Reuters, 5 July 2002) 

{···español} Grupos indígenas de AL exhortan a gobiernos a proteger la biodiversidad - Rechazan transgénicos y agrotóxicos, en documento final - Organizaciones indígenas, campesinas y sociales de 12 países, reunidas en Guatemala en la segunda Semana por la Diversidad Biológica y Cultural, aseguraron en su declaración final que es responsabilidad de los gobiernos de América Latina y de las empresas biotecnológicas la destrucción de esta riqueza. (Elio Henriquez, La Jornada [México], 3 Julio 2002)

Farm probe to focus on conditions for workers [South Africa] - The SA [South Africa] Human Rights Commission is launching its national inquiry into human rights abuses in farming communities after receiving several complaints from the public. The commission will hold hearings into all aspects of farming. These include farm killings, working conditions, child labour, education, land rights and tenure rights. (Business Day, 2 July 2002)

SAHRC holds its first public hearings on farming communities in the Western Cape [South Africa] - As part of its effort to promote the culture of human rights in farming communities, the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) will conduct provincial hearings on human rights in farming communities. (South African Human Rights Commission, 1 July 2002)

New York Forced Labor Marks First for U.S. Trafficking Law -...In an indictment issued late last month, the United States attorney in Buffalo charged that the six contractors [who contract migrant labor for farmers]  transported and held several dozens of migrants whom they recruited in Arizona in illegal and unsafe conditions and forced them to work to repay more than $1,000 each for the cost of their transportation, food, rent, and utilities. (Jim Lobe, OneWorld US, 1 July 2002)

Pesticides banned in baby food - But still in fruit and veg -...Friends of the Earth is calling on retailers to phase-out the use of pesticides that are causing most concern and aim for residue-free food - starting with foods most popular with infants and young children. (Friends of the Earth, 1 July 2002)

EU to curb dioxins levels in food/feed from today - Food and animal feed manufacturers across the European Union must abide by strict new limits on permitted levels of cancer-causing dioxins from July 1, the European Commission said last week. Dioxins are accidental by-products generated mainly through incineration by the chemical and pharmaceutical industries and can be absorbed through the skin or eaten in food. (Reuters, 1 July 2002)

{···français} Enfants exploités - Plus de 211 millions d'enfants âgés de 5 à 14 ans sont contraints de travailler...Les entreprises multinationales ne sont pas les dernières à profiter de cette exploitation des mineurs. Entre autres, celles du tabac (Philip Morris, Altadis), de la banane (Chiquita, Del Monte) et du cacao (Cargill). Au Malawi, par exemple, dont l'industrie du tabac est le premier employeur, des dizaines de milliers d'enfants sont exploités pour la récolte et le séchage des feuilles de tabac. En Equateur, des enfants de 7 à 8 ans travaillent dans les champs de bananes douze heures par jour. En Côte d'Ivoire, premier producteur mondial de cacao, des milliers d'enfants-esclaves seraient utilisés pour le travail dans les plantations. (Ignacio Ramonet, Le Monde diplomatique, juillet 2002)

Making Fair Trade Work in Mexico - In Mexico, a growing number of coops, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), microenterprises, and campesino groups are proving that fair trade offers a viable alternative to communities struggling to cope with globalization [refers to initiatives relating to agriculture, food, cosmetics, coffee, ecotourism, chocolate, retail; also refers to indigenous groups] (Talli Nauman, Americas Program, Interhemispheric Resource Center, July 2002)

A Guide to Indigenous Peoples’ Rights in the International Labour Organization - Indigenous peoples throughout the world continue to suffer serious abuses of their human rights. In particular, they are experiencing heavy pressure on their lands from logging, mining, roads, conservation activities, dams, agribusiness and colonization...This Briefing paper provides guidance on how to file a complaint with the ILO Committee of Experts. [refers to ILO Convention 169 cases relating to: logging concessions which overlapped indigenous territories in the Bolivian Amazon; Arco & Berlington Resources Ecuador Ltd. project in Ecuador affecting the Shuar People; Occidental project in Colombia affecting the U’wa indigenous community] (Fergus MacKay, Forest Peoples Programme, July 2002)

Corporate Human Rights -...For several years, a small group of lawyers and labor advocates has been trying to hold transnational companies responsible for their actions by suing them in the United States for abetting and/or benefiting from human rights abuses overseas. [refers to lawsuits against Unocal, Shell, Texaco, Rio Tinto, Coca-Cola, Del Monte, DynCorp, Drummond Company, ExxonMobil] (David Corn, The Nation, 27 June 2002)

12 Million Child Laborers [Indonesia] - The International Labor Organization (ILO) estimates the number of child laborers in Indonesia could be as high as 12 million as a result of the country’s prolonged economic crisis...Many boys work full-time on plantations, coastal fishing platforms or in the construction sector, while many young girls work as domestic servants, prostitutes or factory laborers. (Laksamana.Net [Indonesia], 27 June 2002)

Death And Injuries of Farm Labourers Including Children [Egypt] -...Indeed, these children are often working up to 12 hours a day, 6 days per week, and with only one meal per day...Exposure to pesticides, causing diarrhoea, vomiting, faintness or difficulty to breathe is frequent. (World Organisation Against Torture, 25 June 2002)

US mulls WTO action to lift EU block on GM crops (David Evans, Reuters, 21 June 2002) 

Striking Ecuadorian Banana Workers to Visit Europe as International Support Builds - Over 1,400 workers on Ecuador's banana plantations have been struggling against violence and repression for basic human rights since February this year...The European visit will build additional pressure on the government of Ecuador and the Noboa Corporation, the world's fourth largest banana company and owner of the Bonita brand, for recognition of the workers' rights. (IUF - International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers’ Associations, 17 June 2002)

Blood on the Bananas [referring to labour rights concerns at Noboa company in Ecuador] (David Bacon, Labor Advocate Online - Kansas City's Cyber Labor Newsletter, 12 June 2002)

Biotech sector urged to focus on problems of poor countries - The biotechnology sector must develop drugs and crops that address problems in the developing world, and work more closely with non- governmental organisations, if its growing international presence is not to provoke a backlash, according to an industry leader [Carl Feldbaum, president of the Biotechnology Industry Organisation] (Geoff Dyer, Financial Times, 12 June 2002)

5-pronged ICFTU campaign to stop child labour - Agriculture, industry, domestic labour, sexual exploitation and trafficking. These are 5 focal points of global trade union action which the ICFTU will be targeting in a redoubling of its campaign to stop child labour (International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, 12 June 2002)

WTO policies criticized [Pakistan] - Organic farming, conservation of indigenous seeds and modern information on agriculture are prerequisites for getting rid of the offensive advances of multi-national companies and ensuring food security for the future generations. This was the crux of a day-long seminar on "The Agreement of the WTO and Threats to Food Security". (Dawn [Pakistan], 11 June 2002)

Germany signals dramatic widening in food scare - Germany warned yesterday of a potential explosion in a food scare over organic chicken meat contaminated with a cancer-causing chemical (Michael Hogan, Reuters, 7 June 2002)

Guangdong governor says pollution plan in place [China] - The Chinese province of Guangdong says it has a full plan to tackle its serious environmental pollution [refers to curbs on cement & brick factories, automobiles, pig farms] (Eric Hall, Reuters, 6 June 2002)

U.S. Vows to End Human Trafficking - The government is committed to ending worldwide trafficking in humans, Secretary of State Colin Powell said Wednesday..."Approximately 50,000 people are trafficked into the United States every year," Powell said. "Here and abroad, the victims of trafficking toil under inhuman conditions in brothels, sweatshops, fields and even in private homes." Most of the victims are women and children, he said. (Harry Dunphy, Associated Press, in Washington Post, 5 June 2002)

Haiti Condemned Over Violence Against Labor Activists - The world's leading umbrella organization of free trade unions has condemned the treatment of labor activists by authorities in Haiti, following reportedly fatal clashes last week between plantation workers and guards in the northern part of the country. (Jim Lobe, OneWorld US, 5 June 2002)

TANZANIA: Child labour common in Zanzibar - A recent rapid assessment by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), an associate organisation of the United Nations, has found that child labour is "common" in Zanzibar, with prostitution, fisheries and seaweed farming among the "most hazardous" sectors in which children are involved. (U.N. Integrated Regional Information Networks, 4 June 2002)

Our Fruit, Their Labor and Global Reality [banana companies in Ecuador] - Noboa, an Ecuadorean company that is the nation's largest banana producer, sent an armed force of several hundred men to confront the striking workers; Human Rights Watch released a report alleging widespread abuses in the industry, including the use of child labor. If globalization is to benefit all, why are the big banana companies so comfortable with the use of child labor, with violations of workers' rights and with substandard wages? [refers to Noboa, Dole, Del Monte, Chiquita] (Dana Frank, Professor of American Studies at the University of California Santa Cruz, in Washington Post, 2 June 2002)

India: Seed firms warned - Kurnool District collector G. Sai Prasad warned cottonseed companies in the district against employing children in the cotton fields...The official survey revealed that there were about 150,000 children working in the fields and factories in the district (from Times of India, in Child Labour News Service, 1 June 2002) [scroll down on linked page to find this item]

{···français} Travail égal, salaires égaux [Ile Maurice]: Vers la ratification de deux conventions [du Bureau international du travail] par le gouvernement - La Convention 100 traite du paiement de salaires égaux aux hommes et femmes pour travail égal et la Convention 111 traite de la non-discrimination dans le travail et dans la classification des postes...Le BIT a identifié plusieurs Remunerations orders couvrant des secteurs où les salaires et la classification des postes se font sur la base du sexe. Ces Remunerations orders concernent l'industrie théière; le bétail; les salines; l'industrie sucrière; les vergers; les boulangeries; et le service traiteur. (Le Mauricien [Ile Maurice], 1 juin 2002)

Backgrounder: Child Labor in Agriculture - Of nearly 250 million children engaged in child labor around the world, the vast majority- 70 percent, or some 170 million-are working in agriculture...Their work is grueling and harsh, and violates their rights to health, education, and protection from work that is hazardous or exploitative...In investigations in Egypt, Ecuador, India, and the United States, Human Rights Watch has found that the children working in agriculture are endangered and exploited on a daily basis. (Human Rights Watch, June 2002)

A Third of Our Children Are Workers [South Africa] - Close to a third of South Africa's estimated 13,4-million children work, mostly on farms and in family businesses, according to a Department of Labour document on child labour. (Marianne Merten, Mail & Guardian [South Africa], 31 May 2002)

Mauritania: Forced labour persists in Mauritania - [report by Anti-Slavery International]...Former slaves in Mauritania typically work as herders of livestock, agricultural workers and domestic servants, but remain completely dependent on their traditional masters to whom they pass virtually all the money they earn or for whom they work directly in exchange for food and lodgings. (afrol News, 28 May 2002)

Millions 'forced into slavery' (BBC News, 27 May 2002)

AWU working with country women to boost farm safety - The Australian Workers’ Union has joined forces with the Country Women’s Association in a WorkSafe campaign to stop workplace deaths on farms. (Australian Workers Union, 27 May 2002)

{···español} Violencia contra trabajadores bananeros ecuatorianos en huelga por sus derechos [Noboa, Dole] (UITA - Unión Internacional de los Trabajadores de la alimentación, Agrícolas, Hoteles, Restaurantes, Tabaco y Afines, 24 mayo 2002)

Sweden says cut subsidies endangering environment - State support to coal mining and large-scale farming poses a major threat to the environment and should be cut, both in Europe and worldwide, Sweden's environment minister said yesterday. (Anna Peltola, Reuters, 24 May 2002)

KENYA: 1.9 Million Children Working, U.N.-Funded Report Says (UN Wire, 24 May 2002)

Ecuador: Escalating Violence Against Banana Workers - Banana workers in Ecuador are facing an onslaught of illegal firings, violence, and intimidation as they try to exercise their rights to organize and strike [refers to Noboa Corporation] (Human Rights Watch, 22 May 2002)

Violence Against Ecuadorian Banana Workers Striking for their Rights [refers to companies: Noboa, Dole] (IUF - International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers’ Associations, 21 May 2002)

Inter-regional workshop on occupational safety and health in agriculture - The Inter-regional Workshop on Occupational safety and Health in Agriculture was held on May 13- 16, 2002 in Damascus in collaboration with the International Labor Organization, and the ministry of social affairs and labor, Syria and the Arab Labor Organization (ArabicNews.com, 20 May 2002)

Government [UK] orders an inquiry into pesticide links to Parkinson's Disease - A study into links between pesticides and Parkinson's disease is to be commissioned to examine fears that chemicals used by gardeners and farmers can bring on the degenerative neurological illness. (Marie Woolf and Charles Arthur,  Independent [UK], 17 May 2002)

Pony up for farm workers [USA] - Important moves are finally under way to help California's wretchedly treated farmworkers to exercise the essential union rights promised them by the 1975 law that resulted from a decade of nationally supported strikes and boycotts. (Dick Meister, San Francisco Examiner, 17 May 2002)

Big Agriculture In California Will Be Required To Obey Clean Air Act - EPA Settles Lawsuits with Community and Environmental Groups (Earthjustice, 14 May 2002)

Internationally-recognised Core Labour Standards in Slovenia: Report for the WTO General Council review of trade policies of Slovenia (Geneva, 13 and 15 May 2002) -...women receive lower wages than men and are under-represented in senior positions, and discrimination in employment against Roma continues to be a problem...Child labour does not generally occur, although there are credible reports of children under 16 working, largely on family farms, during the harvest. (International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, 13 May 2002)

Australia blocks toxic China fertiliser exports - Australian farmers spread toxic waste from China instead of fertiliser over vegetable fields before the government realised the imports were hazardous, an Australian fertiliser company said yesterday (Andrea Hopkins, Reuters, 9 May 2002)

Child labour on a high: global report - Sub-Saharan Africa has shown to have the most intense problem with three out of every ten children involved in child labour. Seven out of every 10 children involved in child labour work on farms (South African Broadcasting Corporation, 6 May 2002)

New IUF Publication on The WTO and the World Food System: A Trade Union Approach - Access to adequate, safe and nutritious food is a fundamental human right, yet an estimated 820 million people are living in hunger. The agricultural workers who help feed the world are often unable to feed themselves, are twice as likely to die at work than workers in any other sector, and generally stand outside all systems of legal protection for their rights, health and welfare. Food processing workers are engaged in a constant battle to defend their unions, their employment and working conditions, their health and safety. (IUF - International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers’ Associations, 3 May 2002)

Chiquita joins ethical trading initiative (Chiquita Brands International, Inc., 3 May 2002)

CHILD LABOR: ILO Examines Bolivia, Brazil; Nicaragua Hears From Children - The International Labor Organization said in a report released last week that 800,000 Bolivian children enter the labor market each year. Many of the children, the report said, are forced to work for mining and agricultural companies or suffer from sexual exploitation. (UN Wire, 3 May 2002)

Environment fears spur Quebec hog farm moratorium: The Canadian province of Quebec announced a six-week moratorium on the opening of new hog farms this week in a bid to calm fears of residential and environmental groups who say industrial-scale hog facilities create massive air and water pollution problems (Reuters, 3 May 2002) 

Starbucks' struggle for moral ground: Program to aid poor coffee growers off to slow start -...Starbucks said it would pay vendors in origin countries a premium price -- up to 10 cents extra per pound -- if they can prove they're protecting the environment and meeting, if not exceeding, the minimum legal requirements for wages, benefits and working conditions...But Starbucks' well-wishers and detractors alike say that progress in the first four months of the two-year test program looks plodding at best. Some criticize the financial incentives as insufficient. Others say the verification process is flawed. (Bill Clifford, CBS.MarketWatch.com, 2 May 2002)

LABOR: More Deaths Are Due To Work Than War, ILO Says - Work-related deaths claim 2 million lives a year -- the equivalent of a Sept. 11 terrorist attack every day -- making work a bigger killer than war or drug and alcohol abuse, according to an International Labor Organization study released this week...The ILO named agriculture, construction and mining as the most dangerous occupations (UN Wire, 2 May 2002)

Quebec mulls moratorium on huge hog farms - The Canadian province of Quebec said this week it was mulling a moratorium on the opening of new hog farms in a bid to calm fears of residential and environmental groups who say industrial-scale hog facilities create massive air and water pollution problems. (Reuters, 2 May 2002) 

Climate change could have wide effect on South Asian agriculture: UNEP - Changes in the global climate could negatively impact South Asian agriculture and the region's millions of people who depend on it, the top United Nations environment official said today. (United Nations, 1 May 2002)

Brazil: nomads face extinction - One of the last nomadic hunter-gatherer tribes in Brazil faces extinction. Surrounded by massive cattle ranches, loggers and hundreds of illegal settlers, the Awá Indians of Maranhão state are being squeezed off their land, while ranchers' hired gunmen kill those they find. But an imminent court case about Awá land could make all the difference. (Survival International, May 2002)

Violence against women in the workplace in Kenya: Assessment of workplace sexual harassment in the commercial agriculture and textile manufacturing sectors in Kenya [based on survey research in the coffee, tea & light manufacturing industries] (International Labor Rights Fund, May 2002)

Seven Banana Workers/SINTRAINAGRO Members Murdered in Colombia [reportedly on 26 April by guerrillas belonging to the "Fifth Front" of the FARC guerrilla forces] (IUF - International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers’ Associations, 30 Apr. 2002)

Iowa approves new environmental rules for feedlots [USA] -...The legislation...will set standards for air quality and limit the amount of phosphorus, which can pollute waterways, allowed in manure applications.  (Reuters, 30 Apr. 2002) 

Labor Tensions Rising in Haitian Orange Industry: A sharp rise in tensions between the owners of a large orange plantation in northern Haiti and workers who have tried to organize a union has caused widespread insecurity in the area, according to a British-based solidarity group. [refers to processing company Produits Agricole Guacimal, and to Remy Cointreau] (Jim Lobe, OneWorld US, 29 Apr. 2002)

Unwanted 'aid' sent to Mozambique [from Japan as part of official development assistance]: Stockpiled agricultural chemicals polluting environment, NGO says (Yomiuri Shimbun [Japan], 29 Apr. 2002)

EAST ASIA: Region's Poor Shortchanged by Trade Rules - Activists - East Asia's farmers, fishermen and women workers are being shortchanged by trade policies that offer few real opportunities to get out of poverty, activists with the international development agency Oxfam here say [includes reference to rice farmers in Thailand, coffee growers in Vietnam, fishermen in Philippines, women in Cambodia's garment industry] (Marwaan Macan-Markar, Inter Press Service, 25 Apr. 2002)

Ecuador: Widespread Labor Abuse on Banana Plantations - Harmful Child Labor, Anti-Union Bias Plague Industry -...Banana-exporting corporations such as Ecuadorian-owned Noboa and Favorita, as well as Chiquita, Del Monte, and Dole fail to use their financial influence to insist that their supplier plantations respect workers’ rights (Human Rights Watch, 25 Apr. 2002)

Poor Labor Conditions Revealed at Organic Farms [USA]: Despite the widespread impression among consumers that organic farms treat their workers better than the legal minimum standards, labor inspection reports show that organic farm workers often toil in dangerous, unsanitary conditions for less than minimum wage. (Business for Social Responsibility News Monitor summary of 22 Apr. 2002 article in U.S. News & World Report, posted 24 Apr. 2002)

Illegal Monsanto maize contaminates Swiss food - Further evidence of unauthorized growing of GE crops in Argentina - Greenpeace today confiscated thousands of boxes of Argentinean-imported maize products from Swiss supermarkets after genetic testing showed they are contaminated with Monsanto’s genetically engineered (GE) variety Roundup Ready GA21. This variety has not been approved for human consumption in Europe nor for commercial growing in Argentina, which further fuels suspicion of illegal plantings of GE crops in Argentina (Greenpeace, 24 Apr. 2002)

American Retailers May Be Key To Improving Environmental Stewardship of Livestock Feedlots - Retail powerhouses in the food service industry including fast food, grocery, and restaurant chains, should require large livestock feedlots and processing facilities that supply retailers with meat, eggs, and dairy products to meet strict environmental standards, according to a new report issued by the Izaak Walton League. (Izaak Walton League, 24 Apr. 2002)

MEXICO: ILO Says Girls More Vulnerable To Child Labor, Exploitation -...The ILO's International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor says Mexican girls on average work longer hours, receive less pay and begin at a younger age than boys, mainly in the agricultural sector. (UN Wire, 24 Apr. 2002)

Thailand to swap farm surplus for clean air: Thailand...plans to launch a national project to convert some of its surplus commodities into biofuel for cleaner air (Reuters, 24 Apr. 2002) 

BIOSAFETY: Annual Meeting Eyes Cartagena Protocol Implementation (UN Wire, 23 Apr. 2002)

Time to phase out paraquat – Syngenta’s controversial pesticide - Workers and farmers regularly exposed to the pesticide paraquat, sold by Syngenta as Gramoxone, experience serious problems with their health...[urges Syngenta to phase out the production & use "of this hazardous pesticide"] (The Berne Declaration, Foro Emaus, Pesticide Action Network [PAN] Asia Pacific, PAN UK and the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation, 22 Apr. 2002)

Ecuador's oil pollution fears -...Oil waste is collected in vast pools often on agricultural land, making further cultivation impossible. (BBC News, 15 Apr. 2002)

Kenya: Child labourers hit 3 million mark -...Labour Commissioner Abisai Ambenge...identified some of the areas where child labour is rampant including salt harvesting in Malindi, miraa farming in Meru North, and tea and coffee plantations in Central, Eastern and Rift Valley Provinces (Child Labour News Service, 15 Apr. 2002)

press release: The Great Trade Robbery: Rich world swindles millions from the benefits of trade as global wealth divide widens to all time high - OXFAM today accused the rich world of robbing the poor world of $100 billion a year by abusing the rules governing world trade and denying millions of poor people their best escape route from poverty. (Oxfam, 11 Apr. 2002)

Haiti: proof of hypocrisy - Farmers in Haiti have had their livelihood destroyed by competition from subsidised American rice. (Charlotte Denny, Guardian [UK], 11 Apr. 2002)

Global giant signs for workers' rights: Fonterra has turned over a new leaf as the world's fourth largest dairy company by signing a commitment to international labour standards for its 20,000 employees. Unionists view the move as a quantum leap from the overseas behaviour of the old Dairy Board, which they say included the dismissal of employees in Sri Lanka and Mauritius just for joining unions. (Mathew Dearnaley, New Zealand Herald, 10 Apr. 2002)

GM activists call for ban to protect poor farmers - Environmentalists will press delegates at an international conference on biodiversity this week to ban a controversial form of genetic modification that deliberately sterilises crop seeds. (Steve Connor, Independent [UK], 8 Apr. 2002)

IUF and New Zealand Dairy Workers' Union Sign International Union Rights Agreement with Fonterra: The IUF and its affiliated New Zealand Dairy Workers Union (NZDWU) today signed an agreement on international trade union rights and minimum labour standards with the New Zealand-based Fonterra Co-operative Group Limited, the fourth largest global dairy company...The agreement commits the company to respect international labour standards as defined in ILO Conventions 87 and 98 (freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining), 135 (worker representatives), 29 and 105 (forced labour), 138 and 182 (minimum age, child labour), and 100 and 111 (equal remuneration and employment discrimination). (IUF - International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers’ Associations, 8 Apr. 2002)

India's responsibility for GM safety — and equity: A decision by the Indian government to approve the commercial planting of genetically-engineered cotton gives it a heavy responsibility to take effective steps to ensure their safe and equitable application. (SciDev.Net, 2 Apr. 2002)

Across U.S., local governments fight large-scale corporate farms:...As they [factory-style farms] proliferate, so does concern that their concentrated manure is harming human health and environment, with its effects rippling as far south as the Gulf of Mexico, where manure runoff contributes to a dead zone in the sea. (Emily Gersema, Associated Press, 2 Apr. 2002)

FieldsofHope.org Highlights Child Labor in Agriculture: Child labor is a tragedy around the globe. At least 250 million children ages 5-14 work, primarily in agriculture. (AFL-CIO, 2 Apr. 2002)

Farmer accused of torturing workers [Namibia]: The Police are investigating allegations that a karakul sheep farmer tortured two of his employees with a cattle prodder to force them to give information about the theft of 170 sheep. One of the farmworkers, Thomas Topnaar, suffered severe injuries to his testicles. (Max Hamata, The Namibian, 2 Apr. 2002)

{···español} Honduras/EE.UU: campesinos muertos - Tres campesinos de Honduras murieron y otros dos fueron heridos por disparos de guardias de la empresa transnacional estadounidense Standard Fruit Company, subsidiaria de Dole Foods. (BBC Mundo, 30 marzo 2002)

TOBACCO: Treaty Moving Ahead, Difficulties Remain, Talks Chairman Says - The chairman of World Health Organization talks on a proposed Framework Convention on Tobacco Control said yesterday that negotiations are moving ahead but that compensation for victims and farmers and a proposed advertising ban remain major points of contention...The WHO says tobacco-related diseases kill 4 million people annually and that the figure could reach 10 million by 2030, with 70 percent of deaths in developing countries (UN Wire, 26 Mar. 2002)

GENETIC ENGINEERING: Natural, Modified Crops Inevitably Mix, EU Says - Potentially harmful genetic mixing between natural and engineered crop strains is inevitable despite safeguards in place, the European Union's European Environment Agency said last week in a new study. (UN Wire, 26 Mar. 2002)

Trapped like slaves on Brazilian ranches:...government authorities admit that despite a federal crackdown announced seven years ago, "contemporary forms of slavery" in which workers are held in unpaid, coerced labor continue to flourish...The reasons...growing pressure to exploit and develop the Amazon's vast agricultural frontier to supply foreign markets with two prized goods: timber and beef. (Larry Rohter, New York Times, in International Herald Tribune, 26 Mar. 2002) 

Bt Cotton: Seeds of Discontent -...U.S. chemical giant Monsanto's efforts -- through its Indian partner Mahyco -- to seek approval for commercializing the controversial transgenic Bt Cotton seeds in India has come under intense criticism. (Meena Menon and Nityanand Jayaraman, CorpWatch India, 25 Mar. 2002)

Uzbek east suffers man-made famine [Uzbekistan]:...The babies are among thousands of victims of an agricultural policy, fashioned by the Soviet Union and pursued enthusiastically by independent Uzbekistan, which is creating a desert, destroying the Aral Sea, poisoning land, and cutting harvests. And killing people. Cotton is the main culprit. (Sebastian Alison, Reuters, 22 Mar. 2002)

Women plantation workers poisoned by toxic pesticides [Malaysia]: study - Two non-governmental organisations today called for a ban on paraquat and other toxic pesticides as plantation workers exposed to them suffered poisoning and developed serious medical conditions. Tenaganita and Pesticide Action Network Asia and the Pacific (PAN-AP) said those affected were women plantation workers who sprayed these toxic pesticides. (Kevin Tan, Malaysiakini, 21 Mar. 2002)

Global market growth seen failing to feed poorest: Global market growth is failing to relieve hunger among the world's poorest people, scientists advising the United Nations' world food body said yesterday. (David Brough, Reuters, 21 Mar. 2002)

Don't use banned chemical, Thai shrimp farmers told:...The EU bans the use of nitrofuran in food-producing animals because of the risk of causing cancer in humans. (Reuters, 21 Mar. 2002)

Cosatu aims to launch campaign in Piketberg [South Africa]: Plan is to stop rights abuses against farm workers in Western Cape...THE Council of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) is set to launch a campaign in Piketberg in Western Cape tomorrow in a bid to stop human rights abuses against farm workers in the province. But the planned campaign has angered organised agriculture in the province. (Business Day [South Africa], 20 Mar. 2002) 

Coffee in good conscience: Students campaign for roasters to provide only 'fair-trade' beans [USA] -...with the school [Western Washington University] considering bids for a new 10-year food-services contract, McDonald and the group he leads, Students for Fair Trade, are pushing for all coffee — including decaf and espresso drinks — on campus to be fair-trade certified. To be certified, third-party monitors must have confirmed that farmers were paid a fair price for their beans. (Jake Batsell, Seattle Times, 17 Mar. 2002)

Brazilian small farms commonly use child labour: In Brazil, according to a study by the Getulio Vargas Foundation, 30% of the work force of small farms in the Brazilian states of Goias, Pernambuco, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Minas Gerais is comprised of children under the age of 14. (O Estado de Sao Paulo [Brazil], English summary in Child Labour News Service, 15 Mar. 2002)

UK group urges retailers to reduce pesticide levels: Exposing young children to pesticides in fruit, vegetables and popular nibbles like crisps may cause them serious health problems in later life, a report [by Friends of the Earth] urging retailers to eliminate such residues said this week..."Retailers should come clean with their customers by publishing the results of their residue testing - so far only the Co-op and M&S have been honest enough to do this," she [Sandra Bell, Friends of the Earth] said. (Veronica Brown, Reuters, 15 Mar. 2002)

Latest pesticide results bad news for children: The latest pesticide residue results released today by the [UK] Pesticides Residues Committee show that processed food popular with children such as cereal bars often come with hidden pesticide residues. The Government wants children to eat more fresh fruit and vegetables but today's results also revealed worrying levels of pesticides in fresh fruit. Friends of the Earth released a new report today highlighting the health concerns for babies and children exposed to pesticide residues. (Friends of the Earth, 14 Mar. 2002)

Chile's fruit growers phase out methyl bromide to save ozone layer: Chile has launched an initiative to eliminate the use of methyl bromide in its orchards and vineyards by 2007, substituting other products that do not damage the ozone layer in the atmosphere. (U.N. Development Programme, 14 Mar. 2002)

{···español} Carta de protesta al Presidente ecuatoriano Gustavo Noboa: sector bananero (Confederación Internacional de Organizaciones Sindicales Libres, 13 marzo 2002)

Spotlight on unions and women: Barbro Budin of the IUF [International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers’ Associations] -...Women suffer from musculoskeletal disorders linked to repetitive work and this is a real scourge in both Northern and Southern countries. Some women become completely paralysed after a few years’ work, particularly in the food industry, hotels and agriculture...In agriculture, a new ILO convention should help us to fight pesticide abuse more effectively. These pollutants have caused many deaths and brought other serious health problems to women, such as sterility. (International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, 12 Mar. 2002)

Assassinations of Juan Montiel and Emilio Villeras, two members of IUF Colombian affiliate SINTRAINAGRO [Colombia]: The IUF has just learnt of the killing of two banana workers: Juan Montiel and Emilio Villeras Durán, both from the Ceiba y Circasia plantations. Both were active in the local leadership of the IUF’s rural workers affiliate SINTRAINAGRO in the Department of Magdalena. (IUF - International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers’ Associations, 9 Mar. 2002) 

Judge approves $9 million settlement in bioengineered-corn suit [USA]: A federal judge approved a $9 million settlement Thursday in a class-action lawsuit by consumers who complained of allergic reactions to genetically modified corn in supermarket products...The StarLink corn seed...had been approved by the [U.S.] Environmental Protection Agency for use in animal feed but not for human consumption...Aventis and Garst were defendants in the lawsuit along with Kraft Foods Co. of Glenview, Ill.; Azteca Foods Inc. of Chicago; Azteca Milling, Co. of Edinburg, Texas; and a sister company, Mission Foods Co. (Mike Robinson, Associated Press, on Environmental News Network website, 8 Mar. 2002)

Protesters take aim at Taco Bell [USA]: The Coalition of Immokalee Workers, a grass-roots organization based in Florida, includes farmworkers who say they are incensed at the stagnant wages and poor living conditions of tomato pickers. And Taco Bell, they claim, is one of the nation's largest tomato purchasers. (Dave Anderton, Deseret News [Salt Lake City, USA], 8 Mar. 2002)

Banana workers strike to fight the race to the bottom [Ecuador]: On 25 February, more than 1,400 workers at seven plantations producing for the Noboa Corporation in Ecuador went on strike to call for their basic labor rights. (Campaign for Labor Rights, 7 Mar. 2002)

How Monsanto got bruised in a food fight: The group's genetically modified crops were welcomed in the US. It was unprepared for the reaction in Europe, says Michael Skapinker (Michael Skapinker, Financial Times, 7 Mar. 2002)

DEVELOPMENT: Wolfensohn Calls For Freer Trade - In a passionate speech here yesterday at the Woodrow Wilson International Center, World Bank President James Wolfensohn urged rich countries to reduce trade barriers and agricultural subsidies, reiterated the international community's call for a doubling in foreign aid and called for a new war on poverty to create a more stable and peaceful world. (Scott Hartmann, UN Wire, 7 Mar. 2002)

The Verdict Is In: Smithfield's Use of Intimidation, Violence and False Arrests Violates Civil Rights Laws [USA] - Workers Win $755,000 In Jury Verdict Against Smithfield:...The jury verdict directed Smithfield [Smithfield Packing Co.] and the company's former security chief, Danny Priest, to pay $755,000 in compensation and punitive damages as the result of the beating and arrests of two union supporters at the company's Tar Heel, North Carolina facility in 1997. (UFCW - United Food and Commercial Workers Union, 5 Mar. 2002)

The business case for corporate social responsibility in the UK food and agriculture industry (Marina Martin Curran, in Ethical Corporation Magazine, 5 Mar. 2002)

Poor farmers taste success - Fairtrade is making headway but is still a tiny part of global trade [refers to coffee industry, cocoa/chocolate industry, Max Havelaar coffee brand, Cafedirect, Starbucks, Sainsbury, Co-op, Day Chocolate Company] (Roger Cowe, Financial Times, 4 Mar. 2002)

Housing for Field Workers Eyed [Napa Valley, California]: In this conspicuously prosperous valley, home to a $4 billion wine industry, hundreds of migrant farm workers sleep in cars or under the stars. (Justin Pritchard, Associated Press, 4 Mar. 2002)

Cargill farm to pay $1.55 mln for polluting river [USA]: A Cargill pig farm in Missouri agreed to pay $1.55 million in fines after admitting it illegally polluted a local river with hog waste (Reuters, 4 Mar. 2002) 

US poultry companies halting use of antibiotic: Big poultry producers have flocked quickly this month to rally behind the cause of food safety by banning use of an antibiotic for chickens and turkeys amid rising consumer concerns that it may harm humans. (Bob Burgdorfer, Reuters, 4 Mar. 2002) 

Auburn woman sues egg farm [Maine, USA]: The safety of workers at the former DeCoster Egg Farms is once again being questioned. An Auburn woman who was hired to serve as a liaison to the Spanish-speaking employees claims that she was fired after reporting unsafe working conditions, including her concerns that employees were being denied proper medical attention for workplace injuries. (Lisa Chmelecki, Sun Journal [Lewiston, Maine], 2 Mar. 2002)

Activists win lawsuit against meat company [USA]: Two claimed excessive force by Smithfield - Two union activists won a lawsuit Friday that claimed they were beaten and falsely arrested during organizing efforts at a Smithfield Packing Co. plant, union officials said. (Emery P. Dalesio, Associated Press, in News & Observer [North Carolina, USA] 2 Mar. 2002)

Is the United States a Pollution Haven?...The question arises from a look at agriculture under NAFTA, particularly the trade in corn...Corn production is moving from Mexico, where it was more sustainable, to the United States, where it involves serious environmental impacts. (Frank Ackerman, Americas Program, 1 Mar. 2002)

Jury recommends protection for farm workers [Canada]: The death of a teenage farm worker [16 year old Alex Webster] led Friday to calls for better protection and training for people who work in Prince Edward Island's agriculture industry. (CBC Prince Edward Island, 1 Mar. 2002)

Food for thought: Corporate Social Responsibility for food and beverage manufactures -  An introduction for policy-setters and operational managers, featuring best practice from eight leading companies in the food and beverage sector. [includes reference to social & environmental issues; cocoa, coffee, tea & banana sectors; Tea Sourcing Partnership in the UK; Chiquita/Rainforest Alliance's 'Better Banana Project'] (Prince of Wales International Business Leaders Forum, Mar. 2002)

Tampa Farmworker protest to begin in Tampa [USA]:...The group is picketing Taco Bell, because it buys most of its tomatoes from Immokalee and has refused to sit down with workers to hear their concerns. (Timothy O'Hara, Herald Tribune [Florida], 25 Feb. 2002)

Water Board Ignoring Pesticide Discharges from Agriculture in California (Earthjustice, 21 Feb. 2002)

Cargill Pork fined $1 million for dumping waste in river; 53,000 fish dead [USA]: Cargill Pork agreed to pay a $1 million fine for illegally dumping waste that prosecutors said contaminated five miles of a Missouri river and killed 53,000 fish. (Associated Press, 21 Feb. 2002)

Mdladlana out to get bad employers [South Africa]: Membathisi Mdladlana, the labour minister, yesterday had a blunt message for employers: stop mistreating workers...Mdladlana said his department would launch a "national inspection blitz" in April, focusing on the security, construction and farm sectors, which were among the worst offenders when it came to poor working conditions and employing child labour. This follows his crackdown on clothing firms late last year (Lynda Loxton, Business Report [South Africa], 20 Feb. 2002)

Dangerous work is no place for our kids [Australia]: Trades Hall Calls For A Ban On Children Under 15’s In Worst Industries - The Victorian Trades Hall Council has called for a total ban on the employment of young people, under 15 years, in the States four most dangerous industries, agriculture, transport and storage, construction and manufacturing. (Victorian Trades Hall Council, 19 Feb. 2002)

Starbucks braces for another round with eco-protests: Facing mounting pressure from protest groups, Starbucks Corp. this week affirmed its commitment to environmentally friendly products and fair wages for coffee farmers. (Chris Stetkiewicz, Reuters, 15 Feb. 2002)

Oil, Drugs, and Diamonds: How Do Natural Resources Vary in their Impact on Civil War? (Professor Michael Ross, UCLA, produced for International Peace Academy project on Economic Agendas in Civil Wars, 13 Feb. 2002)

INDIA: Environmentalists, Residents Call For Ban On Pesticide Endosulfan - Environmentalists say a pesticide used by a major cashew nut plantation in southern India is responsible for the acute mental and physical ailments suffered by hundreds of children and adults in the region (UN Wire, 13 Feb. 2002)

Brazil coffee more eco-friendly - grower:...Rodrigues said that quality was no longer the only issue and that roasters were prepared to pay a premium to help fund projects to protect the environment and aid local coffee communities. (Peter Blackburn, Reuters, 6 Feb. 2002)

ICFTU report condemns deplorable conditions for workers in Malawi [refers to restrictions on the trade union rights of plantation workers and workers in export processing zones, and problems with anti-union discrimination and child labour] (International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, 6 Feb. 2002)

Farmer fined for child labour [South Africa]: In a precedent-setting case, the owners of a farm at Ceres in the Western Cape have been fined R25 000 for employing a child under the age of 15. (South African Press Association, 5 Feb. 2002)

SA's [South Africa's] first child labour case in Ceres today: Eleven-year-old girl loses her leg after falling off trailer transporting workers [fruit pickers at farm] - SA's first child labour court case will be heard in the Ceres Magistrate's court in Western Cape today after an 11-year-old girl lost her leg in a work-related accident  (Business Day [South Africa], 5 Feb. 2002)

Christian Aid calls for global regulation of tobacco industry: Brazilian tobacco farmer sues BAT subsidiary. New report from Christian Aid raises concerns over the safety of growing tobacco. A tobacco farmer who claims he has been made permanently ill as a result of growing tobacco is taking Souza Cruz, the Brazilian subsidiary of British American Tobacco (BAT), to court. (Christian Aid, 4 Feb. 2002)

Zimbabwe Faced With Problem on Child Labour [in domestic & agricultural sectors] (Xinhua General News Service, posted on Child Labour News Service, 1 Feb. 2002)

Oil palm action [Indonesia]: Three of the biggest banks in the Netherlands - ABN AMRO, Rabobank and Fortis - have agreed to stop or substantially restrict financing for oil palm development in Indonesia on environmental and social grounds. (Down to Earth Newsletter, Feb. 2002) 

Stop human rights violations against peasant farmers! [Indonesia]: The pattern of human rights violations arising from land conflicts during the Suharto era still persists today, more than three years since the dictator was forced to resign...In West Papua investors are being encouraged to take advantage of the territory's land, timber and mineral wealth. In Kalimantan and Sumatra communities are losing lands to oil palm developments. Forest peoples are losing out in agreements with entrepreneurs who buy up community rights over forests at minimal prices so that they can get at the timber. The medium-scale exploitation of coal and gold continuing in some parts of Sulawesi and Kalimantan is putting more pressure on peasant and indigenous communities as well as poisoning the lands and water courses. (Down to Earth Newsletter, Feb. 2002) 

From Factories to the Fields Anti-Sweatshop Movement Spreads to Farm Workers [USA]:...U.S. farm workers lack the legal protections to organize and engage in collective bargaining. They also are exempt from the federal minimum wage law. (Simon Billenness, Trillium Asset Management, in Investing for a Better World, Feb. 2002)

Belgian PCB contamination spreads to pigs: Belgium said yesterday it had found the same cancer-causing chemicals in pig feed that it discovered in chicken feed made by a local compounder (Reuters, 30 Jan. 2002) 

To improve health and boost economic development, countries strive for better food safety: Lessons Learned Shared at Global Forum - The first ever Global Forum of Food Safety Regulators opened today, seeking ways to improve the safety of food worldwide at every step of the food production chain — from farmers, through processors and retailers, to consumers. (World Health Organization, 28 Jan. 2002)

Belgium finds PCB traces in chicken feed: Belgian health authorities said on Friday they had found traces of chemicals linked to cancer in feed given to chickens. (Reuters, 28 Jan. 2002)

Mountain Ecosystems Endangered: War, exploitation and pollution threaten freshwater source for half of world's population -...Climate change, pollution, armed conflict, population growth, deforestation and exploitative agricultural, mining and tourism practices are among a growing list of problems confronting the "water towers of the world," prompting warnings that catastrophic flooding, landslides, avalanches, fires and famines will become more frequent (United Nations University, 27 Jan. 2002)

CHILD LABOR: UNICEF Cites Unsafe Conditions In Latin America - More than 14 percent of Latin American children work in agriculture under dangerous and life-threatening conditions, UNICEF said Wednesday, adding that child labor in the cane, fruit, coca and cotton industries is a dangerous and persistent regional tradition. (UN Wire, 25 Jan. 2002)

FAO [UN Food and Agriculture Organization] urges countries to discontinue the use of chloramphenicol in animal production (U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, 24 Jan. 2002)

EU passes laws to set up new food safety body: European Union farm ministers this week officially passed laws setting up a new European Food Safety Authority, designed to boost public confidence in the wake of alerts such as mad cow disease and dioxin poisoning. (Reuters, 23 Jan. 2002) 

Settlement Reached on Air Pollution Lawsuit in California's San Joaquin Valley: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency agrees to end its years of neglect -...EPA’s lengthy period of neglect of air quality planning has particularly grave consequences in San Joaquin Valley, whose residents suffer from high rates of respiratory diseases, while big agricultural interests and the oil industry have repeatedly stymied the local Air District from making progress. (Earthjustice, 15 Jan. 2002)

Strikes Claim Kids Employed As Scab Labour [South Africa]: Tensions are running high in Faure where farm workers on strike for better wages have accused the farm management of employing children as scab labour. (Helen Bamford, Cape Argus [Cape Town], 14 Jan. 2002)

GOLDEN RICE: Future Of Biotechnology On The Line, Newspaper Reports - Opponents charge...that the rice could damage the environment and disrupt traditional agriculture. They say companies such as Syngenta, Pharmacia and Pharmacia subsidiary Monsanto know the rice will never deliver on its promises but are using it as a public relations tool while they plot to reap huge profits after crowding out other strains in developing countries. (UN Wire, 10 Jan. 2002)

Nowhere to Run, Nowhere To Hide [Philippines]: The Agtas, peace-loving dwellers and guardians of Sierra Madre's forests, are slowly and painfully being erased from the Philippine anthropological picture, by oppression, exploitation and modernization..."Fifty summers ago, we were a proud race of people. Then the Ilokanos came, Ifugaos, Itnegs bringing along logging and mining. Our lives were never the same again."...In Salak's tribe, five women were raped by gold prospectors and loggers. (Michael A. Bengwayan, Fellow of the New York-based Echoing Green Foundation, 8 Jan. 2002)

USDA [U.S. Department of Agriculture], soybean groups study new China GMO [genetically modified organisms] rules (Reuters, 8 Jan. 2002)

EGYPT: Officials Say Progress Made On Reducing Annual Smog Cloud -...Egypt's Agriculture Ministry provided Nile Delta rice farmers with 400 compacting and bundling machines this summer so they could cut back on burning rice straw (UN Wire, 4 Jan. 2002)

Death in Small Doses: A report documenting Cambodia's pesticide problems and solutions (Environmental Justice Foundation, Jan. 2002)

Tyson Foods discussing resolution of Clean Water case [USA]: Tyson Foods Inc., the world's largest poultry processor, said yesterday it is discussing a resolution of a government investigation into alleged violations of the Clean Water Act at a Missouri facility. (Reuters, 27 Dec. 2001)

Romania Receives GEF Grant To Increase Environment-Friendly Agricultural Practices: The World Bank yesterday approved implementation of a project, funded by a US$5.15 million Global Environment Facility (GEF) grant, to significantly increase the use of environment-friendly agricultural practices at the county and national levels, thereby reducing nutrient runoff from agricultural sources to the Danube River and Black Sea. (UN Wire, 14 Dec. 2001)

California cattle ranch, owner, foreman plead guilty [to violating Clean Water Act; defendants admitted to discharging cattle waste without proper permits and dumping dead cattle carcasses into Elder and Willow Creeks] (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 13 Dec. 2001)

Tomato Pickers Boycott Taco Bell for Higher Wages [USA]: Borrowing a tactic from anti-sweatshop campaigns, tomato pickers seek a sustainable living wage by appealing to Taco Bell, the primary purchaser of the tomatoes they pick. (William Baue, SocialFunds.com, 12 Dec. 2001)

Mexican environment and farming groups launch formal complaint process against GE corn imports: As the debate about genetic contamination of Mexican varieties of corn has heightened, Greenpeace along with a number of other Mexican environment and farming groups has begun a formal complaint process against the Mexican government to seek an immediate ban on the import of GE corn from the USA. (Greenpeace, 11 Dec. 2001)

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: Oscar Arias Backs Ecoagriculture - In a commentary in Sunday's Folha de Sao Paulo, former Costa Rican President and Nobel Peace laureate Oscar Arias expressed support for ecoagriculture ahead of next year's Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development (UN Wire, 11 Dec. 2001)

HK people want more action on environment - survey: Most Hong Kong people want the government to urgently tackle environmental problems such as pesticides in vegetables, contaminated seafood, and water and air pollution, a survey released last week showed (Reuters, 10 Dec. 2001) 

Chiquita Given High Marks for Premier Sustainability Report (Business for Social Responsibility, 6 Dec. 2001)

Mexico in danger of losing tropical forests during this century, study finds:...Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources Victor Lichtinger...blamed the problem on expansion of farmland and grazing areas, and to a lesser degree, on illegal logging. (Associated Press, 5 Dec. 2001)

Indian farmers caught in war over GM crops (Thomas Kutty Abraham, Reuters, 5 Dec. 2001)

Kenya Has 3.5m Child Workers - Unicef: Kenya has a staggering 3.5 million child labourers and most of them work under very difficult conditions...Most children labourers in Central Kenya are working in coffee and horticultural estates. In Western Kenya, the children work in sugar plantations. (Peter Ngare, East African Standard [Nairobi], 4 Dec. 2001)

Recent ILRF [International Labor Rights Fund] Cases to Enforce Human Rights Under the ATCA [includes reference to human rights-related cases against Unocal, ExxonMobil, Coca-Cola, Del Monte, DynCorp] (Terry Collingsworth, Executive Director of International Labor Rights Fund, in ACLU International Civil Liberties Report 2001 [American Civil Liberties Union], Dec. 2001)

Growing in Unity: Against all the odds, the unions in Latin America’s banana plantations are showing what ‘sustainable development’ might really mean...In the last three years union leaders and others associated with the banana workers’ campaigns for justice have been killed in Colombia, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Honduras and the Philippines. (Alistair Smith, New Internationalist, Dec. 2001)

Lord of the Fries [USA]: The rapid rise of irrigated potato farming, with its associated increase in aerial spraying and fertilizer use, has caused widespread concern among Native and farming communities in northwestern Minnesota, where residents say that the chemicals are finding their way into drinking wells and lakes where they may be responsible for a mysterious rise in frog deformities. (Charlie Cray, Multinational Monitor, Dec. 2001)

Bitter Fruit: Glamorous brands of French liqueur use one image; Charles Arthur finds another on the orange plantations of Haiti [regarding labour rights issues at plantations producing for Grand Marnier and Rémy Cointreau] (Charles Arthur, New Internationalist, Dec. 2001)

A disappointing compromise [critique of the new International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture] (editorial, Seedling, GRAIN [Genetic Resources Action International], Dec. 2001)

India to destroy illegally grown GM crops: Authorities in India's western Gujarat state have begun procurement of illegally grown gene-engineered cotton from farmers to prevent replanting of the seeds, officials said yesterday. (Reuters, 23 Nov. 2001)

Nafwu tells farmers to 'liberate' child labourers: Delegates to a Namibia Farmworkers Union (Nafwu) meeting have condemned the exploitation of child labourers in Namibia...The union appealed "to employers in the agricultural sector who have continued to employ minor children to immediately stop these unlawful practices and send these children to school." (The Namibian, 19 Nov. 2001)

Nafwu pushes for living wage: The Namibia Farmworkers Union (Nafwu) annual meeting at the weekend was adamant that Government should introduce minimum wages in the agricultural sector in view of the starvation wages paid by some farmers. (The Namibian, 19 Nov. 2001)

Dutch Banks Act to Save Tropical Rainforest: Three major Dutch banks [ABN AMRO, Rabobank, and Fortis Bankhave] announced they will restrict loans for palm oil plantation development in Indonesia that results in tropical rainforest destruction. (Susan Wennemyr, SocialFunds.com, 19 Nov. 2001)

Court says Italy failed to assess pollution risks: The European Court of Justice found Italy failed to fully identify and monitor bodies of water subject to nitrate pollution from livestock farming. (Reuters, 16 Nov. 2001) 

Do patents threaten food security? Global food security is under threat from "bio-pirates" who take plants from developing countries, change them slightly then patent the new varieties, according to anti-poverty groups and activists (Karen Iley, Reuters, 15 Nov. 2001)

Scientist sees hope for Africa in GM crops: African farmers waging the age-old battle against pests and crop disease are not nearly as well-armed as their counterparts in Europe and North America. But biotechnology could provide them with powerful tools to help feed a growing population and reduce hunger, Kenyan plant scientist Florence Wambugu said...Wambugu dismissed the idea that biotechnology companies are forcing GM crops on Africa. But she said that adoption of biotech crops in Africa will be a long, slow process. (Julie Ingwersen, Reuters, 15 Nov. 2001)

Fines to rise for child labor abuses [state of Victoria, Australia]: Child labor laws will be overhauled and fines for exploitation increased from $100 to $10,000, the Bracks Government announced yesterday. (Meaghan Shaw, The Age [Australia], 15 Nov. 2001)

60,000 plant species may vanish by 2025 threatening ecosystem (Independent [Bangladesh], 13 Nov. 2001)

Hunger fighters see biotech hope for poor nations:..."You have two choices," Borlaug [plant scientist and Nobel laureate Norman Borlaug] told Reuters in an interview. "You need it to further improve yields so that you can continue to produce the food that's needed on the soil that's well-adapted to agricultural production. Or, you'll be pushed into cutting down more of our forests."...GM crop pioneers like Monsanto, fighting to win hearts and minds for the crop technology, have now turned actively to addressing the problems of the developing world. (Julie Ingwersen, Reuters, 12 Nov. 2001)

World's worst diseases face new foe - biotechnology: Genetic engineering, often slammed by environmental and consumer groups for its role in altering staple foods, may have found a niche where it can help save the lives of millions from the world's most endemic diseases. (Jeremy Smith, Reuters, 12 Nov. 2001) 

Observer Comment - Anti-globalisation can not help the developing world. But the rich countries must ditch the hypocrisy and keep their promises to the south...Multinational corporations, finance capitalists and Northern Governments justify themselves in terms of free trade, but what they actually promote are their own interests, which is not the same thing at all. In trade the industrialised world imposes liberalisation on developing countries while protecting its own markets in agriculture and textiles through tariff barriers. (Michael Jacobs, Observer [UK], 11 Nov. 2001)

ILO blasts govt subsidies: The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has said that subsidising of agriculture by developed countries is killing employment in the third world. (Eliud Miring'uh, East African Standard [Nairobi], 10 Nov. 2001)

Climate Change: Billions Across The Tropics Face Hunger And Starvation As Big Drop In Crop Yields Forecast -...Harvests of some of the world's most important food crops could fall by as much as a third in some crucial parts of the planet as a result of climate change, scientists are warning. The decline comes at a time when there is an urgent need to raise yields to feed as growing, global, population. (United Nations Environment Programme, 8 Nov. 2001)

Global warming to hit key food crops - UN agency: Harvests of some of the world's key food crops could drop by up to 30 percent in the next 100 years due to global warming, a U.N. agency [United Nations Environment Programme] said. (Reuters, 8 Nov. 2001)

PHILIPPINES: Citing U.N. Findings, Farmers Seek Pesticide Probe - ...a group of Philippine farmers who say toxic pesticides are still being used in the country are calling for a congressional investigation into smuggling and indiscriminate distribution of banned pesticides and fertilizers...Despite their serious health and environmental effects, at least 23 "dirty" pesticides, including DDT, have been allowed into the country, Agricultural Irrigators Association of South Cotabato Chairman Rene Lozada said. "This matter needs to be resolved immediately, because it has been slowly killing the small farmers," he said, adding that multinational companies are dumping rejected U.S. and European pesticides onto the Philippine market. (UN Wire, 6 Nov. 2001) 

GMO crops - here to stay or gone with the wind? Consumer pressure will not force North and South American farmers to abandon genetically modified crops but it could blight the development of a new generation promising many medical or nutritional benefits. (Peter Bohan, Reuters, 6 Nov. 2001)

AGRICULTURE: FAO Votes for Broad Limits on Crop Patents - The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Conference has approved an international treaty that largely bans the patenting of non-genetically modified crops, a step aimed at protecting plant diversity as a tool for eradicating world hunger. The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture is intended to preserve the diversity of food and agriculture and the ''fair and equitable sharing of the benefits.'' (Jorge Piña, Inter Press Service, 5 Nov. 2001)

WTO talks could make things worse - environmentalists: Global trade rules are damaging small farmers, local food producers and rural communities and next week's World Trade Organisation meeting could make things worse, Friends of the Earth said in a report yesterday. The environmentalist group said that food and farming policy were now loaded in favour of big farmers and transnational companies, which makes the poor poorer. (Reuters, 2 Nov. 2001)

The WTO, Forests and the Spirit of Rio:...Since its inception, the WTO has undermined the agreements reached in Rio by replacing the environmental agenda with the corporate push for indiscriminate international trade...[I]n the tropics...increased trade of all sorts of goods -- ranging from logs to aluminum, from shrimp to palm oil to soya beans -- results in forest destruction and the impoverishment of local communities. (Ricardo Carrere, International Coordinator of the World Rainforest Movement, for CorpWatch, 1 Nov. 2001)

Science Helps Poverty Fight: New CGIAR [Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research] report says scientific efforts aimed at helping poor farmers are key to reducing hunger, malnutrition - Nourishing a Peaceful Earth: the CGIAR's Contributions... provides concrete examples of how scientists, in partnership with industrialized and developing countries, are producing new technologies and other solutions to boost crop yields, increase rural incomes, and reduce the use of pesticides. (Development News, World Bank, 30 Oct. 2001

CSR Investment Is Not A Choice: Was Milton Friedman right in his assertion that the business of business is simply to keep within the law and to maximise profits? Or, does the power of corporations bring with it social responsibilities; what many argue are the trappings of power? Toby Kent draws upon a specific case of Del Monte in Kenya [DMKL]...animosity between DMKL’s management, staff and neighbouring communities grew to such an extent that by 2000 the unions, local NGOs and representatives of the Catholic church combined to organise a boycott of Del Monte’s products in Italy, one of the company’s key export markets. (Toby Kent, independent consultant, in Ethical Corporation Magazine, 30 Oct. 2001)

Kenyan greens condemn govt over forest plans: A leading Kenyan environmental group lambasted the government yesterday for its decision to cut down more than 170,000 acres of forest, calling it a politically motivated step that would damage the environment and economy...Forests cover only around two percent of Kenya but provide vital moisture catchment for rivers, and so are crucial to sustaining an agricultural industry that supports much of the 28 million population. (Reuters, 30 Oct. 2001)

It's enough to make you sick -...So, are the chocolatiers, by agreeing to the Protocol, finally accepting responsibility for slave labour used on cocoa farms - and effectively admitting that they had previously turned a blind eye? [refers to Mars, Nestlé, Cadbury, BCCCA (Biscuit, Cake, Chocolate and Confectionery Alliance), Day Chocolate Company, Green & Black's] (Charlotte Williamson, Evening Standard [London], 26 Oct. 2001)

Huge Amazon areas lost each year but forest stands: He [Carlos Nobre, general coordinator of temperature and climate studies at Brazil's National Institute for Space Research] warned that the logging, fires and farming in the Amazon could create "biodiversity losses of unknown magnitude." (Axel Bugge, Reuters, 19 Oct. 2001)

Needs of Vulnerable Consumers Ignored by WTO: Impact assessments by Consumers International show trade liberalisation is not benefiting consumers - Consumers International has carried out impact assessments on agriculture and services liberalisation in 16 developing and transition economies from Chile and Chad, as part of its Consumers and the Global Market programme. The results of this work show that the World Trade Organisation (WTO) agreements in agriculture and services are working against consumers, particularly in developing and transition economies. (Consumers International, 16 Oct. 2001)

US chocolate industry agrees to end forced labour on cocoa farms: Free the Slaves, Anti-Slavery International's associate in the United States, has successfully won a commitment from the Chocolate Manufacturers Association to end 'slavery, serfdom, and debt bondage in the growing and processing of West African cocoa beans and their derivative products'. This follows the 1 October Protocol in which the US cocoa and chocolate industry agrees to eliminate child slavery from the chocolate industry. (Anti-Slavery International, 16 Oct. 2001)

France to ban use of sodium arsenite in farming: France is planning to ban sodium arsenite, a fungicide used for the treatment of vines, because of the risks it poses to public health and the environment, farm minister Jean Glavany said yesterday. (Reuters, 16 Oct. 2001)

Japan, EU agree to block farm trade liberalization: Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka and European Union Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy reaffirmed Saturday their intention to oppose drastic farm trade liberalization at the proposed launch of new global trade talks under the World Trade Organization, a Japanese official said...Tanaka said Japan will extend as much support as possible to the EU's bid to seek WTO negotiations on the environment as Japan believes the issue is important. But another Japanese official said Japan is not likely to support the idea of "precautionary principles" that the EU wants the WTO to address in the next trade round. The principles would allow countries to restrict imports, without scientific evidence, of goods they believe would damage the environment. (Japan Times, 14 Oct. 2001)

EU Commission moves to end ban on new GM crops: The European Commission has worked out a compromise to allow EU governments concerned about genetically modified (GM) crops to lift a ban on new varieties, according to documents obtained by Reuters yesterday...The Commission will meet food regulation experts from EU states next Tuesday to discuss the de-facto moratorium which has left GMOs, developed by life sciences giants such as Novartis and Monsanto, in regulatory limbo. (Robin Pomeroy, Reuters, 10 Oct. 2001) 

UNDP Pledges Assistance to Fight Environmental Degradation [Nigeria]:..."The active participation of the private sector in funding thematic issues of the [environmental] conventions has to be encouraged", he [UNDP Resident representative in Nigeria] advised...[T]he Executive Director of the Nigerian conservation foundation (NCF), Dr Muhtari Amini-Kano, bemoaned the continued erosion of the nation's forest resources despite all efforts being taken to guard against the practice. "A combination of factors have been identified for the loss of forest resources in Nigeria. Apart from logging and farming, other direct causes of deforestation in Nigerian have included fuel-wood gathering, livestock grazing, bush burning, conversion of natural forest to plantations of commercial grade trees, mining, oil exploitation and de-reservation of forest reserves by government for non-forest uses, including urbanisation and infrastructural development he observed. (Jude Njoku, Vanguard [Lagos], 9 Oct. 2001)

Europe threatened by massive increase in GMO foods: Commission proposes "voluntary agreements" with biotech industry - Friends of the Earth (FoE) has accused the European Commission of disregarding public health and environmental concerns by proposing to undermine future legislation on GMO foods and crops. The Commission is calling on EU Member States to trust "voluntary agreements" with the biotech companies and to break the current moratorium on GMOs. If agreed this would give the go-ahead for 13 new GMO crops and 11 new foods, none of which have been approved under future more rigorous legislation already agreed by the European Union. (Friends of the Earth, 5 Oct. 2001)

US Protocol aims to end child slavery in cocoa fields: On 1 October, the international cocoa and chocolate industry signed a Protocol in the United States to eliminate child slavery in the chocolate industry...Anti-Slavery welcomes the introduction of the Protocol as a positive move by the chocolate industry to take responsibility for labour practices throughout its supply chain. However, we are concerned that it might fail to address the situation of young adults (18 years and older) who may find themselves working under conditions of forced labour. It is vital that any investigation and subsequent strategy tackle all forms of forced labour and also address the conditions that foster trafficking in the region, principally poverty and lack of alternatives. (Anti-Slavery International, 4 Oct. 2001)

US work on jasmine rice causes worry [Thailand]: Chucheep says local market is still safe - A Thai biodiversity advocate has warned about possible economic loss to Thai farmers if a new variety of jasmine rice being developed in the US becomes successful and receives a patent. (Kultida Samabuddhi, Bangkok Post, 4 Oct. 2001)

CHILD SLAVERY: Chocolate Makers Announce Plan On Labor Practices - The international chocolate industry and members of the U.S. Congress have announced a four-year plan to eliminate child slave labor on cocoa farms in Africa and certify slavery-free cocoa (UN Wire, 3 Oct. 2001)

State to honor Lundberg Farms: The rice producer uses innovative ways to control pests - Lundberg Family Farms, one of California's largest rice producers, will be recognized this week by the state for its longstanding environmentally friendly farming practices, such as reduced use of chemical pesticides. (Paul Schnitt, Sacramento Bee [California], 2 Oct. 2001)

US to act on cocoa slavery: Chocolate manufacturers and US members of Congress have agreed a programme aimed at stopping the use of coerced child labour to grow cocoa. (BBC News, 2 Oct. 2001)

New Movement Among Farmers to Give up the Plow Takes Root Across Asia's Breadbasket: "Low-till" Agriculture Yields Range of Benefits from Saving Water And Increasing Harvests to Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Herbicide Use (Future Harvest, 2 Oct. 2001)

Agreement to end child labour on cocoa farms: The International Labour Organization (ILO) today welcomed the agreement between two members of the U.S. Congress and representatives of the world chocolate industry to eliminate child slavery on West African cocoa plantations and end the worst forms of child labour in the global cocoa-chocolate sector. (International Labour Organization, 1 Oct. 2001)

Chocolate industry to target child slavery on cocoa farms: The chocolate industry will announce today that it has accepted responsibility for labor practices on cocoa farms and will work with child labor specialists, lawmakers, growers, and unions to eliminate child slavery and other forms of exploitation. (Sumana Chatterjee, Knight Ridder, in Boston Globe, 1 Oct. 2001)

CHILD SLAVERY: Chocolate Industry Aims To Target Labor Practices - ...Experts say that such an announcement would mark the first time an agricultural industry has taken responsibility for its product from the time it is picked to the time it goes to market. (UN Wire, 1 Oct. 2001)

FAO: Conventional ploughing erodes the soil - Zero-tillage is an environmentally-friendly alternative (UN Food and Agriculture Organization, 1 Oct. 2001)

International Undertaking on Plant Genetic Resources: The Final Stretch - What is at stake under the "new" IU [International Undertaking on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture] has risen considerably. It's still about developing an international system - implying shared responsibilities - to conserve genetic diversity of food and fodder crops. But more critically, it's about whether or not these resources will be rescued from the deepening spiral of corporate - and state - monopolisation. If governments do not reach an agreement on the IU in November, we will be left with only one global legal instrument setting the rules over farmers' seeds and farmers' rights: the WTO TRIPS Agreement. (GRAIN, Oct. 2001)

Biodiversity Rights Legislation (BRL): Biodiversity Rights Legislation (BRL) is a collection of public legal documents -- laws, bills and other legislative proposals...BRL contains the full texts or the Internet addresses (URLs) of emerging laws and policies that affect peoples' control over agricultural biodiversity in developing countries. (GRAIN [Genetic Resources Action International], Oct. 2001)