Jul 23
In the past, when I asked my father whether he wanted to immigrate to another country, he refused without any hesitation. Now, he might hesitate due to a new concern – food. It’s not because he could not get enough to eat, but because there is very little food unpoisoned in China. Chinese people make …
May 07
In the context of our fragile economic recovery, the prices of food, oil and other commodities have risen again. In December of 2010, the FAO food price index reached its 2008 peak; sugar, oils and fats being among the agricultural products that most significantly increased. For instance, the price of rice rose by 127%: wheat …
Mar 16
En las últimas dos semanas las Naciones Unidas celebró la Comisión sobre la Condición de la Mujer (CSW por sus siglas en inglés). La CSW es un cuerpo de gobierno dedicado exclusivamente a los derechos de la mujer y la igualdad de género. Esta comisión se reúne anualmente durante 10 días hábiles. El principal resultado …
Mar 09
For the last two weeks the United Nations held the 56th Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). The CSW is the principal global policy-making body dedicated exclusively to women’s rights and gender equality. This commission meets annually for 10 working days. The principal outcomes of the commission are the agreed conclusion between member (45 …
Feb 03
La seguridad alimentaria es un tema que ha siempre interesado y preocupado a economistas, agrónomos y políticos. Desde 1800, algunos economistas predijeron la escasez alimentaria (la teoría de Malthus), que causaría hambrunas y muertes ya que la producción agrícola no sería suficiente. Aunque la teoría resultó ser equivocada, hoy en día es importante reconsiderar la …
Jan 27
Food security is a topic that economists, agronomists and politicians are always concerned about. Since the 1800’s, some economists predicted that we were going to face serious scarcities (Malthus’s theory) causing famines and deaths. Although the theory turned out to be wrong, nowadays it is still important to take seriously Malthus’s prediction since we can …
Nov 18
During recent years the Global South is experiencing a surge in foreign direct investments in agricultural land. Prompted in part by the food crisis, state and private investors are buying and leasing millions of hectares of farmland in Africa, Asia and Latin America. However, many large-scale land investments do not service the goal of ensuring …
Nov 15
Read this post in English ¿La nueva revolución verde sucederá en las ciudades? Existen dos principales razones para explicar el creciente interés en la agricultura urbana. Una de ellas es la creciente preocupación que muchos individuos sienten sobre los impactos en la salud y en el medio ambiente de la agricultura industrial. La agricultura urbana …
Nov 11
Is the next “green revolution” going to happen in cities? There are two main reasons that explain the increased interest in urban agriculture in the recent years. One of them is the increasing concerns about health and environmental impacts of large-scale industrial agriculture. On the other hand, urban agriculture is growing because it is becoming …
Sep 13
In Mexico, it is calculated that a little over 50% of the population is urban. Since the 1940’s, the urban population began to grow exponentially because of the lack of economic support for the rural population. In the last 50 years there have been important political and economic decisions that have given people large incentives …
