The restriction of long-distance organic trade would damage African farmers while having minimal effects on the environment, argue Stephen Browne & Alexander Kasterine.

A rising concern with personal and environmental health in the world’s richer countries is influencing lifestyles and public debate alike. One significant trend is the increase in the consumption of organically grown produce - a significant proportion of which is imported. International trade in organic food and beverages currently has a value of more than £15 billion ($30 billion) per year; the United States, Britain and Germany account for two-thirds of imports.

The effect of this trade on developing countries is considerable. As tastes have become more exotic and consumers have increasingly sought out year-round availability of food (particularly fruit and vegetables), exports from the global south have grown appreciably. The British market, where the proportion of organic imports is the highest in Europe for certain items, sources a significant portion of its fresh organic produce from Africa; 70% of the green beans grown in Kenya, for example, was sent to Britain in 2007. More than a million African farmers are estimated to benefit from this trade, and many livelihoods depend on its continuation.

The advantages of this trading cycle are evident. But - like many other promising developing-country export opportunities - “organics” are under threat. This time, however, the obstacle is not just events such as Kenya’s post-election turmoil, but arguments by people who in many cases are motivated by the same environmental considerations that lead them to prefer organics in the first place.

Read more at OpenDemocracy.org…

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Developing Countries, Earth & Environment, Sustainable Development

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The restriction of long-distance organic trade would damage African farmers while having minimal effects on the environment, argue Stephen Browne & Alexander Kasterine. 

A rising concern with personal and environmental health in the world’s richer countries is influencing lifestyles and public debate alike. One significant trend is the increase in the consumption of organically grown produce - a significant proportion of which is imported. International trade in organic food and beverages currently has a value of more than £15 billion ($30 billion) per year; the United States, Britain and Germany account for two-thirds of imports.The effect of this trade on developing countries is considerable. As tastes have become more exotic and consumers have increasingly sought out year-round availability of food (particularly fruit and vegetables), exports from the global south have grown appreciably. The British market, where the proportion of organic imports is the highest in Europe for certain items, sources a significant portion of its fresh organic produce from Africa; 70% of the green beans grown in Kenya, for example, was sent to Britain in 2007. More than a million African farmers are estimated to benefit from this trade, and many livelihoods depend on its continuation.The advantages of this trading cycle are evident. But - like many other promising developing-country export opportunities - “organics” are under threat. This time, however, the obstacle is not just events such as Kenya’s post-election turmoil, but arguments by people who in many cases are motivated by the same environmental considerations that lead them to prefer organics in the first place.Read more at OpenDemocracy.org…

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Developing Countries, Earth & Environment, Sustainable Development

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In september last year, the journal Ecological Economics published a paper on “Measuring sustainable development — Nation by nation.” The researchers came up with a way to normalize and measure the progress of sustainable development, no matter where it was taking place:

[W]e use the UN Human Development Index (HDI) as an indicator of development and the Ecological Footprint as an indicator of human demand on the biosphere. We argue that an HDI of no less than 0.8 and a per capita Ecological Footprint less than the globally available biocapacity per person represent minimum requirements for sustainable development that is globally replicable.

The potential of a standard global measure of the success of sustainable development is an intriguing proposition, especially if and as more nations get serious about cutting the impacts of development on biodiversity and the climate; it has the potential to render transparent a lot of complex development schemes, and to bring hard and fast meaning to squishy terminology like, well, “sustainable development.”Read more at Worldchanging….

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Earth & Environment, Sustainable Development

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Normally, I’m not very much in favor of contributing to an already over-dosed blogosphere of the US presidential campaign, but I can’t spare you this item. It’s a well-written essay by Andrew Sullivan about what Barack Obama could be the just the essential man for: first and foremost, bridging the widening gap of the cultural war in the US.  But ‘If you wanted the crudest but most effective weapon against the demonization of America that fuels Islamist ideology, Obama’s face gets close. It proves them wrong about what America is in ways no words can.’

Here it is:

The logic behind the candidacy of Barack Obama is not, in the end, about Barack Obama. It has little to do with his policy proposals, which are very close to his Democratic rivals’ and which, with a few exceptions, exist firmly within the conventions of our politics. It has little to do with Obama’s considerable skills as a conciliator, legislator, or even thinker. It has even less to do with his ideological pedigree or legal background or rhetorical skills. Yes, as the many profiles prove, he has considerable intelligence and not a little guile. But so do others, not least his formidably polished and practiced opponent Senator Hillary Clinton.

Read more at The Atlantic…

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Actuality, Politics & International Relations

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These days I’m playing around with some different new themes to clean up my cluttered blog. The current one - Sandpress - is just a step on the way to go. I love the cleanliness and the simplicity. Thanks to Arpit Jacob (Clazh.com) . It will take some days before all is up and running again, customized and before links are fixed.If you are interested in joining me writing blog entries about globalization, politics, development, environment, conflicts or the like - you’re welcome! Just sign up, create a profile or send me an e-mail.  

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Actuality

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