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agriculture | farmers | food

US ambassador defends farming record on chicken and beef
7-Mar-2019 BBC
The UK should accept American meat as part of a post-Brexit trade deal, says US ambassador to the UK .
It’s more than a free trade agreement. But what exactly have Australia and Indonesia signed?
6-Mar-2019 The Conversation
Indonesia – Australia CEPA signed without prior released text to assess its costs and benefits.
RCEP talks: Farmers, civil society bodies warn against obligations on patenting seeds, plant varieties
4-Mar-2019 The Hindu Business Line
Farmer and CSOs stressing that India should not agree to obligations with respect to IP on seed and planting materials at the RCEP negotiations as it hurt the livelihood of poor farmers.
Philippine civil society letter on RCEP & plant variety protection
27-Feb-2019
The undersigned signatories are writing to strongly stress that the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership negotiations must not place any obligation on the Philippines or any other developing country to join or implement UPOV systems
Malaysian civil society & farmer groups’ memorandum on RCEP & plant variety protection
27-Feb-2019
RCEP negotiations must not include obligation to join or implement UPOV systems and in anyway undermine farmers’ rights
Sign-on letter from India against IPR on seed
25-Feb-2019 Forum against FTAs
A mega free trade agreement, like RCEP that undermines farmers’ seed freedoms in a mega diverse country, with seed diversity and farmers’ knowledge is unacceptable, say over 50 groups and citizens
Winners and losers
23-Feb-2019 New Internationalist
How the Global South is affected by the current trade turmoil – and old patterns of power.
Agribusiness’s secretive plans to unravel food safety and worker protections
20-Feb-2019 IATP
Little-known council linked to NAFTA subverts public safety to free trade.
Names of wines, cheeses hold back Australia-EU free trade deal
14-Feb-2019 Xinhua
Progress on a free trade agreement between Australia and the European Union has been interrupted by the names of cheeses and wines.
Free Trade Agreement top of mind in EU meeting
14-Feb-2019 Scoop
A New Zealand-European Union Free Trade Agreement was top of mind in discussions between Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor and the EU’s Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development Phil Hogan.
Corporate sector in China’s Belt & Road: Impact on people’s access to land and water
12-Feb-2019 People’s Coalition on Food Sovereignty
China has been receiving flak for its conditional investments and loans that are resulting in land and resource grabbing in Asia and Africa.
Trumped-up: EU-US trade deal spells climate disaster
5-Feb-2019 EU Observer
The EU now imports 112 percent more US soy than a year ago, flooding the market to feed EU factory farms. Bad news for animal welfare, bad news for the environment.
US soy for producing biofuels, an ‘unsustainable’ giveaway to Trump
30-Jan-2019 Euractiv
The European Commission is set to authorise imports of soybeans from the US to produce biofuels. Soy has a comparably bad environmental impact as palm oil, say experts.
Jacinda Ardern hopeful of FTA with the EU by the end of the year
28-Jan-2019 NZ Herald
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says a completed free trade deal with the EU by the end of 2019 is realistic, but New Zealand will still push hard for open access for agricultural products to the EU market.
Democracy instead of corporate power. Food sovereignty instead of free trade
28-Jan-2019 Via Campesina
Representatives from 17 farmer organizations from 7 European countries gathered here to denounce the EU’s current trade agenda.
Eating NAFTA: Trade, food policies, and the destruction of Mexico
24-Jan-2019 Real Food Media
In her new book, Alyshia Gálvez exposes how changes in policy following implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) have fundamentally altered one of the most basic elements of life in Mexico—food.
India must keep agriculture out of RCEP
24-Jan-2019 The Tribune
India’s foray into the RCEP treaty is being seen as a risky adventure. More so at a time when agriculture is passing through a terrible agrarian crisis and manufacturing sector continues to limp
US agribusiness lobby calls on Trump to target UK food and environment rules in Brexit trade deal
22-Jan-2019 Unearthed
American negotiators urged to push the UK into scrapping regulations on pesticides, genetically-modified crops, and the production of chicken and meat products
Bold farm plans in Mexico offer a ray of hope in 2019
17-Jan-2019 IATP
Mexican farmers are on the verge of bold, new plans to completely transform their food and farm system. Will NAFTA 2.0 challenge them?
EU parliament backs Morocco deal despite row
16-Jan-2019 EU Observer
Efforts to debate the agreement at the plenary were blocked amid political infighting on whether to support the agricultural pact, which seeks to extend into the disputed territory of the Western Sahara.