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Barclays wins ‘shame award’ for food price speculation

27 January, 2012 | No comments

Barclays Bank has today won a Public Eye ‘shame award’, for speculating on food prices. Barclays’ activity is fuelling hunger and poverty worldwide, says the World Development Movement, which nominated the bank.

The award was presented today in Davos, Switzerland, to coincide with the World Economic Forum.

Barclays is estimated to make up to £340 million a year from speculating in food ‘futures’ markets, making it the biggest UK player in the markets. Massive influxes of speculative money in food markets have been driving sharp price spikes, sending the cost of food soaring beyond the reach of the world’s poorest people. Continue reading “Barclays wins ‘shame award’ for food price speculation” »

Barclays Leads Field for Shame Award

5 January, 2012 | No comments

The anti-poverty campaign group, the World Development Movement, has nominated Barclays Bank for the 2012 Public Eye ’shame award’. The nomination is for the bank’s financial speculation on food prices which, says the WDM, increases global hunger and poverty. The bank has been shortlisted and is currently leading the field of six in the online poll with 618 votes against nearest rival Samsung’s 518. Other nominees are: Syngenta, Tepco, Vale and Freeport.

Continue reading “Barclays Leads Field for Shame Award” »

Direct link between food security and better jobs, says ILO

1 November, 2011 | No comments

A new report from UN agency, the International Labour Organization (ILO), provides evidence that higher food prices and increased food insecurity don’t just mean greater poverty but have a negative effect on employment levels.

The World of Work Report 2011, Making markets work for jobs (download here),  argues that investing in food security is one important approach to job creation. While the report’s focus is on the developing world, its conclusions can be generalised to poorer communities within developed countries. The UK is a  particularly interesting case, because its policy of pursuing food security by investing in developing world production appears to have had a negative effect on poor communities among consumers at home and within the  producer countries overseas. Continue reading “Direct link between food security and better jobs, says ILO” »

GM Food Fails to Fulfil Promise

20 October, 2011 | No comments

The GM food debate continues with claims from developing world food groups that the use of genetic modification has, in practice, not lived up to its promise. An article by John Vidal in the Guardian (20 October 2011, reproduced below) claims that GM has increased food insecurity – it has encouraged the development of superweeds, stimulated the use of artificial pesticides and allowed growers to invest in cultivating crops for use in fuel manufacture at the expense of food production.

Continue reading “GM Food Fails to Fulfil Promise” »

450 economists call on G20 to stop food speculation

11 October, 2011 | No comments

Deborah Doane of the World Development Movement

Deborah Doane of the World Development Movement

More than 450 economists from over 40 countries have called on the G20 finance ministers, who are meeting in Paris this week, to take urgent action to stop financial speculation in commodity markets driving up food prices and fuelling hunger.

“Excessive financial speculation is contributing to increasing volatility and record food prices, exacerbating global hunger and poverty,” say the economists in a letter to the finance ministers. “With around 1 billion people enduring chronic hunger worldwide, action is urgently needed to curb excessive speculation and its effects on global food prices.” Continue reading “450 economists call on G20 to stop food speculation” »

Anti-poverty group attacks ‘broken’ markets

13 September, 2011 | No comments

A new report from anti-poverty lobbying group, the World Development Movement (WDM), claims that speculation by finance organisations is driving up food prices. According to inflation figures from the Office for National Statistics, UK consumers are now paying over seven per cent more for bread than a year ago. Overall food prices have risen by more than six per cent – well ahead of inflation at 4.5 per cent.

The report shows how speculation on basic foods is driving spiralling prices around the world. These reached record levels earlier this year. The UK government now risks condemning millions of the world’s poorest people to hunger, according to the WDM, by failing to back European regulation to curb excessive speculation. Continue reading “Anti-poverty group attacks ‘broken’ markets” »

Doing Urban Agriculture

23 June, 2011 | No comments

Doing Urban Agriculture is a set of training modules produced by Urbanag to provide a comprehensive, basic introduction to urban agriculture for beginners.

The modules consist of an introduction, ‘Land on Your Doorstep – Space in the Urban Environment’, ‘Food Plant Production’, ‘Markets and Outlets’, ‘Project Management’ and ‘Processing Food’. The modules are self-contained but each one leads into the next. They are designed for use by groups seeking to learn about community-based urban agriculture and acquire a good understanding of how to go about starting and running a scheme.

The modules provide the materials for seven training sessions and should be used in conjunction with practical exercises designed to get groups started on their projects.

Like our other training package, Accessing local land assets, the modules are free to use. The package  is supported by the Big Lottery and is now available on the Doing Urban Agriculture website, specifically developed for the Big Lottery funded project which allowed us to create the package . It can also be obtained by emailing us at sprouts@urbanag.org.uk or use the Contact page on this site. Make sure you specify which package you’re interested in.

We have been trialling these materials with different groups and can offer to run them for your group or community.  Again, please email us for further details: sprouts@urbanag.org.uk

Go to Doing Urban Agriculture website

Accessing local land assets

31 May, 2011

Training materials - Accessing local land assets

Training materials - Accessing local land assets

We have completed a training manual called “Accessing local land assets” dealing specifically with how local groups access land, assuming they are not in a position simply to buy what they need.

The manual is intended for community groups with limited budgets, and provides the basis for a one-day course which – we believe – will help groups interested in developing an urban agriculture project access unused, vacant or under-utilised land for crop cultivation or stock rearing.

The manual  is supported by the  Community Foundation for Merseyside and is now available. It can also be obtained by emailing us at sprouts@urbanag.org.uk or use the Contact page on this site.

We are trialling these materials and can offer to run them for your group or community.  Again, please email us for further details: sprouts@urbanag.org.uk

Food crisis coming, warns Oxfam

31 May, 2011 | No comments

Dame Barbara Stocking of Oxfam

Dame Barbara Stocking of Oxfam

A new report from the international development charity, Oxfam, predicts that the average price of staple foods such as grain and rice will more than double in the next 20 years. The report, to be published on June 1, 2011, says that the world’s poor – some of whom spend up to four fifths of their income on food – will be hardest hit by the increased price of food. Continue reading “Food crisis coming, warns Oxfam” »

Drought hits agriculture in Europe

17 May, 2011 | No comments

Farming Online (www.farming.co.uk) reports that European food stocks are threatened by the abnormally high temperatures this spring and the accompanying drought.

“For much of the UK April was the hottest and driest since records began”, says an article in the May 4 newsletter. “Just 2.3mm of rain fell on central southern England, 4% of the 52.6mm average for the month. Furthermore this follows the driest March on record ever recorded.

“In France, the North in particular, April 2011 was the second warmest (after 2007) since 1900, with a temperature 4°C above average. Seasonal forecasts by Meteo France have shown that average temperatures could remain above average for the coming few months. Continue reading “Drought hits agriculture in Europe” »

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