Governance, policy, and power | TableDebates

Image: Protester’s surrounding a pole holding Indian flags. Photo by Shakeb Tawheed via Pexels

News and resources

India farmers to continue protest march on New Delhi

Several recent news articles have detailed the resurgence of farmer protests in India - farmers are demanding guaranteed crop prices from the government. Al Jazeera has covered the demands of the protest movement previously. It has also covered the recent failed negotiations the movement has had with the Indian government. The protesters are now marching towards New Delhi to secure crop price guarantees to protect livelihoods but face blockades and tear gas from authorities

Image of someone holding a Palestinian flag in a burning field. Photo by hosnysalah via Pixabay

News and resources

Environmental and food systems impacts of war in Gaza

Several media outlets have reported on the substantial environmental impacts caused by the on-going conflict in Gaza including water and soil contamination, the health issues associated with sewage management problems and the greenhouse gas emissions associated with Israel’s military action in Gaza. These environmental impacts have implications for the short-term food production potential in the region and for the long term food security of Palestinians in Gaza.

Image of corporate logos from various food companies.

News and resources

Prisoner's labour in the US linked to hundreds of popular food brands

The Associated Press has recently reported on links between US prison force labour and major food brands such as Coca-Cola and Frosted Flakes, which are on the shelves of retailers such as Aldi, Target, and Whole Foods. The AP cites that Cargill, Bunge, Louis Dreyfus, Archer Daniels Midland and Consolidated Grain have all purchased millions of dollars worth of soy, corn, and wheat harvested by prisoners. This also directly competes with sales for local farmers.

Image of cows in a tree lined field. Photo by Paul Keiffer via Unsplash

News and resources

Agricultural Transition Plan update: agroforestry

8.9ha has reported that Defra has recently provided an update on the post-Brexit agricultural transition plan, including 50 new actions in the Environmental Land Management (ELM) scheme and an update on how farm tenants are considered in ELM.

Front cover of book titled Brexit and Agriculture

Brexit and Agriculture

This book, written by Ludivine Petetin and Mary Dobbs, dives into free trade agreements for standards across the UK’s four nations and levies a critique of the policy efforts post-Brexit as the nations transition away from the Common Agricultural Policy. It is relevant to agri-food stakeholders and policymakers in various sectors both within the UK and abroad.

Image of a farmer carrying two baskets surrounded by the Food Systems Economic Commission symbol.

The Economics of the Food System Transformation

The Food System Economics Commission, an independent economic commission comprising experts on climate change, health, nutrition, agriculture and natural resources, has released a global policy report which maps the impacts of two possible futures for the global food system.

A recovered family farm in Thailand

Power, policy and people’s rights: an interview with Shalmali Guttal

The following interview was originally recorded in October 2021 between podcast co-host Samara Brock and the Executive Director of Focus on the Global South, Shalmali Guttal. It has been edited for clarity and length.Focus on the Global South (Focus) is an Asian activist, policy research think tank that works with social movements, civil societies, government officials and the public on various aspects of globalization, economic financial policies, and environmental ecological issues. Focus brings diverse actors together to share and deepen the analysis of emerging power patterns and power relations, and to build broad collective mobilizations for global change. It produces analyses that illuminate relations of power, how they create and perpetuate inequality, exclusion, environmental destruction, and entrench marginalization at national, regional and international levels. It also aims to generate high quality, credible and accessible materials that contextualize, inform and support people’s struggles.

Image of the front cover of book title Food Insecurity by William D. Schanbacher and Whitney Fung Uy

Food Insecurity: A reference handbook

Millions of Americans are at risk of food insecurity despite decades of on-going efforts to combat the issue. This book, designed as a reference handbook, delves into the historical drivers of food insecurity and presents a diverse range of voices from those who are tackling this persistent crisis.

Front cover of report titled: Certified Exploitation: How Equitable Food Initiative and Fair Trade USA fail to protect farmworkers in the Mexican Produce industry. Image contains a man in a red hoodie standing in a strawberry field.

Certified Exploitation: how equitable food initiative and fair trade USA fail to protect farmworkers in the Mexican produce industry

This report from the Corporate Accountability Lab explores how American fair trade organisations protect the image of corporations more than the rights of their workers by analysing case studies on horticultural farms in Mexico.