November 5th, 2013
Via Monthly Review, an interesting article on the global farms race: Land grabs—whether initiated by multinational corporations and private investment firms emanating from the capitalist core, sovereign wealth funds in the Middle East, or state entities such as China and India—are now in the news constantly.1 For example, in July 2013 the Colombian ambassador to […]
Read more »Greenland’s Rare Earths Gold Rush
October 29th, 2013
Via Foreign Affairs, commentary on the Sunset in Nuuk. Benedikte Vahl, a retired schoolteacher, has just one hope for Narsaq, her hometown of colorful wooden houses on a fjord in southern Greenland: that a mine will open soon in nearby Kuannersuit, bringing badly needed jobsand investment. Times are so tough that, over the past five […]
Read more »October 29th, 2013
Via The Australian, an interesting look at Chinese investment in Australian farmland: CHINESE investors may own less than 1 per cent of Australian farmland, but the true level is not known because it is hidden behind a corporate veil, according to a new report that offers support to the establishment of a formal register of […]
Read more »Legal Implications Of The Global Land Grab
October 23rd, 2013
Via the International Bar Association, an interesting look at legal implications behind the rising demand for agricultural commodities has led to a ‘land grab’ in some of the world’s poorest countries: In 2008 riots erupted in cities across the developing world. Throughout 2007 and 2008 food prices had rocketed, bringing millions of people into hunger. […]
Read more »September 25th, 2013
Courtesy of National Geographic, a brief report on China’s hunger for foreign agricultural land: Farmland in Crimea, Ukraine, a portion of the 11,500 square miles recently bought by the Chinese government. China eats about 20 percent of the world’s food, reasonably expected for its 1.3 billion people. But the country only has nine percent of […]
Read more »China Reportedly Just Bought 5% Of Ukraine
September 24th, 2013
Via Quartz, a report on a large scale acquisition in Ukraine: China likes the look of this red star. Ukraine’s KSG Agro released a statement today, Sept. 24, denying reports that it had reached an agreement to sell 3 million hectares to a Chinese firm. Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post had reported a deal between KSG Agro […]
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