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Open Think Tank Articles

March 30, 2009 | Global Development Still on Top of Transatlantic Agenda

Marie Grunert: The US and the EU have strengthened their commitment towards global development. Instead of a pretext to concentrate solely on the domestic scene and resort to protectionism, the economic crisis ought to be used as an opportunity to re-define the development strategies in light of the new challenges.

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November 12, 2008 | Famine Greater Threat than Insurgents

Royal United Services Institute (RUSI): Bringing food to millions of Afghans can have both strategic and humanitarian results. An operation styled on the Berlin Airlift could also bring new actors to Afghanistan. Likewise, it might be a necessity for keeping the Afghan government afloat, since access to food during famine can determine political allegiances.

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May 26, 2008 | Biofuel for Thought

J. F. Laurson & G. A. Pieler: Biofuels may be one of the dumber of the grand, well intentioned ideas of this decade. Yet they are here to stay, not just because of the farm communities in Brazil, Europe, and the US, but because of the Zeitgeist that says source-diversification is the Holy Grail of energy policy.

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Global Must Read Articles

July 21, 2011 | Amid Famine, Somalia Requires Immediate Help

More than 10 million people in the Horn of Africa are “in urgent need of food, water and emergency health care” as the UN declared a famine in southern Somalia. ++ Previous warnings by the UN about a drought and impending food crisis in the region have gone mostly unheeded. Britain has pledged $84 million to support drought victims, but other Europeans, such as Italy which mustered

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January 9, 2009 | Food Crisis Disappears, but Only From Newspapers

A key topic a few months ago, the food crisis has now disappeared from the headlines. ++ Unfortunately this does not mean that the situation has improved; on the contrary, the financial crisis is likely to bring a series of negative repercussions. ++ It will hinder governments of developing countries from increasing needed investment in agriculture, which is likely to intensify the emergency.

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August 6, 2008 | Protectionism Can Lead to Global Food Crisis

Food security is increasingly an issue in many parts of the developing world. ++ In countries that are net importers of food, e.g. Egypt or the Philippines, soaring prices lead to economic and political crises. ++ To help solve the problem the EU should increase its output: abandon restraints on production, review plans to switch land from food to biofuels, and increase expenditure on food

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July 4, 2008 | Global Challenges Require Urgent Actions

Climate change and economic “stagflation” threaten the very future of our planet. ++ The only way to solve these challenges is to act globally. ++ Essentially, to resolve the food crisis, export restrictions need to be lifted and a second “green revolution,” - what once transformed Southeast Asia - needs to take place. ++ Climate change can be stopped if new limits are set

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June 18, 2008 | Are Second Generation Biofuels a Curse or a Blessing?

In the debate regarding climate change and the shortage of fossil fuels, biofuels were for a long time considered to be the ideal solution. However recently, they have increasingly come under fire. Critics denounce the fact that through production of ethanol and biodiesel, the foodstuffs which are urgently needed in poor countries end up in the gas tanks of Western cars. In addition, the

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June 18, 2008 | Climate Change Brings Forth a Century of Violence

Until now, no one really seems to realise what kind of threat climate change represents for human beings living together on Earth. In his book “Climate Wars”, the social psychologist Harald Welzer therefore warns us against only perceiving climate change as a natural catastrophe and not as a collapse of the social order. In this sense, the social consequences of this development, rather than the

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June 10, 2008 | Domestic Politics Should Not Trump Hunger

The decrease of large scale commercial agriculture in Africa and the loss of productivity in Asia are partly responsible for the critical need for worldwide food assistance. ++ A solution to the crisis requires both huge investments and the West’s acknowledgement of the role of biofuels and the disrupting nature of agricultural subsidies. ++ The established link between hunger

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June 4, 2008 | Urgency and Potential of the Global Food Crisis

Providing food to starving populations - currently under discussion at the summit on the global food crisis in Rome - is less of a challenge than the problem of raising the world’s agricultural productivity in the long term. ++ Industrialized countries need to increase investment in untapped and unproductive agricultural parts of Africa. ++ If this next green revolution occurs in a “greener” and

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May 30, 2008 | A 10-Point Plan for Tackling the Food Crisis

The global food crisis is not a natural catastrophe, but a man-made one. ++ The nexus between high energy and food prices is unlikely to be broken, and will be exacerbated by climate change. ++ To ensure that the poor do not suffer, a 10-point plan is needed. ++ For instance, we must fully fund the World Food Program, boost agricultural supply, increase research spending, develop instruments for

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May 20, 2008 | Food Prices Will Continue to Rise in Asia

Due to unilateral export restrictions imposed by grain producing countries, the Japanese government recently raised the price of imported wheat it sells to flour-milling companies by 30%. ++ The surge is expected to be passed on to the consumer soon. ++ Grain producers should provide a stable supply, if they want access to farm markets in other nations, and Japan should play a leading role in

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May 8, 2008 | "Mass Starvation is Completely Avoidable"

Even without the food crisis, hundreds of millions do not have enough food. ++ We should demonstrate utmost concern and use this crisis as an opportunity to bring long overdue reforms and help vulnerable populations overcome long-existing food shortages. ++ Guaranteeing global food security requires solving structural problems, ending unfair trade practices, and tackling climate change

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May 6, 2008 | "Solving Asia's Food Crisis"

The rise in food prices threatens the success of poverty reduction in Asia. ++ Rather than subsidies, price control, and export caps, governments should focus on targeted income and cash support measures as short-term remedies. ++ This will give better coverage to those in need, and allow governments greater flexibility in boosting agricultural investment, creating incentives for increased

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April 30, 2008 | Resentment Could Fester Deadly Anger

Climate change, resource shortages, and crippling, high food prices caused by the increased consumption of advanced and developing economies has unleashed a tide of resentment in poorer regions. ++ If Western culture and influence gets the blame for the health and capacity failures of the Third World, we could witness the rise of a “deadly anger now associated with Islamic

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April 24, 2008 | The Food Crisis is a Problem of Productivity

It is important that high crop prices are not equated with world hunger since the well fed rather than the truly hungry are dependent on international food markets. ++ In South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, where hunger is the worst, the problem is not high food prices but low farming productivity. ++ The long-term focus should be on improving agricultural productivity in Africa rather than food

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April 23, 2008 | The Failure of Food-to-Fuel Mandates

The production of foodstuffs for biofuels was intended to reduce US energy dependency, mitigate climate change, and encourage crop-price stability. ++ Since they have proven highly inefficient, detrimental to the environment, and largely responsible for the global surge in food prices, the mandates need revisiting. ++ The US should now end the biofuel experiment and provide populations in need

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April 23, 2008 | Curbing Capitalism Could Contain the Food Crisis

Capitalism and luxury consumption are responsible for the world’s environmental problems, and the emphasis on biofuels has created the global food crisis. ++ The solution is to change economic models, give up excess consumption, and put people before money. ++ Bolivia’s export restrictions will guarantee Bolivians food. ++ US-Bolivian relations need to be based on respect and cooperation should

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April 21, 2008 | "International Rice Market Has Become a War Zone"

Cereal stocks have not been this low since 1980, but the food crisis can be explained by human greed. ++ To avoid mass hunger, climate change and trade protectionism must be addressed. ++ If international cooperation is brokered by the UN and World Bank, export embargoes on rice are removed, China lessens its demand for pork, and the US’s bioenergy policies are amended, then this crisis may be

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April 17, 2008 | Protectionism Could Be the Cause of Food Crisis

Restrictions on food exports worldwide are causing destabilizing
shortages in some of the world’s most populace nations. ++ Suggestions for increased productivity include: liberalization of agricultural trade; a boost in production by liberalizing domestic markets; and a reexamination of policies to limit population growth. ++ As resource strains increase, fixing policies should be the

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April 10, 2008 | Global Food Crisis - Security and Environmental Issues

Hunger Riots like in Egypt have potential to destabilize weak governments. Prices of all staple food have risen 80% in three years, and 33 countries are facing unrest because of the price rises. ++ The US, Europe, Japan and other rich countries will need to provide funds. ++ To prevent worsening of climate change agriculture industry needs to double its food production, using less water than

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March 10, 2008 | The Perverse Effects of Biofuels

Despite progress on climate change, there is an imminent threat on food security. ++ Decreased rainfalls and the rush to grow biofuels in an unsustainable manner is causing food prices to soar and putting the world at risk of a food crisis. ++ Expected growth of the population and increasing wealth in developing nations will exacerbate the problem by exerting added pressure on food and energy

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December 5, 2009 | Farming Projects for One United Korea There...

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