Learn More
Casino of Hunger: How Wall Street Speculators Fueled the Global Food Crisis
2009-11-18
During 2008, rising food prices — accelerated by an unprecedented run-up of prices on the commodities futures markets — created a food crisis that increased global hunger, sparked civil unrest and hurt farmers in America and worldwide. The global food crisis is an overlooked symptom of the broader global economic crisis. The food crisis shares many characteristics of the financial meltdown — it was exacerbated by the deregulation of the commodity markets (including agriculture) that encouraged a tidal wave of Wall Street speculation — leading to further increases in already rising food and energy prices.
rBGH: How Artificial Hormones Damage the Dairy Industry and Endanger Public Health
2009-07-10
Recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH), also called recombinant bovine somatotropin (rBST), is a drug that is injected into cows to increase their milk production. Developed by the agricultural company Monsanto and approved for commercial use in the United States by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1993, by 2000 it had become the largest selling pharmaceutical product in the history of the dairy industry. RBGH has never been approved for commercial use in Canada or the European Union due to concerns about the drug’s impact on animal health. The artificial hormone’s known side effects include increased udder infections and reproductive problems in cows. Notably, a growing body of scientific research also suggests a link between drinking rBGH-treated milk and certain types of cancer in humans.
Where's the Local Beef?
2009-06-24
Local beef. Sustainable sausage. They’re what a growing number of people want for dinner. Across the country, demand is increasing for meat from cattle, sheep and other animals raised on the pastures of local and regional farms and ranches. But satisfying this burgeoning demand is no easy task. Decades of agribusiness and economic trends tilted toward centralizing animal agriculture in industrial factory settings have hollowed out the infrastructure needed to produce and market meat close to population centers. The long, slow demise of local small slaughter and processing operations is now preventing farmers and ranchers from fully satisfying rising consumer demand for meat from sustainably raised livestock.
The Poisoned Fruit of American Trade Policy
2008-12-11
Food & Water Watch Report - Poison Fruit of American Trade Policy – Americans are consuming more imported fresh fruits and vegetables, frozen and canned produce, and fruit juice than ever before. An examination of U.S. consumption of produce that is commonly eaten as well as grown in America found that over the past 15 years Americans’ consumption of imported fresh fruits and vegetables doubled, but border inspection has not kept pace with rising imports, and less than one percent of the imported produce is inspected by the federal government. Food & Water Watch studied fifty common fruit and vegetable products like fresh apples, frozen broccoli, fresh tomatoes, orange juice and frozen potatoes.
What’s Behind the Global Food Crisis?
2008-07-24
The 2008 global food crisis is compromising the survival of 860 million undernourished people and threatens to push a hundred million people into extreme poverty, erasing all of the gains made in eradicating poverty in the last decade. Record high prices have put food out of reach for the poorest people in the developing world, many of whom already spend more than half their income on food. Growing food insecurity is undermining tenuous civil stability in at least 33 countries, about one sixth of United Nations member countries.
Book Signing Event: Groundbreaking Food Irradiation Book
2008-05-28
Author Wenonah Hauter, of the new book Zapped! Irradiation and the Death of Food, will be reading from and signing her book at Busboys & Poets in Washington, DC.
Import Alert
2007-05-31
The Food and Drug Administration oversees the safety of seafood imports. However, inadequate funding and a mediocre inspection program contributed to the federal government agency physically inspecting less than two percent of the 860,000 imported seafood shipments in 2006. Only 0.59 percent of shipments were tested for contaminants in a laboratory. "Import Alert: Government Fails Consumers, Falls Short on Seafood Inspection", looks at data from FDA import refusals of seafood shipments at the border and identifies trends in the data from 2003 to 2006 and highlights issues related to imports of shrimp, the most popular seafood among U.S. consumers.
What's Cooking?
2006-07-26
Trade representatives at the World Trade Organization are demonstrating once again that they value the ease at which exporters make profits over the public good. The government has a responsibility to protect our food supply, not to sell off consumer health in the name of “free trade.”
Tabled Labels: Consumers Eat Blind
2006-04-14
This report reveals how the agribusiness lobby influences Congress to squash mandatory country-of-origin-labeling (COOL).
Dirty Deal
2006-03-28
This report shows how free trade, the U.S. and transnational corporations caused Mexico's agriculture crisis.
Bad Taste
2002-10-05
The disturbing truth about the World Health Organization's endorsement of food irradiation. Food & Water Watch is reproducing this report with Public Citizen’s permission.
Fact Sheets
Reports
- Casino of Hunger: How Wall Street Speculators Fueled the Global Food Crisis — During 2008, rising food prices — accelerated by ...
- rBGH: How Artificial Hormones Damage the Dairy Industry and Endanger Public Health — Recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH), also cal ...
- Where's the Local Beef? — Local beef. Sustainable sausage. They’re what a ...
- The Poisoned Fruit of American Trade Policy — Food & Water Watch Report - Poison Fruit of Ameri ...
- What’s Behind the Global Food Crisis? — The 2008 global food crisis is compromising the su ...