As food and toy safety concerns sizzle in the media, Ethical Corp published a readable article on the recent history of demand and supply of pork in China. It is useful because it illustrates how markets work in China. And it’s amusing. Here’s an extract: Pig farmers responded the same way all Chinese producers of …
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Humanity’s demands on nature, in pictures
These super pictures illustrate the density of primary production across planet earth and the demands by humans, relative to that local production capacity. The massive productivity of the Amazon basin and similar sub-tropical environments stand out. And it is interesting to see the greatest relative demands being made in the Middle East, India and China. …
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Research compares US and UK organic market drivers
New research into the US organic sector by the Hartman Group reveals intriguing differences between the American and UK markets. In numbers, the US sector has grown slower, about 1/3 as quickly as the UK: the US organic market grew by just over 30% between 2002-2005, whereas the UK achieved 33% growth in 2006 alone. …
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New data underpins need for pragmatic precaution on nuclear
As the 50th anniversary of the Windscale nuclear disaster occurs (the worst in the world at that time) new research published in the journal Atmospheric Environment shows the incident generated twice as much radioactive material and could have caused more cancers than was previously thought. Although the scale of that disaster was modest by modern …
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US September employment numbers look good, but aren’t really
The US Labor Department said the US economy added 110,000 new jobs in September, higher than the 100,000 figure predicted by economists. Also, rather than shedding 4,000 jobs in August as initially estimated, 89,000 new jobs were actually created. The government also revised upwards non-farm payroll figures for July, saying 93,000 jobs were created as …
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US EPA intent on poisoning Americans
While the USDA fails to enforce organic standards, the EPA has decided to liberate a vile toxin on the American countryside. The EPA approved a new chemical fumigant, methyl iodide, for use on food crops across the US. The pesticide vaporises quickly, allowing it to drift far distances. Although the state of California has categorized …
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Koreas may be coming closer
North and South Korea agreed in early October to press their superpower allies for a peace treaty to end the world’s oldest and bloodiest cold war conflict, as the leaders of the divided peninsula ended their second summit in more than 50 years. Kim Jong-il and Roh Moo-hyun, said they would urge China and the …
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US administration torture policy uncovered
In 2005, after the US Justice department declared torture abhorrent in December 2004, the Bush/Cheney administration obtained from the Attorney General an expansive endorsement of the harshest interrogation techniques ever used by the Central Intelligence Agency. That secret opinion provides explicit authorisation to barrage terror suspects with a combination of painful physical and psychological tactics, …
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The reality of India
As India celebrates its 60th anniversary and the stock market pushes to new highs, it is appropriate to remember the complexity of the Indian sub-continent. The following article is a short, stark illustration of the reality that there remains much inequality and pain in the lives of the majority who are poor. While this will …
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Bush vetoes child health, to help cigarette manufacturers
US President Bush vetoed a bill to expand a children’s healthcare insurance scheme, after it was passed with a large majority (67-29) in the Senate. Congress had approved the bill by 265-159. It is only the fourth time Bush has used his veto power in the course of his presidency. The vetoed bill proposed higher …
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