Trading Ideas

Recently, Jean Ziegler, the United Nation’s Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, described the conversion of food crops into biofuels as “a crime against humanity” and recommended a five-year moratorium on biofuel production. He said the increase in agricultural commodity prices due to the strong demand for biofuel feedstocks represents a “catastrophe” for the [...]

Contrary to the claims of the Democratic and Agricultural Committee leadership, the version of the 2007 Farm Bill passed last week by the US House of Representatives does not contain meaningful reform. Instead, it perpetuates subsidy programs that distort trade, reduce the efficiency of US farmers, and harm poor farmers in developing countries.
In the Uruguay [...]

With the chance alignment of ongoing international trade negotiations, the expiration of the 2002 Farm Bill, and the onset of high commodities prices spurred by biofuels consumption, the United States is in an ideal position to modify its agricultural policies when it authorizes the 2007 Farm Bill later this year. Reforming the Farm Bill could [...]