MetaFilter posts tagged with agribusiness

Say what you like about the tenets of National Socialism, Dude, at least it's an ethos.

grouse — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 18:15:35 -0800

The Corn Refiners Association has created a series of commercials to counter the increasing sentiment against high-fructose corn syrup. One commercial presents a lovely tableau of a couple in a park on a sunny day discussing how HFCS is not much to worry about (previously). A filmmaker reuses the technique to sell something a little bit less sweet.

Every day we get closer to an epidemic that cannot be stopped.

parudox — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 21:17:54 -0800

The Meatrix: parts I, II: Revolting, and II 1/2.

This invisible germ of life in the grain of wheat can thus pass unimpaired through three thousand resurrections...

KokuRyu — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 22:27:01 -0800

Some of the world's biggest grain exporters barred their farmers from selling in global markets yesterday, exacerbating the food price crisis for poorer nations that import their food and highlighting the failure of governments to nurture stronger rules for agricultural trade. Google news on restrictions on grain exports... Previously on MetaFilter. “Business as usual is no longer an option,” Paris-based UNESCO says in a sweeping report on the world agriculture system that was three years in the making and released on April 15. “There is a recognition that the mounting crisis in food security is of a different complexity and potentially different magnitude than the one of the 1960s.” The need for action is urgent. Since March 2007, soybean and wheat prices have increased by 87% and 130% respectively, and global grain stores are today at their lowest level on record. Prices of staple foods such as rice, maize and wheat are expected to continue to rise because of increased demand, especially in China and India, and because of the alternative use of maize and soybeans for bio-fuels. Furthermore, states the report, “35% of the Earth’s severely degraded land has been damaged by agricultural activities.”

Monsanto Milk

homunculus — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 13:00:33 -0800

Monsanto’s Harvest of Fear. "Monsanto already dominates America’s food chain with its genetically modified seeds. Now it has targeted milk production. Just as frightening as the corporation’s tactics–ruthless legal battles against small farmers–is its decades-long history of toxic contamination."

Food fight!!

ericbop — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 12:07:03 -0800

In this corner: John "Mack Daddy" Mackey. In this corner: Michael "The Pollanator" Pollan. Mackey. Pollan. Mackey. Pollan. Mackey vs. Pollan!! (.rm file via)

Pork's Dirty Secret

Burhanistan — Sat, 20 Jan 2007 22:02:00 -0800

Pork's Dirty Secret is a Rolling Stone expose on Smithfield Foods, the world's top pork processor. via

Monsanto vs. US Farmers

digaman — Sat, 15 Jan 2005 11:32:01 -0800

Farmer Homer McFarland is being sued for hundreds of thousands of dollars by the Monsanto corporation. His crime? Replanting his crops' own seed, as farmers have done for millennia, which violates the biotech giant's intellectual property rights, the company claims. Quietly, Monsanto's aggressive "seed police" have been suing farmers in 25 states for years, often settling out of court for huge sums, according to the Center for Food Safety's new report, Monsanto vs. US farmers [PDF link]. For more information, also see a new documentary called The Future of Food.

talos — Wed, 29 May 2002 04:26:34 -0800

Of GM food, the PR industry and Tony Blair. George Monbiot exposes the questionable methods (fake public interest groups) of the PR industry in defense of big Agribusiness.

o2b — Wed, 30 Jan 2002 15:49:37 -0800

US Department of Agriculture under pressure to purchase surplus crops. One solution is to use the crops in school lunches, so they are testing things like sweet potato pancakes and hamburgers with prune puree in them (which makes them healthier by replacing some of the fat).