Uprooted

Often, state and local politicians are reluctant to wade into the international trade debate. But that doesn't meant they shouldn't. Around the U.S. and abroad, local elected officials are taking action both to weigh in on trade negotiations and to counter the negative impacts of corporate-led trade agreements. Josh talks with Sharon Treat, IATP Senior Attorney, and former Maine state legislator, about what state and local governments are doing and could be doing in this area. 

As we come up on the first full year of the Trump administration, it's clear that damage has been done to many institutions and policies. Josh is joined by Ben Lilliston to discuss IATP's upcoming scorecard of the first year, and the effect this administration has had on agriculture, rural areas, and trade. 

Josh and Executive Director, Juliette Majot, talk about what happened in 2017, what is coming up in 2018, and what IATP's role is, was, and will be.

In late November, IATP and our partners published a report on the global industrial meat complex in Brazil. Currently, Brazilian beef exports are banned in the United States. IATP Senior Policy Analyst, Steve Suppan, was in Washington DC this week for meetings on food safety inspection, specifically making the case to the Food Safety Inspection Service that the ban on Brazilian beef should stay in place. In this episode, we talk about the Brazilian case and food safety inspection in the meat industry more broadly.

The 11th World Trade Organization Ministerial begins on December 10th, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Already the event has come under fire as the Argentine government has pressured the WTO to revoke the credentials of 63 civil society experts. On this week's podcast, Josh is joined by IATP Senior Advisor, and former staff member, Sophia Murphy, from Vancouver B.C.

IATP, FASE, and The Heinrich Boell Foundation recently released a report on the industrial meat complex in Brazil. Besides the massive government corruption and environmental destruction, the human rights abuses in the supply chain are both well-documented and abundant. In this episode, Shefali Sharma interviews André Campos of Repórter Brasil about their research to document slavery in Brazil's industrial meat sector.

A few of us were in New York this week, so we decided to do a podcast about our rural work. Juliette Majot and Anna Claussen join Josh to talk about the Rural Climate Dialogues. A unique program run by IATP and the Jefferson Center that empowers rural communities to create solutions to climate change in a way that puts their perspective at the forefront in driving policies and practices.

IATP, GRAIN, and the Heinrich Boell Foundation released an infographic this week that tracks the climate footprints of the largest meat and dairy corporations. The infographic, along with an accompanying op-ed in the Guardian, has attracted a lot of attention as the Bonn Climate Summit (COP23) is underway.

A multitude of alternatives to industrial agriculture are emerging, and small-scale farmers have been the pioneers of one such alternative, known as agroecology. As an integrative interdisciplinary science, agroecology offers techniques for producing healthy food and restoring ecosystems. Rooted in ecological and human rights-based values, agroecology could be integral to a transition from our current food system to one that is equitable and sustainable.

The Farm Bill is a massive piece of legislation that affects everyone – and Congress is writing it now. It’s not surprising that, as such a wide-reaching bill, the Farm Bill has big implications for climate change. It is the largest investment in working lands and the primary method for addressing the environmental impacts of farms and ranches.