News and Updates: all

Biofuel demand to push up food prices

John Vidal
Thursday July 5, 2007
The Guardian

Food prices will rise in the next 10 years as nearly twice as much sugar cane, maize and oilseed rape is grown to fuel cars, and people in rapidly developing countries adopt meat-based diets, says the UN in its annual assessment of...

Brazil stages raid against debt slavery at Amazon sugar cane-ethanol plantation

The Associated Press
Published: July 3, 2007

BRASILIA, Brazil: Brazilian authorities said they raided an Amazon plantation where more than 1,000 laborers were found working 14 hour days in horrendous conditions cutting sugar cane for ethanol...

Protesters invade work site in attempt to stop Brazil river project
The Associated Press
Published: June 27, 2007

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil: Hundreds of protesters have invaded the site where army engineers are beginning work on a huge river-diversion project meant to irrigate Brazil's arid northeast, officials said Wednesday....

Brazil irrigation project hit by occupation
27 Jun 2007 20:51:26 GMT
Source: Reuters

By Raymond Colitt

BRASILIA, June 27 (Reuters) - Close to 1,500 Indians and landless peasants have occupied one construction site in Brazil's largest irrigation project and halted work there, activists said on Wednesday.

It is...

Biofuels: The Five Myths of the Agro-fuels Transition
Eric Holt-Gimenez

Biofuels. The term invokes a life-giving image of renewability and abundance—a clean, green, sustainable assurance in technology and the power of progress. This image allows industry, politicians, the World Bank, the United Nations, and even the...

Dear Friends of the MST,

Two years of study and discussions led up to the 5th National Congress. For five days during the Congress, we studied the situation in agriculture, the political situation, and the challenges of the Brazilian people to build a sovereign, just nation. There was also time to strengthen ourselves through the...

The MST Presents a New Proposal for Agrarian Reform
Osvaldo León

On Monday June 11th, the 5th National Congress of the Landless Workers’ Movement of Brazil (MST for its Portuguese acronym) kicked off in Brasilia with more than 18 thousand delegates in attendance from 24 states across the country under the watchword "Agrarian Reform...

LETTER TO THE PEOPLE FROM THE 5TH BRAZIL-MST NATIONAL CONGRESS

We, 17,500 Landless rural workers from 24 states in Brazil, 181 international delegates representing 21 peasant organizations from and friends from several movements and organizations, met in Brazilia from June 10th to 15th, 2007, for the 5th MST National Congress too discuss...

Farm workers' movement criticizes Brazil government's ties to agribusiness

The Associated Press
Published: June 13, 2007

BRASILIA, Brazil: Land reform activists on Wednesday criticized President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's government for its close ties to agribusiness and for not including small farmers in Brazil's biofuel...

More than 15,000 activists of Brazil's largest landless peasant movement protested in the capital on Thursday against US military interventions and called for more social justice.

The Landless Rural Workers' Movement, or MST, left 20 coffins at the US Embassy to protest deaths from major conflicts with US involvement, including the wars...

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