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News Articles
| EUROPE: Europe’s Vast Farm Subsidies Face Challenges
by STEPHEN CASTLE and DOREEN CARVAJAL, New York Times
December 29th, 2009
The last time the European Union decided the future of its 50 billion euro agricultural aid program, in 2005, the deal was cut behind closed doors in a luxury suite at the five-star Conrad Brussels hotel. Now, 2013 is closer at hand and a new round of maneuvering has begun to reshape the richest system of agricultural handouts in the world. |
| AP report: Monsanto seed business role revealed
by CHRISTOPHER LEONARD (AP), Associated Press
December 14th, 2009
Confidential contracts detailing Monsanto Co.'s business practices reveal how the world's biggest seed developer is squeezing competitors, controlling smaller seed companies and protecting its dominance over the multibillion-dollar market for genetically altered crops, an Associated Press investigation has found. |
| US: Monsanto's dominance draws antitrust inquiry
by Peter Whoriskey, Washington Post
November 29th, 2009
For plants designed in a lab a little more than a decade ago, they've come a long way: Today, the vast majority of the nation's two primary crops grow from seeds genetically altered according to Monsanto company patents. Now Monsanto -- like IBM and Google -- has drawn scrutiny from U.S. antitrust investigators. |
| SOUTHEAST ASIA: Sizing up palm oil
by David Grant, Christian Science Monitor
November 2nd, 2009
While it doesn’t sound (and need not be) nefarious, activist groups worldwide like the Rainforest Action Network argue that the production of palm oil is currently harming rain forests in Southeast Asia, orangutans, and the environment. |
| BRAZIL: Giants in Cattle Industry Agree to Help Fight Deforestation
by Alexei Barrionuevo, New York Times
October 7th, 2009
Environmental groups hailed a decision this week by four of the world’s largest meat producers to ban the purchase of cattle from newly deforested areas of Brazil’s Amazon rain forest. Brazil has the world’s largest cattle herd and is the world’s largest beef exporter. It is also the fourth largest producer of greenhouse gas emissions. |
CorpWatch Blog
CorpWatch Exclusives
 | Titanium or Water? Trouble brews in Southern India
by Nityanand Jayaraman, Special to CorpWatch
October 24th, 2007
Tata, India's largest conglomerate, wants to take 10,000 acres of land to mine ilmenite in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The plan has sparked protests by local villagers who say the project will destroy their traditional way of life and the environment. |
 | Trademarking Coffee: Starbucks cuts Ethiopia deal
by Anton Foek, Special to CorpWatch
May 8th, 2007
Starbucks, the world's largest coffee shop chain, and the Ethiopian government are on the verge of unveiling a deal that the company hopes will end attacks on the company's carefully constructed ethical image. |
 | Green Fuel's Dirty Secret
by Sasha Lilley, Special to CorpWatch
June 1st, 2006
Ethanol made from corn has been touted as the "green fuel" of the future. Archer Daniels Midland, the largest U.S. producer of ethanol, stands to make a fortune from environmentally conscious car drivers. But is ethanol really as environmentally clean as it is hyped to be?
Listen to an interview with Sasha Lilley on CorpWatch Radio.
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 | Australia Reaps Iraqi Harvest
by Marc Moncrief, Special to CorpWatch
April 4th, 2006
United Nations sanctions against Saddam Hussein may have failed to end his regime but they succeeded in enriching both the Iraqi dictator and corporations able to manipulate the scandal-ridden world body's Oil-for-Food program. Among the profiteers was the Australian Wheat Board, a former state-owned monopoly, which funneled over $200 million into Saddam's coffers even as the “Coalition of the Willing” was preparing for invasion. |
Commentary & Analysis
| INDIA: Coke, Pepsi Face Public Ire
by Praful Bidwai, Inter Press Service
September 6th, 2006
A month after seven Indian states imposed severe restrictions on the sale of colas and other aerated drinks, the Coca-Cola company has become the target of a vigorous popular campaign in Uttar Pradesh, India's largest state. |
| BURMA: Time to Restore Human Rights and Democracy
by Paul Fireman, Wall Street Journal
June 7th, 2005
Over the years many foreign companies in a wide range of industries have responded withdrawn their business form Burma. These include adidas-Salomon, H&M, IKEA, Newmont and British Petroleum. But some of the regime's principal business partners continue to be multinationals, many based in Europe. Those lifelines must be cut to weaken the regime's hold on the people of Burma. |
 | Is Agriculture the WTO's Achilles' Heel?
by Walden Bello, Focus on the Global South
February 19th, 2003
In this report from the Tokyo mini-ministerial, activist and scholar Walden Bello looks for cracks in the WTO's armor on the road to the September summit in Cancun. |
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