Feeding the World: Myths and facts
Since world crop prices spiked in 2007-8, sparking food riots in many parts of the world, we have seen a new wave of warnings that growing populations in developing countries will outstrip the resources available to feed them. The harsh realities of climate change feed the panic. Policy-makers, echoing agribusiness firms, call for the rapid deployment of industrial agricultural technologies throughout the world to avert the coming food crisis. Such warnings are feeding illusions about global hunger and its solutions. It remains true that we grow more than enough food now to feed everyone, that industrial agriculture worsens climate change while undermining current food producers, and that the solutions to hunger and climate change lie in supporting those farmers to develop climate-resilient sustainable farms that grow a diversity of crops as they rebuild their depleted soils.
Transforming Global Food Systems: José Graziano da Silva on the path to Zero Hunger, IPS News, April 6, 2021.
World Hunger Is on the Rise, Heated, by Medium x Mark Bittman, July 22, 2019
Farming First: A Recipe to Feed a Crowded World, Heated: by Medium and Mark Bittman, April 30, 2019
Feeding the World: The Ultimate First-World Conceit, Timothy A. Wise, Triple Crisis Blog, October 7, 2014
To end hunger, global policy can't be 'business as usual', Timothy A. Wise, Global Post, March 24, 2014
Can We Feed the World in 2050? A Scoping Paper to Assess the Evidence, Timothy A. Wise, GDAE Working Paper 13-04, September 2013
Rising to the Challenge: Changing Course to Feed the World in 2050, Timothy A. Wise and Kristin Sundell, ActionAid Report, September 2013
Commentary: Changing Course to Feed the World in 2050, Timothy A. Wise and Marie Brill, GDAE Globalization Commentary, from Triple Crisis Blog, October 3, 2013 (Also published by Huffington Post)
To Feed the World in 2050 We Have to Change Course, Timothy A. Wise and Kristin Sundell, Christian Science Monitor (Originally published by Food Tank), October 17, 2014
How We Count Hunger Matters, Frances Moore Lappé, Jennifer Clapp, Molly Anderson, Robin Broad, Ellen Messer, Thomas Pogge and Timothy Wise, Ethics & International Affairs FirstView Article, pp 1-9, July 9, 2013
Measuring Hunger: A Response to the FAO, Timothy A. Wise, GDAE Globalization Commentary, from Triple Crisis Blog, June 21, 2013
Framing Hunger: A Response to "The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2012", Frances Moore Lappé, Timothy A. Wise, et. al. Small Planet Institute, May 2013
Book Review of Food by Jennifer Clapp, Timothy A. Wise, Review of Policy Research, June 2013
Are High Agricultural Prices Good or Bad for Poverty?, by Timothy Wise, GDAE Globalization Commentary, from Triple Crisis Blog, November 19, 2010
"The True Cost of Cheap Food: The globalisation of the food market has made food cheap, but who is benefiting?” by Timothy A. Wise, Resurgence, Issue 259, March/April 2010. (Also available in Spanish.)
Magical Thinking About Fertilizer and Climate Change, IPS News, November 9, 2021.
We're All in the Same Lifeboat Now:
Climate change comes for farmers, from Mozambique to Iowa, Medium, September 20, 2019Big Ag is Sabotaging Progress on Climate Change, Wired Magazine, August 28, 2019
Seeds of Climate Resilience in Mozambique, Timothy A. Wise, Food Tank, April 17, 2017
Seed Sovereignty and Climate Adaptation in Malawi, Timothy A. Wise, Food Tank, July 19, 2016
Getting Smart about Climate and Agriculture
Excerpt from the introduction to Eating Tomorrow on Medium, March 17, 2019
Two Roads Diverged in the Food Crisis: Global policy takes the one more travelled, Timothy A. Wise, Canadian Food Studies, Vol. 2, No. 2 (2015)
Commentary on 'Farming for a Small Planet: Agroecology Now', Timothy A. Wise, Great Transition Initiative, April 2016
A year of squandered opportunities to resolve the food crisis, Timothy A. Wise and Sophia Murphy, IATP Commentary, January 31, 2013
Resolving the food crisis: The need for decisive action," Timothy A. Wise and Sophia Murphy, Al Jazeera, January 30, 2013
Resolving the Food Crisis: Assessing Global Policy Reforms Since 2007, Timothy A. Wise and Sophia Murphy, GDAE-IATP Policy Report, January 2012
"The Continuing Food Crisis: Global Policy Reforms Lag," Timothy A. Wise and Sophia Murphy, Economic and Political Weekly, February 25, 2012
Global Food Security in a Volatile World, Timothy A. Wise, World Politics Review, November 6, 2012
Resolving the Food Crisis: Global leaders fail to make crucial reforms, Timothy A. Wise and Sophia Murphy,GDAE Globalization Commentary, from Triple Crisis Blog, January 18, 2012. Also available in Spanish and Portuguese
What Food Crisis? Measuring Global Hunger, by Timothy A Wise, GDAE Globalization Commentary, fromTriple Crisis Blog, June 9, 2011
“Unsustainable extensification”: donors deepen hunger with the Green Revolution in Africa, Humanitarian Alternatives, March 2024.
Hijacking Food Policies to Feed Agribusiness, Timothy A. Wise and Mutinta Nketani, The Elephant (Kenya), October 23, 2023.
Feeding big agribusiness, starving Africans, by Mutinta Ntekani and Timothy A. Wise, Al Jazeera, Sept. 4, 2023.
Digging Africa Deeper into Hunger, IPS News, August 29, 2023.
AGRA Gets Make-Up, Not Make-Over, Timothy A. Wise and Jomo Kwame Sundaram, IPS News, Nov. 29, 2022.
Africa Confronts the Food, Fertilizer, and Climate Crisis: Interview with Wise, Ann Garrison, LA Progressive, November 11, 2022.
AGRA retreats from its own “Green Revolution,” Food Tank, October 26, 2022.
Can AGRA correct course? New plan offers big budget, few changes to address African food crisis, Daily Nation (Kenya), September 8, 2022.
Green Revolution Forum confronts food, fertilizer crises, Daily Nation (Kenya), August 24, 2022.
African Community Leaders Tell Congress: Stop Funding African Green Revolution, Food Tank, May 4, 2022.
Hostile takeover: Why seed sovereignty in Africa is under threat, DownToEarth India, May 3, 2022.
Donors must rethink Africa’s flagging Green Revolution, new evaluation shows (commentary), Timothy A. Wise, Mongabay, March 22, 2022.
AGRA: Still Failing Africa’s Farmers, IATP analysis, March 4, 2022. (Read press release.)
Africa’s Land Use Problem: Is Green Revolution Agriculture a Solution or a Cause? The Elephant (Kenya), December 3, 2021.
Time to change course, not double down on failing Green Revolution, Expressions Africa, November 15, 2021.
Magical Thinking About Fertilizer and Climate Change, IPS News, November 9, 2021.
Africa’s green revolution initiative has faltered: why other ways must be found, The Conversation - Africa, September 14, 2021.
Fiddling in Nairobi While Africa Goes Hungry, IPS News, August 31, 2021.
New AGRA Reports Offer Little Evidence to Justify Continued Donor Support, IATP Policy Brief, July 21, 2021.
Throwing Good Money After Bad: Failing Green Revolution program readying billion-dollar fund drive, IATP Blog, July 1, 2021.
Old Fertilizer in New Bottles: Selling the Past as Innovation in Africa’s Green Revolution, GDAE Working Paper No. 21-01, February 2021.
Selling the Past as Innovation, Food Tank, February 10, 2021.
Another False Start in Africa with Green Revolution Myths, by Timothy A. Wise with Jomo Kwame Sundaram, IPS News, April 20, 2021.
Failing Africa’s Farmers: An Impact Assessment of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, GDAE Working Paper No. 20-01, July 2020.
False Promises: The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, a report from Rosa Luxemburg-Stiftung based on Wise’s research, July 2020.
Failing Africa’s farmers: New report shows Africa’s Green Revolution is “failing on its own terms” - Summary of findings, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, July 2020.
Africa’s Choice: Africa’s Green Revolution has failed, time to change course, IATP Policy Brief, July 2020. (Also available in French.)
African Farmers: Key to Solving Malnutrition, Food Tank, July 18, 2020.
“Replacing Hunger with Malnutrition:” Former UN official calls out failing African Green Revolution, IATP Blog, August 19, 2020.
“Failing Africa’s Farmers, Starving the Continent,” IPS News, Sept. 8, 2020.
Response to AGRA Statement on False Promises Report, IATP Blog, August 10, 2020.
“A few questions for AGRA on farming revamp,” Kenya Business Daily, Sept. 9, 2020.
“Africa at the Crossroads: Time to Abandon Failing Green Revolution,” Million Belay and Timothy A. Wise, IPSNews, Sept. 23, 2020.
“Pressure builds on Gates Foundation, AGRA for accountability,” IATP blog, October 13, 2020.
“Gates Foundation’s Green Revolution Fails Africa’s Farmers,” chapter in Navdanya International, “Gates to a Global Empire,” October 2020.
“Agricultural Revolution: “Gates Foundation is leading Africa to failure,” Tchak! Magazine (Belgium-French), October 21, 2020. English translation at IATP.
“AGRA Update: Withheld internal documents reveal no progress for Africa’s farmers,” IATP blog, February 25, 2021.
“Africa’s Green Revolution: Few gains, no transparency,” Kenya Star, March 8, 2021.
“Low farm yields, incomes dampen Africa’s green revolution dream,” Business Daily, March 10, 2021.
The Battle for the Future of Food in Africa, Common Dreams, By Million Belay and Timothy A. Wise, November 1, 2019
Rome Summit Takes Bold Step Toward Agroecology, Common Dreams, October 24, 2019
AGRA at Ten Years: Searching For Evidence of a Green Revolution in Africa, Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa, November 2017. Also available in French
Agroecology as Innovation, Food Tank, July 9, 2019
The Damaging Links Between Food, Fuel and Finance: A growing threat to food security, Timothy A. Wise, GDAE Globalization Commentary, from Triple Crisis Blog, April 8, 2013
Food Crisis Update: Main Drivers of Price Volatility Still Not Addressed, Timothy A. Wise and Sophia Murphy, GDAE Globalization Commentary from Triple Crisis Blog, February 12, 2013
Spotlight G20: More fodder for the food price debates: ethanol, speculation drove prices, by Timothy A. Wise, GDAE Globalization Commentary, from Triple Crisis Blog, October 19, 2011
Spotlight G20: New Evidence of Speculation in financialized commodities markets, by Timothy A. Wise,GDAE Globalization Commentary, from Triple Crisis Blog, July 14, 2011
Food Price Volatility: Market fundamentals and commodity speculation, by Timothy Wise, GDAE Globalization Commentary, from Triple Crisis Blog, January 27, 2011
Mandating Food Insecurity: The Global Impacts of Rising Biofuel Mandates and Targets, Timothy A. Wise and Emily Cole, GDAE Working Paper No. 15-01, February 24, 2015
Commentary: Mandating Food Insecurity, Timothy A. Wise, Triple Crisis Blog, March 16 2015
To Feed the World in 2050 We Have to Change Course, Timothy A. Wise and Kristin Sundell, Christian Science Monitor (Originally published by Food Tank), October 17, 2014
Fiddling in Rome while our food burns, Timothy A. Wise and Marie Brill, Al Jazeera, October 17, 2013
Can We Feed the World in 2050? A Scoping Paper to Assess the Evidence, Timothy A. Wise, GDAE Working Paper 13-04, September 2013
Rising to the Challenge: Changing Course to Feed the World in 2050, Timothy A. Wise and Kristin Sundell, ActionAid Report, September 2013
Commentary: Changing Course to Feed the World in 2050, Timothy A. Wise and Marie Brill, GDAE Globalization Commentary, from Triple Crisis Blog, October 3, 2013 (Also published by Huffington Post)
The Cost to Developing Countries of U.S. Corn Ethanol Expansion, Timothy A. Wise, GDAE Working Paper 12-02, October 2012
The Cost to Mexico of U.S. Corn Ethanol Expansion, Timothy A. Wise, GDAE Working Paper 12-01, May 2012
ActionAid Report: Biofueling Hunger: How US Corn Ethanol Policy Drives Up Food Prices in Mexico, Timothy A. Wise and Marie Brill, May 2012. Also available in Spanish.
US corn ethanol fuels food crisis in developing countries, Timothy A. Wise, Al Jazeera English, October 10, 2012
If we want food to remain cheap we need to stop putting it in our cars, Timothy A. Wise, Economics Blog from The Guardian, September 5, 2012
Spotlight G20: Will Mexico Lead Action on Biofuels, Food Crisis?, Timothy A. Wise, GDAE Globalization Commentary, from Triple Crisis Blog, May 16, 2012
The GM Labeling Law to End All Labeling Laws, Timothy A. Wise, Food Tank, August 17, 2015
World Health Organization: GM-Crop Herbicide a Probable Carcinogen, Timothy A. Wise, Food Tank, March 25, 2015
The War on Genetically-Modified-Food Critics: Et tu, National Geographic?, Timothy A. Wise, Food Tank, February 27, 2015
Commentary: And the prize goes to ... genetically modified foods, Timothy A. Wise, Global Post, October 23, 2013
Catalog
Books
Eating Tomorrow
Eating Tomorrow excerpts
Articles and Reports
Land and Food Rights in Africa
Agroecology vs. Green Rev
Mozambique
Malawi
Zambia
Tanzania
Feeding the World
World Hunger
Climate Change
2007-8 Crisis and Response
Agroecology vs. Green Rev
Financial Speculation
Biofuels
Depolarizing the GMO Debate
Latin America & Rural Dev
Working Group Projects
Revaluing Small-Scale Farms
GM Corn in Mexico
Trade and Global Governance
Mexico under NAFTA
WTO & Trade Governance
Other Trade Agreements
U.S. Agricultural Policies
Beyond Agricultural Subsidies
Agricultural Dumping
Feeding the Factory Farm
Corporate Concentration