The European Union Directives on Biofuels

by Klever Descarpontriez Introduction - What are biofuels and How did they come into existence? As the climate crisis worsens and we stand closer to the edge of an imminent climate catastrophe, governments of the world are starting to realize the importance of sustainable energy production. Sadly, not all options currently on the table and marketed as green solutions are actually “green”, or...

Industrial agriculture ought to move away: agroecology is the only safe option

by Maria It is pretty clear that the planet is increasingly warming up as we keep emitting carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels and extracting natural gas from the ground. Or at least it is pretty clear to more than half the world’s population who in recent decades have been dealing with periods of abnormal rainfall, intense floods and droughts, heat waves, and loss of biodiversity. While...

Fuel before food: The U.S. position on biofuels

By Stevie DuFrense, Becca Haydu, and Cara Weber The issue of biofuels and their impacts on world food security is a contested topic here at CFS 40 in Rome. The text is up for negotiation as civil society works to influence the voting member governments of the CFS. Students from the United States, Becca, Cara and Stevie, have been following U.S. biofuels policy and its impacts on world food...

Hard and Fast Facts – Part 2

by Khristian Méndez The talks and negotiations going on at the FAO Headquarters in Room have changed rooms, have changed voices and have changed tones. After having a few days for Civil Society to try to come to consensus, the texts on the table are now being bracketed and picked apart by Member States, the Private Sector as well as other players. Before my peers carry on delivering a breakdown...

Hard and Fast Facts on What’s Happening in Rome

by Khristian Méndez -- As a preparatory meeting for the 40th Plenary Session of the World Committee on Food Security, over 175 representatives from Civil Society met yesterday at the Headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, in Rome, Italy. More on what is happening after the jump. The room is teeming with diversity, with delegates hailing from all corners of...