Myth 4: Industrial agriculture is efficient
Not true. Small-scale farms produce more agricultural products per hectare. Marco Visscher | April 2003 issue The bigger the farm, the more efficient, claim the advocates of industrial agriculture. Although they admit that large farms lead to the disappearance of family farms and rural Read More...
Myth 5: Industrial food offers greater choice
Not true. Supermarkets only offer the illusion of increased choice. Marco Visscher | April 2003 issue Thanks to industrial food, there is finally a much greater choice, or so agro companies claim. These days, tomatoes are always in season and kiwis are available all over the world. Pushing a Read More...
Going, going, GATS
More and more people are turning against the sell-off of public servicesMarco Visscher | March 2003 issue All over Europe, thousands of people are rising up in protest against the lack of democracy and openness surounding a new trade agreement. The European Commission is currently negotiating GATS, Read More...
World Social Forum 2003
Looking back at the World Social Forum Jurriaan Kamp, Helene de Puy, Tijn Touber and Marco Visscher | February 2003 issue It is a matter of choice. Either you believe in the world of power and money, of politics and elections and slow change. Or you believe in justice and respect, in your own Read More...
The third power
When it comes to change, don't wait for governments. As citizens we need to take the initiative, says Sara Larrain. A conversation on the limitations of economic growth, the blind spot of price fixing, Santiago supermarkets and the need to develop our own vision. Marco Visscher and Jurriaan Kamp | Read More...
Bio diversity
EM in natural forestry management Marco Visscher | March 2003 issue A sandy path runs from the Kyusei Nature Farming Center to the forest atop a small mountain. For years this area was plagued by the same problem facing many natural forests in the tropics: the continual threat of forest fires. Read More...
Radha Kumar's break
Solving ethnic conflicts around the world - Radha Kumar has not chosen an easy objective to tackle. For years she was the angry activist that climbed over barricades but now, thanks to pearls of ancient wisdom from her homeland of India, she is looking for peace closer to home. Tijn Touber | Read More...
Deodorant
EM in waste processing Marco Visscher | March 2003 issue Rubbish in the tropics. It's just about the most disgusting combination imaginable. In the tropical heat a waste processing plant is not exactly a tourist attraction - if only because the stench keeps visitors away. In Praekkasa, a half-hour Read More...
Getting to the bottom of it
EM for water purificationMarco Visscher | March 2003 issue The idea came right from the mayor. A 300 metre-long pond in Nakornrajsima was heavily polluted and stank as a result. Fish were dying and people were suffering from stomach and intestinal ailments that were linked to the polluted water. Read More...
I'd rather have results than theory
'Competition should remain limited to areas that are not crucial to the preservation of life.' EM-inventor Teruo Higa on the beauty of agriculture and and a new technological revolution.Teruo Higa | March 2003 issue When I went to secondary school, I earned my tuition by selling cabbage and Read More...