Allegations Coles supermarkets engage in ‘unconscionable conduct’ against...
Advertisements on seemingly continuous play within Australia, feature 80s rockers Status Quo, promote Coles Supermarket prices as going “down, down”. Another features awkward Col, dressed in superhero...
View ArticleBetting on World Agriculture
The Oakland Institute released an excellent report in 2012, entitled “Betting on World Agriculture: US Private Equity Managers Eye Agricultural Returns“. This paper highlights the role played by...
View ArticleGM trap for farmers – Monsanto, Cargill and the ‘trojan horse’
The integration of farmers into supply chains of the dominant agribusiness corporations is sometimes portrayed as resulting in an arrangement which is beneficial to these farmers. However, the power...
View ArticleUS grain giant ADM buys Toepfer
In an agricultural industry such as the grains sector, economies of scale are important. It is a simple equation – the larger a grower is, the more viable they will be in an open market. Unless, they...
View ArticleDiet for a Small Planet
Diet for a Small Planet, by Frances Moore Lappe, was first published in 1971. The following excerpt is taken from pages 46-48 of the 20th Anniversary Edition to this book, which hit the shelves in...
View ArticleTasmanian forests and interpretations of ‘science’
The Australian Government, led by Prime Minister Tony Abbott, has recently announced that they would be seeking to repeal the World Heritage listing of 74,000 hectares of forest in Tasmania. The final...
View ArticleCashing in, or cashing out?
For whatever reason, the idea of cooperatives tends to polarise opinion. In some ways, the idea of people pooling resources and knowledge is – or, rather, is perceived as – an affront to the ideals of...
View ArticleSlimming margins, growing costs
From the outside, farming seems straightforward. Sure, there are droughts, floods, storms, pests and a host of other concerns. However, once the farmer has somehow overcome all of these obstacles and...
View ArticleCreating inequality, one budget at a time
In an age where education and employment are strongly correlated, accessibility of higher education is of critical importance. The Australian government has released its budget for 2014/2015, and has...
View ArticleStopping the timber barons
Whatever politically charged label is attributed to the forests of Tasmania – old growth, high conservation value, regrowth, carbon sinks – these forests are of significant ecological importance. So,...
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