STWR - Share The World's Resources

World Food Day, held every year on October 16 to mark the day that the UN Food and Agricultural Organization was founded in 1945, marks a tragic note in 2008. In the midst of a global financial crisis that raises serious concerns about meeting international aid commitments, a dramatic increase in food prices has already pushed nearly a billion people to the brink of starvation.

The failures of the Bush years are caused by two distinct yet interconnected ideologies: neoliberalism and neoconservatism. As the Bush administration finally draws to a close amid a global economic crisis, it's time to permanently retire both of them, argues Sameer Dossani.

The roots of the economic crisis lie in overaccumulation, financialisation and ‘global apartheid’ - and international financial volatility is now constraining social, political and environmental progress in the developing world, argues Patrick Bond. 

As climate change fuels stronger storms, no place in the world is equipped to deal with the mass population movements that will occur as a result. The risk of massive economic disruption and migration on an unprecedented scale makes climate change a true security threat, writes Janet Larsen.

The 'financial hurricane' of 2007-2008 leaves fundamental questions of our economy, environment and political systems. Can democracy deliver a sustainable environment - and will a system-wide crisis be connected to system-wide change? By John Elkington and Mark Lee.

Its advocates promise a green, clean, post-petroleum future, where biotechnology produces economically important compounds. But the forthcoming 'sugar economy' will be a catalyst for a corporate grab on all plant matter and the destruction of biodiversity on a massive scale, says Hope Shand.

In an open-letter to George W. Bush, this article outlines how the era of cheap and abundant food in the US is coming to an end and how best to put the interests of America’s farmers, families and communities ahead of the fast-food industry. By Michael Pollan.

The economic crisis is petty by comparison to the nature crunch, but they have the same cause and the rules are the same in both cases. If you extract resources at a rate beyond the level of replenishment, your stock will collapse, writes George Monbiot.

It was always considered bad economics to bail out India's millions of beleagured farmers, but swift government bailouts for the banks are considered a political necessity. ‘Where will the money come from?’ is not a question to be asked when you are subsidising the rich and the elite, says Devinder Sharma. 

No one knows how serious the current crisis will become. However, as the neoliberal order erodes in the US, Europe and internationally, we will see the end of a certain era of financial liberalization driven by market fundamentalism, creating opportunities for real change, says Noam Chomsky.