La Via Campesina

By Kathryn Hindess - The Ecologist, January 4, 2017

"Small-scale food production is more sustainable, provides work for more people, produces food which is consumed locally, has shorter supply chains, and provides greater returns to the farmers," argues author Miles King.

Post-Brexit, he believes: "An England farm support system could inject much more support into small-scale food production."

The Land Workers' Alliance (LWA) agrees. One of eight points raised in its proposed framework for British Agricultural Policy post-Brexit sounds the call: "End the discrimination against small farms".

The report states: "It is unjustifiable for Defra to continue to discriminate against small farms in the allocation of subsidies and collection of farm data."

Instead, Miles King proposes a shift to supporting "small-scale sustainable farming which benefits nature", including paying landowners for the delivery of public goods to society. Public goods "are defined as things which benefit society but do not create a private profit".

Some public goods are: features making up the fabric of the landscape (like hedges, ponds and streams); the provision of clean water, flood prevention; healthy pollinator populations; carbon storage and sequestration; as well as "the many valuable yet intangible things nature provides to people - inspiration, joy, reflection, solace, emotional and spiritual experiences."

"These features need protection and management, but it is right that landowners should be paid to carry out that protection and management on behalf of society," says King.

The EU's Joint Research Centre estimates that food accounts for around a third of the average European's impact on climate change, so policy changes will need to be coupled with awareness campaigns on the benefits of buying local, such as saving long cross-country journeys from farm to plate.

Support for this view is found in a 2013 report from the UN trade and environment review. More than 60 international experts came together to contribute to the Wake Up Before It Is Too Late report, which states that an holistic approach to agricultural management is needed, recognising that "a farmer is not only a producer of agricultural goods, but also a manager of an agro-ecological system that provides quite a number of public goods and services."

Within this approach, there should also be a significant shift from industrial production characterised by monocultures towards "mosaics of sustainable, regenerative production systems that also considerably improve the productivity of small-scale farmers."

Fruits and vegetables would be a useful place to start, suggests Miles King. Defra statistics show that 24 countries accounted for 90% of the fruit and vegetable supply of the UK (UK supplied 23%), but King argues that, "Many types of fruit and vegetable can now be grown in England both outside and under cover, on highly productive but small plots".

Worth noting though, is a point made by the EU GLAMUR global and local food chain assessment project which suggests that new policies will need to recognise the "hybridity and interconnectedness of global and local food systems".

The UK's food culture has been Europeanised since joining the Common Market in 1973, a study by City University (London) states. And nothing makes more apparent than the fact that pizza is now UK childrens' favourite food. Membership of the EU has eased the flow of food, yet at the same time local industries have been rebuilt (there are now approximately 100 more UK artisanal cheeses than in France according to the British Cheese Awards).

The study concludes, "Will the British have the confidence to move forward and accept this remarkable post-war culinary learning?"

Now, post-Brexit, this question is more pertinent than ever. Can new policies balance the need for a shift towards small-scale production (for example of pears and apples that don't need to be imported, but often are), while still satisfying consumer tastes?

By Maywa Montenegro and Alastair Iles - Ensia, July 25, 2016

This Voices piece is published in collaboration with the academic journal Elementa. It is based on “Toward thick legitimacy: Creating a web of legitimacy for agroecology,” a peer-reviewed article published July 20 as part of Elementa’s New Pathways to Sustainability in Agroecological Systems forum.

The industrialized food system, studies have shown, is linked to greenhouse gas emissions, algal blooms, pesticide pollution, soil erosion and biodiversity loss, to name a few ecological troubles. Add to this a long list of social ills, from escalating rates of obesity to the demise of the family farmer and deadening of rural landscapes and rural economies across much of the U.S.

In 2010, the National Academies of Science updated its seminal 1989 publication “Alternative Agriculture” with a fresh look at the state of food and farming in America. Its expert panel concluded, “Growing awareness of unintended impacts associated with some agricultural production practices has led to heightened societal expectations for improved environmental, community, labor, and animal welfare standards in agriculture.”

Yet that growing awareness and those heightened expectations haven’t led to alternative agricultural systems becoming the norm in the U.S. Organic has made some headway, but many organic growers have been forced to imitate industrial farming: grow bigger, resort to monocultures instead of truly diversified fields, and sell to large supermarkets — forgoing many of the benefits alternative agricultural systems offer, such as natural pest control, pollination from native bees, and a smaller production scale conducive to family farmers and local food economies.

So, what gives industrialized agriculture such staying power despite its adverse impacts, even as alternatives offer such benefits? And how can more wholesome food production methods such as agroecology become conventional instead of alternative? To achieve real change in how food is produced and eaten, we need to change people’s expectations of what “normal” agriculture should look like.

By Eugenia Izquierdo and IvanZigarán - La Via Campesina and GRAIN - December 2016

Based on the video Together we can cool the planet! co-produced by La Vía Campesina and GRAIN in 2015, we have created a comic book to support training activities of social movements and civil society organisations around climate change. This comic book looks at how the industrial food system impacts our climate and also explains what we can do to change course and start cooling the planet.

La Via Campesina and GRAIN have pointed out that the industrial food system is responsible for half of all greenhouse gas emissions. In the Americas, Asia, Europe and Africa, we have been denouncing the false solutions to climate change such as GMOs, the “green economy” and "climate-smart agriculture".

We say loud and clear: it is peasants and small farmers, along with consumers who choose agroecological products from local markets, who hold the solution to the climate crisis.

We must all rise to the challenge!

Read the report (PDF).

Watch the video, too:

By David Barkin - Climate and Capitalism, November 11, 2016

ABSTRACT:

Dominant approaches to rural development have proven unable to confront the structural challenges posed by a system where progress itself generates hunger and increasing environmental damage.

This article places its accent on the direct action of communities to organize themselves to satisfy their food and other basic needs and those of their regions with self-help strategies that could be applied in both rural and urban areas.

While generally applicable, this focus draws its inspiration from the experience of La Via Campesina, the largest social organization in the world, with chapters in more than 80 countries and 200 million members.

The food sovereignty approach offers a forward-looking strategy to social mobilization, confronting the scourge of rural disintegration while also addressing the pressing issue of environmental balance.

It proposes to direct political and social actions to the collective organization of communities to promote local mobilization and cooperation within and among communities, on a regional as well as on a much broader geographic scale.

It functions by integrating experts into a well-proven farmer-to-farmer approach for the exchange of information and materials conducive to improving productivity and promoting diversity in accordance with local customs while also creating possibilities for improving the quality of foods being produced and their nutritional impact.

Most organizations promoting food sovereignty consider agroecology to be the most effective approach to organizing production, emphasizing the use of locally available inputs and technologies as well as a diversity of cropping system adapted to local conditions.

Compiled by x344543 - IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, September 13, 2016

The following unions have issued statements in solidarity with those opposing the Dakota Access Pipeline; we will add additional unions to this list as we become aware of their having taken a similar stand:

1. IWW - September 3, 2016
2. Border Agricultural Workers - September 7, 2016
3. Amalgamated Transport Union - September 9, 2016
4. Communications Workers of America - September 9, 2016
5. National Nurses United - September 9, 2016
6. ILWU Local 19 - September 12, 2016
7. United Electrical Workers - September 12, 2016

(This may not be a complete list, but we will endeavor to correct any oversights as we find them. If you know of additional unions who have joined this list, please contact us at euc@iww.org.)

On the other hand, some unions insist on staying on the wrong side of history:

• Unions want governor to ensure safety - By Lauren Donovan, Bismark Tribune, September 7, 2016

Dakota Access Pipeline Halted (or was it?):

• Joint Statement from the Department of Justice, the Department of the Army and the Department of the Interior Regarding Standing Rock Sioux Tribe v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - Office of Public Affairs, Department of Justice, September 9, 2016; [related]: In Victory For Protesters, Obama Administration Halts North Dakota Pipeline - By Amy Sisk, NPR, September 10, 2016 | Tribes Win One Fight, Lose Another In Pipeline Protest - By Amy Sisk, Inside Energy, September 10, 2016 | After protests, U.S. halts North Dakota pipeline near tribal lands - By Ruthy Munoz and Dave Thompson, Reuters, September 9, 2016 | As The Court Sided With A Controversial Oil Pipeline, The Government Called For A Construction Pause – By Alejandro Dávila Fragoso, Think Progress, September 9, 2016 | Dakota Access Pipeline Stopped by Obama Administration After Army Reserves Called In - By staff, Counter Current News, September 9, 2016 | Federal Government Halts Work on Part of Pipeline Project - By Dave Kolpack and James MacPherson, ABC News, September 9, 2016  | Judge allows Dakota pipeline to move ahead - By Associated Press, FuelFix, September 9, 2016 | Obama administration intervenes in Dakota pipeline project opposed by Standing Rock Sioux, halts construction - By Jorge Barrera, APTN, September 9, 2016 | Obama administration orders ND pipeline construction to stop - By Devin Henry, The Hill, September 9, 2016 | Tribes Prevail In North Dakota Pipeline Fight—For Now - By Stephanie Joyce, Wyoming Public Radio and Amy Sisk, Inside Energy, September 9, 2016 | US Government Steps In After Judge Rules Against Standing Rock Sioux - By Deirdre Fulton, Common Dreams, September 9, 2016
• Pipeline Fighters React to Obama Administration’s Call for Construction Halt on Dakota Access Pipeline at Key Areas Near Sacred Stone Camp That Threaten Water, Sacred Sites - By Mark Hefflinger, Bold Nebraska, September 9, 2016 [related]:  Bold’s Jane Kleeb and Standing Rock Tribe Chair Dave Archambault on MSNBC’s “AM Joy” to Discuss Pres. Obama Order to Halt Dakota Access Pipeline Construction - By Mark Hefflinger, Bold Nebraska, September 10, 2016 | Erased By False Victory: Obama Hasn’t Stopped DAPL - By Kelly Hayes, Transformative Spaces, September 10, 2016; | Lakota Strong Heart Warrior Society Statement on Dakota Access Pipeline Injunction Decision and Nationhood - By Canupa Gluha Mani, Cante Tenza Okolakiciye, September 9, 2016 | Mixed Reactions as Feds Give Standing Rock Sioux Partial Victory - By Larry Buhl, DeSmog Blog, September 9, 2016 | Standing Rock Sioux Win a major Battle in the War Against Capital - By Richard Mellor, Facts For Working People, September 10, 2016
• Judgement Day for North Dakota’s Water Protectors - By Andy Rowell, Oil Change International, September 9, 2016
• The Legal Case for Blocking the Dakota Access Pipeline - By Robinson Meyer, The Atlantic, September 9, 2016
• Dakota Access Pipeline Resistance: Stay in the Game. We’re Winning - By Gyasi Ross, Indian Country Today, September 7, 2016
• Standing Rock Sioux Tribe's Lawyer: Judge's Ruling Allows Dakota Access to "Desecrate" Sacred Ground - Stephanie Tsosie interviewed by Juan González and Amy Goodman, Democracy Now, September 7, 2016
• Judge Brokers Temporary Halt In Dakota Access Construction - By Amy Sisk, Inside Energy, September 6, 2016; [related]: Company agrees to temporarily halt some North Dakota pipeline work - By Julia Harte, Reuters, September 7, 2016 | Destruction of Sacred Burial Grounds Prompts Federal Judge to Protect Some Tribal Sites from Dakota Access Pipeline - By Larry Buhl, DeSmog Blog, September 6, 2016 | Tribes Secure Limited Victory with Partial Halt on Dakota Pipeline - By Lauren McCauley, Common Dreams, September 6, 2016 | Judge grants partial stop on North Dakota pipeline work - By Associated Press, FuelFix, September 6, 2016 | Judge Hauls Dakota Access Into Court After Sacred Sites Bulldozed, Dogs Unleashed on Tribe Members - By John Zangas, DC Media Group, September 5, 2016

Amy Goodman Targeted:

• Arrest Warrant Issued for Amy Goodman in North Dakota After Covering Pipeline Protest – By RL Miller, Democracy Now!, September 10, 2016; [related]: Arrest Warrant Issued For Journalist Amy Goodman After Covering Dakota Access Pipeline Protests – By Laurel Raymond, Think Progress, September 11, 2016 | Arrest Warrant Issued For Amy Goodman of Democracy Now After Her Kick-Ass Reporting on Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) - By Emerson Urry, EnviroNews, September 10, 2016

Jill Stein Arrested:

• Jill Stein Charged With Criminal Trespass At Dakota Access Protest - By Amy Sisk, Inside Energy, September 7, 2016; [related]: Arrest warrants issued for Jill Stein, running mate after N.D. protest - By Eliza Collins, USA Today, September 7, 2016 | Jill Stein Spray Paints a Bulldozer and More Protesters Lock Down at #NoDAPL - By Kelly Hayes, Truthout, September 7, 2016 | Charges to be filed against presidential candidate - By Blair Emerson, Bismarck Tribune, September 6, 2016 | The Latest: Charges Planned Against Jill Stein From Protest - By staff, Keloland, September 6, 2016

Tin Soldiers and Nixon's Comin'...

• National Guard on Standby in North Dakota Before Court Ruling on Dakota Access Pipeline - Tara Houska interviewed by Juan González and Amy Goodman, Democracy Now, September 9, 2016 [related]: Gov. Dalrymple calls on ND National Guard to assist with Dakota Access Pipeline protest security - By staff, KFYRT NBC TV 5, September 8, 2016 | N.D. Governor To Activate National Guard Ahead Of Friday Pipeline Ruling - By staff, Billings Gazette, September 8, 2016
• North Dakota becomes first US state to legalise use of armed drones by police - By Henry Austin, Independent, September 8, 2016

Men Behind the Curtain:

• Who Is Funding the Dakota Access Pipeline? Bank of America, HSBC, UBS, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo - Hugh MacMillan interviewed by Amy Goodman, Democracy Now, September 9, 2016; [related]: Who's Banking on the Dakota Access Pipeline? - By Jo Miles and Hugh MacMillan, Food and Water Watch, September 6, 2016
• Who is the shadowy security company attacking pipeline protestors? - By Meteor Blades, Red, Green, and Blue, September 9, 2016
• ‘The Wild West Of Money In Politics’: Dakota Access Pipeline Builder Spends Millions To Influence Elections - By Kit O'Connell, Mint News Press, September 7, 2016
• Enbridge Spreads Tentacles to Acquire Spectra, Creating 'Pipeline Enemy #1' - By Deirdre Fulton, Common Dreams, September 6, 2016
• How the U.S. Government Is Helping Corporations Plunder Native Land - By Stephanie Woodard, In These Times, September 6, 2016

By Margaret Gray - Jacobin, August 21, 2016

We live in the shadows,” explained Javier, a Hudson Valley farmworker, while describing his life to me. “We are treated like unknown people . . . We are not paid well and cannot ask for more.” A worker on another farm said, “They treat us like nothing; they only want the work . . . Whether we like it or not, we have to like it.”

Some of today’s liveliest political conversations concern agricultural production and distribution. But these discussions are also among the most confused.

Exploitative conditions on factory farms have rightly drawn the attention of academics, activists, and journalists. Indeed, the vast majority of research on farmworkers focuses on the largest farming sites. Consumers are offered countless reasons to avoid produce from them — but few alternatives other than to “buy local.”

Much contemporary food writing argues that when we buy locally grown food directly from farms, we not only secure fresher, more seasonal produce, but we also create an intimate, trusting relationship with the farmer. This supposed bond reinforces the common understanding that the local food production process is more wholesome than the industrial agricultural system.

Food writers and scholars have highlighted the many positive aspects of local food systems: economic and social justice, the sense of community facilitated by face-to-face interactions with food producers, and the civic engagement and democracy promoted by alternative agri-systems.

For example, as Barbara Kingsolver argues in Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, “‘locally grown’ is a denomination whose meaning in incorruptible.” Later in the book she addresses the poor pay and conditions of workers on factory farms, citing their average annual income of $7,500. Clearly, she intends readers to feel grateful that local farms offer a more just and well-paid alternative.

Or take another prominent example: in The Omnivore’s Dilemma, a landmark in the new food literature, Michael Pollan describes two types of farming — industrial and pastoral — and offers no in-between.

In promoting local diets as healthy and righteous alternatives to the capitalist-industrial monoculture food system, such writers have sold us an idea premised on a false dichotomy.

On one hand, they demonize factory farms for poisoning the land and local waterways, for confining and mistreating animals, and for exploiting their workers in the name of earning profits. On the other hand, they promote local agriculture as the antidote to the factory farms’ corporate ills.

By shopping at the farmers market or joining a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, consumers support smaller (though not necessarily small) farmers, keep food dollars local, encourage limited pesticide use, and ensure animals are treated humanely.

Compiled by x344543 - IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, July 27, 2016

The following news items feature issues, discussions, campaigns, or information potentially relevant to green unionists:

Lead Stories:

• Former cleanup workers blame illnesses on toxic coal ash exposures – By Kristen Lombardi, Center for Public Integrity, July 20, 2016
• Why Now Is the Perfect Time For a Radical Labor Movement – By Saqib Bhatti and Stephen Lerner, In These Times, July 19, 2016
• Soaring Temperatures Will Make It Too Hot to Work, UN Warns – By Jessica Shankleman and Kambiz Foroohar, Bloomberg, July 18, 2016; [related]: Extreme heat is exhausting and expensive – By Xian Chiang-Waren, Grist, July 21, 2016 | Scorching heat is driving down economic productivity around the world – By Brady Dennis, Washington Post, July 19, 2016
• Nation’s Largest Teachers Union Endorses Teaching “Climate Justice” – By Bill Bigelow, Huffington Post, July 16, 2016
• CalSTRS moves $2.5 billion into low-carbon fund – By Robert Silvey, Fossil Free California, July 15, 2016
• The World’s Most Invisible Workers Plan to Revolutionize Labor for Millions – By Carlin Carr, Next City, July 4, 2016

Ongoing Mobilizations:

• Flush the TPP - Ongoing through 2016 | #FlushtheTPP
• International Resistance Gathering Against Extractivism - July 28-30, Mexico
• Mount Polley Mine Resistance Gathering - Canada, August 4, 2016 | #ImperialNoMore
  
• TWAC Cascadia 2016 - August 8th-15th 2016
• United Students Against Sweatshops Summer Convention - August 13-14, 2016, Silver Spring, MD
• Climate Camp and Degrowth Summer - Rheinland, August 19-29, 2016
• Power Shift Southeast - Orlando, FL: September 9-11, 2016
• Wendy’s Boycott Summit - Immokalee, FL: September 22-25, 2016
• Lucas Plan 40th Anniversary - November 2016

The Thin Green Line:

• Alameda Becomes Fifth California County to Ban Fracking – By Dan Bacher, Daily Kos, July 19, 2016
• Protesters Call for a Halt to Three Massachusetts Pipeline Projects – By Phil McKenna, InsideClimate News, July 19, 2016
• Vancouver City Council Votes Unanimously to Prohibit Future Oil Projects – By Stand Up To Oil, Columbia Riverkeeper, July 18, 2016

Just Transition:

• Here’s how a post-coal Appalachia could thrive – By Jeremy Deaton, Grist, July 25, 2016; [related]: On “In the Black” by Gary Bentley – By Nick Mullins, The Thoughtful Coal Miner, July 25, 2016
• Now It’s Time to Take Care of Workers – By Anne Hedges, Montana Environmental Information Center, July 25, 2016
• Transforming Wyoming into wind energy leader comes with challenges – By Benjamin Storrow, Casper Star Tribune, July 23, 2016
• Off-Grid LED Lighting Could Create 2 Million Jobs – By Katherine Tweed, Greentech Media, July 22, 2016
• Renewable Energy Training Opportunities for Vets and Displaced Fossil Energy Workers – By Jennifer Runyon, Renewable Energy World, July 20, 2016
• Green transformation is a political project, not an economic one – By Lili Fuhr, The Ecologist, July 19, 2016
• Wind Manufacturing Booms In Colorado, Stalls In Wyoming – By Leigh Paterson, Inside Energy, July 19, 2016
• 66,000 Pennsylvanians Employed In Clean Energy Jobs – By Jake Richardson, Clean Technica, July 18, 2016

Bread and Roses:

• What is a corporation to do if it is looking to partner with a real social responsibility program? – By staff, Coalition of Immokalee Workers, July 25, 2016
• Farmworkers Return to Sakuma Fields – By staff, Boycott Sakuma Berries, July 21, 2016; [related]: Farmworkers Walk Out of Sakuma Fields – By staff, Boycott Sakuma Berries, July 20, 2016 | Meeting with Sakuma, the boycott continues! – By staff, Boycott Sakuma Berries, July 20, 2016
• Nairobi: Via Campesina mobilise around UNCTAD 14th Session – By Ndabezinhle Nyoni and David Cidi Otieno, La Via Campesina, July 20, 2016
• LVC Declaration on Trade, Markets and Development – By staff, La Via Campesina, July 19, 2016
• Glyphosate Causes Changes to DNA Function Resulting in Chronic Disease, According to Study – By staff, Beyond Pesticides, July 18, 2016
• 18 Years of SPI: Celebrations across Indonesia – By staff, La Via Campesina, July 18, 2016
• Poor Farmers Mustn’t Be the Losers in the Fight Against Climate Change – By Kelly Stone, Food Tank, July 18, 2016
• Women peasants in South Korea on a nationwide protest tour – By staff, La Via Campesina, July 18, 2016
• The uncertain future for food and farming in the UK – By Patrick Holden, Sustainable Food Trust, July 15, 2016
• As farmers in Connecticut age, market for niche products grows – By Anna Bisaro, New Haven Register, July 9, 2016

Compiled by x344543 - IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, July 19, 2016

The following news items feature issues, discussions, campaigns, or information potentially relevant to green unionists:

Lead Stories:

• Lac Mégantic Cries for Help – By Krystle Alarcon, National Observer, July 14, 2016
• Post-Brexit Britain: navigating the culture war – By Joseph Todd, ROARmag, July 13, 2016
• The ‘new colonialism’: Rio Tinto in Madagascar – By Ross Hemingway, Red Pepper, July 12, 2016; [related]: Canadian gold mining firm embroiled in labour dispute and corruption allegations in Mauritania – By Yves Engler, Rabble.Ca, July 12, 2016

Ongoing Mobilizations:

• Flush the TPP - Ongoing through 2016 | #FlushtheTPP
• In Defense of Mother Earth and Land - Oaxaca, MX: July 21-22, 2016
• March on the Mansion - Richmond, VA, July 23, 2016
• March for a Clean Energy Revolution - July 24, 2016, Philadelphia | #CleanEnergyMarch
• International Resistance Gathering Against Extractivism - July 28-30, Mexico
• Mount Polley Mine Resistance Gathering - Canada, August 4, 2016 | #ImperialNoMore
  
• TWAC Cascadia 2016 - August 8th-15th 2016
• Climate Camp and Degrowth Summer - Rheinland, August 19-29, 2016
• Power Shift Southeast - Orlando, FL: September 9-11, 2016
• Wendy’s Boycott Summit - Immokalee, FL: September 22-25, 2016
• Lucas Plan 40th Anniversary - November 2016

The Thin Green Line:

• Northwest Tribes Band Together to Stop Oil-by-Rail – By Ralph Schwartz, Yes!, July 12, 2016
• No Coal in Oakland featured on Arise! with Bill Fletcher (audio) – Lora Jo Foo, Rev. Ken Chambers, and Derrick Muhammad interviewed by Bill Fletcher, KPFA 94.1 FM, July 1, 2016

Just Transition:

• 27,000 New Jobs By 2021 Due To Solar & Energy Storage – By Jake Richardson, Clean Technica, July 15, 2016
• A Green Transition Can Preserve the Livelihood of Workers (audio) – Robert Pollin interviewed by Paul Jay, The Real News Network, July 14, 2016 
• Oil Sands Workers Sign Historic MOU With Offshore Wind Energy Company – By Devin Tepleski, Iron and Earth, July 13, 2016

Bread and Roses:

• The enforcement imperative at the heart of Worker-driven Social Responsibility… – By staff, Coalition of Immokalee Workers, July 17, 2016
• March celebrates historic progress at Sakuma – By David Groves, The Stand, July 14, 2016; [related]: 4 Years of Struggle: Workers March and Rally at Sakuma Farms – By staff, Boycott Sakuma Berries, July 13, 2016 | FUJ marches to Sakuma Bros. farms to urge FAIR, GOOD-FAITH negotiations for a union contract – By John Nichols, Farm Worker Ministry-Northwest, July 13, 2016 | Hundreds of Consumers and Boycott Supporters March With Farm Workers to Sakuma Farms – By staff, Boycott Sakuma Berries, July 12, 2016 | Sakuma berry farm proposes vote on union – By Don Jenkins, Capital Press, July 12, 2016
• Markets don't regulate, markets speculate – By staff, La Via Campesina, July 14, 2016
• Biodiversity, GMOs, Gene Drives and the Militarized Mind – By Vandana Shiva, Common Dreams, July 10, 2016

An Injury to One is an Injury to All:

• Workers and chemicals: 12th ETUI seminar – By staff, European Trade Union Institute, July 14, 2016
• The Liberal record on asbestos so far worse than the Conservatives' – By Gerry Caplan, Rabble.Ca, July 13, 2016
• Marathon Oil sued over use of workers’ health care funds – By LM Sixel, FuelFix, July 13, 2016
• Migrant workers die at Birmingham recycling site – By Simon Basketter, Socialist Worker (UK), July 12, 2016  
• Rail bosses threaten safety with their lies – By Raymie Kiernan, Socialist Worker (UK), July 12, 2016
• An Update from the Recent Floods – By staff, RAMPS, July 12, 2016
• National Nurses United Petitions Federal OSHA for Workplace Violence Prevention Standard – By staff, National Nurses United, July 11, 2016

Whistleblowers:

• National parks punt on overcrowding – By Kirsten Stade, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, July 14, 2016

Wobbles:

• Brazil: 25 Buildings Occupied in Mass Indigenous Mobilization – By Articulação dos Povos Indígenas do Brasil, translated by Earth First! Journal, July 16, 2016
• Amid Mounting Controversy, BLM Halts New Mexico Fossil Fuel Auction – By Eleanor Bravo, et. al., Food & Water Watch, et. al., July 13, 2016
• Ban the Bomb Trains Week of Action ends with a bang! – By Drew Hudson, Environmental Action, July 12, 2016
• Virginia Activists Inspired by Recent Victories Over Pipelines – By Mark Hand, DC Media Group, July 12, 2016

Other News:

• Unite union backs Trident renewal as delegates denounce Len McCluskey's 'fudge' – By Dave Sewell, Socialist Worker (UK), July 12, 2016

For more green news, please visit our news feeds section on ecology.iww.org; Twitter #IWWEUC; Hashtags: #greenunionism #greensyndicalism #IWW. Please send suggested news items to include in this series to euc [at] iww.org.