Thomson Reuters – With hits like the “Roughest Neck Around” that celebrate oil workers, Canadian country rocker Corb Lund might not be an obvious choice as a campaigner against fossil fuel expansion. But the music star has taken on an unexpected new role, as a leader of efforts to stop new open-pit coal mines in
Canadian country music star spurs unlikely coalition against coal
Corb Lund says the region where he grew up ranching has brought a lot of people together to defend it
Canada’s Indigenous people fight for rights with new cash crop — cannabis
The stage is, however, being set for a struggle over whether or not it’s a ‘sovereign Indigenous right’
Thomson Reuters Foundation – In their struggle to regain control over resources and spur economic growth, Canada’s Indigenous communities have found an unlikely ally: cannabis. Facing higher levels of poverty and unemployment than the general population, many Indigenous people see the marijuana trade as a valuable source of income. Canada became the first industrialized nation
Want free farmland? Grab your parka and head North
Toronto / Thomson Reuters Foundation – In Canada’s far north, the government of Yukon Territory wants to attract small farmers to the frigid region with a simple pitch: free land. And as global warming makes Canada’s northern regions more hospitable to agriculture by opening once frozen land to farming, the opportunities are growing. Bordering on Alaska
Burger King pledges to end deforestation by 2030
Rio de Janeiro | Thomson Reuters Foundation — The owner of Burger King has pledged to eliminate deforestation from its supply chains by 2030 but scientists say the company is not moving fast enough to stop its hamburgers from destroying rainforests and the communities who depend on them. Restaurant Brands International, one of the world’s
Brazil’s female farmers occupy government offices
Rio de Janeiro | Thomson Reuters Foundation — Hundreds of female farmers in Brazil occupied rural government offices on Wednesday in protest against austerity plans which they say disproportionately impact poor women. Protesters who marched across several cities on International Women’s Day said pension reforms and other changes to social security will make it harder
Scotland moves against wealthy gentry dominating land
Rio de Janeiro | Thomson Reuters Foundation — Centuries-old traditions that led to 430 people owning half of Scotland’s privately held land are soon to become history, as local communities seek to double their ownership in the nation known for its rugged landscape, sheep and fine whisky. While inequality of land ownership is more often
Number of hungry people worldwide drops below 800M, U.N. says
Rome | Thomson Reuters Foundation –– The number of people in the world still going to bed hungry 15 years after the U.N. placed eradicating hunger and extreme poverty at the top of its Millennium Development Goals has dropped to 795 million, according to a report released on Wednesday. The report by three U.N. agencies
Food diversity under siege from global warming, UN says
Rome | Thomson Reuters Foundation — Climate change threatens the genetic diversity of the world’s food supply, and saving crops and animals at risk will be crucial for preserving yields and adapting to wild weather patterns, a United Nations policy paper said on Monday. Certain wild crops — varieties not often cultivated by today’s farmers
Herders with machine guns intensify South Sudan land, food woes
Rome | Thomson Reuters Foundation — Tensions are rising in South Sudan as displaced pastoralists migrate onto lands occupied by farming communities, stoking a new series of conflicts in the war-torn nation and threatening food supplies, a United Nations official said Friday. Due to changes in migration patterns because of violence, the world’s youngest country
Foreign ‘land grabs’ seeing redrawing global farmland ownership map
Rome | Thomson Reuters Foundation — A handful of wealthy countries are responsible for most international farmland acquisitions — what some critics term “land grabs” — in a trend that is redrawing the global map of land ownership, a new study has found. China, the U.S., Britain, Germany, Singapore and a small group of other
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