of volcanos and flowers

Sent to me by one of my students, this BBC posting provides a fascinating glimpse into the logic of the world food system, as thousands of farm workers in Kenya are laid off as a result of the eruption in Iceland:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8629079.stm

agribusiness in Brazil

An excellent video article from the Financial Times on agribusiness in Brazil, the superpower of the new agricultural countries.

http://www.ft.com/cms/1644d08e-f450-11dc-aaad-0000779fd2ac.html?_i_referralObject=16029375&fromSearch=n

a history of modern Sudan

An excellent piece of reportage to place this week's elections in Sudan in context has been produced by The Economist. Sudan is far too often thought of these days in the context of Darfur. Yet Sudan's history of conflict goes back 4 decades, and has seen at least 2 million deaths in addition to the 300000 dead in Darfur. More than 9 million Sudanese rely on food aid; and in the south of the country, an area twice the size of Italy, there are only 50 km of tarmac roads. We need to pay more attention to Africa's biggest country.