Huge tracts of fertile land in Africa are being gobbled up, not by Africans but by foreign investors with deep pockets. Many African governments, in cahoots with the World Bank, are doing all they can to encourage these land deals, but the consequences for ordinary Africans and the environment are staggering. Joan Baxter has done extensive on-the-ground investigation in Mali and Sierra Leone.

Fair trade coffee, fair trade products -- we're told to buy these items because the extra amount we pay at the register goes to improving the lives of agricultural laborers abroad. But does it? Sarah Besky has done extensive fieldwork on fair trade-certified tea plantations in Darjeeling, India. And Mark Moberg co-edits a volume that features Besky's case study and many others.

Should the neoliberal "free market" govern food production and distribution? Or can we learn from the efforts of Venezuela, under Hugo Chavez, to address food insecurity? Christina Schiavoni describes the transformation of that nation's food and agriculture system. David Pimentel points out the colossal energy demands of the US system, and proposes ways to reduce fossil fuel inputs.

Why are more than ten thousand farmers in India committing suicide each year? Among the reasons, asserts the award-winning journalist P. Sainath, is neoliberal globalization. Also, Melissa Hart discusses the rejection by Colorado voters of a Ward Connerly-backed anti-affirmative action ballot initiative.

Twentieth century civilization is about to collapse, argues Colin Duncan, because of the imminence of rapid and vast climate change. The environmental historian believes a mass collective project must arise to plan a necessary transition to a new sustainable society. Also, Simon Dyer of the Pembina Institute describes oil exploration and extraction in Alberta's tar sands.