This paper shows that US sanctions against Venezuela killed more than 40,000 people in the first year, 2017-2018. The authors argue that the sanctions violate the Geneva and Hague conventions against collective punishment of civilian populations.

this morning I have been thinking about Orlando Letelier, the Chiliean economist assassinated by Pinochet's junta a month after he wrote the famous The Nation critique of the Chicago boys funding by the CIA, and Milton Friedman's overt support for their shock therapy.

New research published by The Lancet finds that economic sanctions imposed by the USA and EU are associated with more than 500,000 deaths per year since 1970, five times more than deaths by war. www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

The Treasury and Bank of England should instead be coordinating to develop credit policies to ensure more credit flows to SMEs and green transition and scale up the National Wealth Fund so it can fully support UK infrastructure, housing and green energy. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

It's hard to think about the institutions of the future when so many bad things are happening right now. But let's have a go: what might corporate power look like, in the more just world that we all long to live in? criticaltakes.org/the-corporat...

last week, I was in an expert hearing on housing at European Parliament. I told MEPs that I worry the Commission's European Affordable Housing Plan, in partnership w European Investment Bank, may morph into another derisking vehicle for institutional landlords.

We are living through something closer to late oligarchy than late capitalism. Capitalism renews through crisis, whereas oligarchy in capitalist democracy seems to more and more undermine the conditions for accumulation.

What would it take to transform the global food system? For @philbakernz.bsky.social, redistribution of resources to enable more households to access healthy food is the key. www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQ4q... What actions do you think are needed? #foodjustice #foodsystems

Another excellent & helpful paper from Jennifer Clapp & colleagues explaining why excessive corporate power in food systems (& beyond) needs to be addressed. Highly recommend! May be of interest @criticaltakes.bsky.social @katesievert.bsky.social @hfsaus.bsky.social

Another excellent & helpful paper from Jennifer Clapp & colleagues explaining why excessive corporate power in food systems (& beyond) needs to be addressed. Highly recommend! May be of interest @criticaltakes.bsky.social @katesievert.bsky.social @hfsaus.bsky.social

🇺🇳 Treaty on Transnational Corporations and their Supply Chains with regards to Human Rights 🌐 Global Campaign to Reclaim People Sovereignty, Dismantle Corporate Power and Stop Impunity ✊🏽 https://www.stopcorporateimpunity.org #bindingtreaty #stopcorporateimpunity #stopTNCimpunity

What is the new geopolitics of #food? Rewatch our webinar for an enlightening discussion on how conflict, trade wars, aid cuts, & weak institutions are contributing to rising food prices, profiteering, ecological crisis, & hunger. And the need for cooperative self-reliance. youtu.be/bA7eAx_2g0I

This fascinating new research overturns longstanding assumptions. It finds that lower-income groups are more concerned about the environment and prefer environmental protection over economic growth, compared to higher-income groups. Data from the USA.

UN: “100 per cent of the population of Gaza is at risk of famine.” Food is a fundamental human right and denying it is a violation of international humanitarian law. Yet, here we are. ipes-food.org/food-cannot-... www.ft.com/content/0064...

3.3 billion people — almost half of humanity — live in countries that spend more on debt interest than on education or health. The United Nations debt dashboard offers data & insights on key public debt & development spending indicators for 188 countries. Explore the dashboard ▶️ ow.ly/kN1n50TaZho

The Pensions Review is a great opportunity to boost the UK economy & help savers — but it's being missed. The state must use its fiscal might to enable better outcomes for both the economy & the public, while policymakers must be innovative & take risks. www.common-wealth.org/publications...

Welcome and overdue. But it isn't just the planning system. Privatisation has led to under-investment and asset sweating of our water system.

🔴 REVEALED 🔴 BP, Chevron, Shell, and other oil majors back arts and community groups to protect their business models, subpoenaed documents show. ✏️ @rebeccajohn.bsky.social‬ reports: buff.ly/ZQ1IaRF

☠️"Our #foodsystem is killing us. Designed in a different century for a different purpose it is now a source of jeopardy, destroying more than it creates. "1/4 of all adult deaths globally – 12M every year – are due to poor diets" writes @stuartgillespie.bsky.social #UPFs #junkfood

"Junk food manufacturers are pressuring the government to adopt junk health policy, and the price will be paid in the public’s health." my @thesoilassociation.bsky.social comment on the latest DHSC U-turn www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

🔥Time to stop the great food heist And we know what to do.... my new article for @theguardian.com www.theguardian.com/global-devel...

📢 Announcing our WEBINAR | The New Geopolitics of Food: trade wars, hunger & the case for cooperative self-reliance What happens when food becomes a pawn in global power struggles? Join IPES-Food experts + @thinink.bsky.social 📆June 3 🕑14h CEST/8am EDT REGISTER: us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Looking forward to participating in this webinar with @ipes-food.org colleagues and moderated by @thinink.bsky.social on June 3! Do join us! Details below ⬇️

I used a lot of FOIs for a research project on multistakeholder partnerships and the role of the FDF - hard to think of a trade association that’s been more effective at lobbying policy makers www.research.ed.ac.uk/en/publicati...

I spent the half-year working on this investigation. Extraordinary influence of UPF lobby behind the scenes. 'UK government dropped health push after lobbying by ultra-processed food firms' 👇 www.theguardian.com/society/ng-i...

Great to see this get the attention it deserves @theguardian.com @thesoilassociation.bsky.social @rob-percival.bsky.social @andrewgregory.com

extraordinary that Thames Water executives are getting *new* bonuses, this time as a result of the £3bn rescue loan from the spring - which loads the company with interest rates of nearly 10% via me and Gill Plimmer www.ft.com/content/1f6d...

Well well. More Labour warfare for welfare.

NEXT TUESDAY! Don't miss this online event with an elite lineup of speakers, as we explore the future of international cooperation. Register here: zoom.us/meeting/regi...

When you’re the apex predator in the global financial food chain but forget that half your bulk is foreign money & that your service export is not rocket science and is easily re-shored. Imho, private equity support for Trump bc of tax & dereg is a stunning case of elite delusion. on.ft.com/42l7J28

🔥new commentary in World Nutrition 'Use your Power' worldnutritionjournal.org/index.php/wn...

We wrote a piece on our national champions paper for Critical Takes! Check it out criticaltakes.org/society-and-... 🥩 @diarmidos.bsky.social @ipes-food.org

New on Critical Takes: How "national champions" from Brazil and China are becoming global giants in the meat industry. criticaltakes.org/society-and-... Fascinating take from @katesievert.bsky.social and co-authors on power shifts in an industry with huge effects on health, workers and nature.

Issue 1 is HERE! 📖 Our first print issue launches on May 7 - join us for a LIVE podcast & party 🎉 Join @adriennebuller.bsky.social, @geoffmann.bsky.social & @quinnslobodian.com to discuss RIGHT TURN — on the afterlives of neoliberalism & climate politics in the age of the new right...

We're delighted to host @stuartgillespie.bsky.social for a discussion on reimagining our global food system - putting people and planet above profits Join us: 29 April 16:00 UK time, online and in person at @ids.ac.uk www.ids.ac.uk/events/food-...

The "Silicon Six" are still paying low tax rates on their profits. This report says they have a combined $82.5 *billion* in "uncertain tax positions" - tax they might have to pay, if tax authorities challenge them and win.

THE RISE OF END TIMES FASCISM My first major piece of the new Trump era, co-written with @astra.bsky.social. The governing ideology of the far right has become a monstrous, supremacist survivalism. Our task is to build a movement strong enough to stop them. www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...

One week until this #SavingTheWorld webinar with guest Professor @jennifer-clapp.bsky.social, hosted by the Planetary Health Equity Hothouse. 📆17th April 🕥10:30am AEST 🔗Register for the Zoom link: hothouse.anu.edu.au/event/titans... @anuregnet.bsky.social @uwaterloo.ca @anuagrifood.bsky.social

Highly recommend registering for this webinar!

#UPF #ABF

Absolutely worth a read: taking on corporate power in global food chains. The abstract is basically a concept note for a global campaign.

🔈 Excited to share our new paper, led by the brilliant @katesievert.bsky.social, in which we encourage a common framing & approach for addressing unsustainable production & consumption of both ultra-processed foods 🍩🥤 & intensively produced animal-source foods 🥩 link.springer.com/article/10.1...

A busy week with another newly published paper 📣 Our work in Food Ethics tackles the financialisation of food systems—showing how ultra-processed foods (UPFs) and intensively produced animal-source foods (ASFs) share common structural drivers. 🧵 link.springer.com/article/10.1...

The rise of national champions is a key example of how corporate power in food systems isn’t just market-driven—it’s actively shaped by the state. Understanding these shifts is essential for addressing global food governance challenges.

Just published! 📢 Our new paper in The Journal of Peasant Studies examines how national champion policies have reshaped global meat supply chains—concentrating power, limiting competition, and benefiting transnational investors. 🧵 www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Great review of Shaina Pott's new book by Brett Christophers "Potts brings to light the crucial role of the law in fashioning and enforcing international financial subordination—that is, in demanding and securing the obedience of sovereign states." www.thenation.com/article/cult...

So nice to see this article with Eric Helleiner on history and theory of green finance finally published! It's part of a special issue in Competition and Change on the IPE of Green Finance edited by Sarah E. Sharma and @mbabic.bsky.social Abstract & link ⬇️ journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

The European Commission has just made it clear that the rigid constraints they had placed on public finance were totally artificial. They have now lifted them to enable massive military production.

Amazing how war clarifies the macrofinancial mind