Pressure Systems edition
Billionaire Land Speculators and Seed Patents Squeeze Global Breadbaskets
July 14, 2026
What this edition shows
From the construction of 'AI Cities' in South Asia to land grabs in British Columbia, corporate speculators and industrial livestock expansions are displacing peasant farmers and threatening local food security. This material enclosure is compounded by the deregulation of gene-edited seeds in Latin America and the use of industry-funded pesticide reviews in New Zealand, forcing a confrontation between community-led agroecology and a globalized, proprietary agricultural regime.
Reporting and analysis behind this edition 6 sources
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South Asia in Focus: Peasant Organizations Raise Alarm over Heatwaves, Delayed Monsoons, Free Trade Deals, and Land Acquisition for an “AI City”
Given the volume of important developments in South Asia this month, and their relevance for La Via Campesina readers around the world, we’re sharing a summarized digest. The post South Asia in Focus: Peasant Organizations Raise Alarm over Heatwaves, Delayed Monsoons, Free Trade Deals, and Land Acqu…
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Latin American Organizations Unite Against Gene Editing in Agriculture and Seed Control
These technologies represent a new offensive by corporations to commodify life, seize control of seeds, and disregard the rights of the peoples who have protected biodiversity for millennia. The post Latin American Organizations Unite Against Gene Editing in Agriculture and Seed Control appeared fir…
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A Tiny BC Farming Town’s Fight Against Billionaire Speculators
A US company’s pursuit of land near Dunster has reignited calls for stiffer foreign ownership rules.
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Global boom in livestock farming since 2006 is piling pressure on nature, report finds
Wildlife is at risk as demand for cropland and water grows to support a 50 per cent rise in farmed animals, campaign alliance says
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Global warming already causing crop losses of over $20 billion a year
Climate change is already having a big impact on crop yields, and the subsequent financial losses will continue to rise as the world keeps warming
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NZ’s approval of Roundup relies on industry-funded reviews currently under investigation
Adriana Duduleanu/Getty Images Last month’s US Supreme Court ruling in favour of the makers of the weedkiller Roundup (formerly Monsanto, now owned by German pharmaceuticals group Bayer) upended thousands of lawsuits based on the cancer risk associated with the product’s active ingredient glyphosate…