Contrasting Reactions to Technology: New York Times food bloviator Mark Bittman's New Year's toast accuses "hyper-industrial" agriculture of causing a half-million deaths annually. He says we must "un-invent this food system"; it must be "dismantled" because it causes climate change, obesity, wasted energy, tortured animals and a ruined environment. His more renowned (but equally flawed) colleague, economist Paul Krugman, earlier wrote how labor is being squeezed between robots (automation) and robber barons (capital). In contrast to Bittman, Krugman suggests taxing the capitalists to pay rich welfare benefits to people idled by the machines.2012 Hits: Assessing what people read most in Ag Perspectives during 2012, policy took a backseat...
Yesterday, Alberta held a referendum on whether to begin the process toward independence from Canada. With more than one million votes counted as of early Tuesday morning, around 77 percent supported remaining in Canada, and 23 percent voted to start the process of separation, according to unof...
Mediterranean/Middle East/North Africa/Africa – MEA Region Pakistan’s smaller wheat farmers have been holding protests to complain about the lack of a support price for wheat and the potential expansion of GMO crop production. They also want the reinstatement of PASSCO, the governme...
What You Need to Know Today: Harvest pressure in the U.S. sent corn and soybeans lower as supplies increased and there were signs USDA’s upward revisions to yields in the October WASDE could be close to right. The conflict between Russia and Ukraine escalated over the weekend, with Ukrai...
From WPI Consulting
Weighing in on strategic realignment
WPI’s team was retained by the governing board of a U.S. industry organization to review a decision, reached by vote, to invest significant assets into the development and management of an export trading company. WPI’s team conducted a formal review of this decision and concluded that the current level of market saturation would limit the benefits of the investment. Based on WPI’s analysis and recommended actions, the board subsequently reversed its decision and undertook a strategic planning effort to identify more impactful investments. On behalf of numerous clients, WPI has not only assisted in identifying strategic paths but also advised their implementation.