Neoliberal restructuring, neoregulation, and the Mexican poultry industry

The US poultry industry based on flexible accumulation has been advanced as the model of agro-industrial development for agrifood globalization. Similarly, Mexico has been presented as a noteworthy example of the negative effects of neoliberal restructuring associated with the globalization project. In this paper we use both of these assertions as points of departure to guide an investigation of the case of the restructuring of the Mexican poultry industry. Informed by a commodity systems analysis, archival data and key informant interviews are used to generate an overview of the history of the poultry industry in Mexico. A sociology of agrifood theoretical framework informed by regimes theory is employed to analyze the events of the case. We conclude that neoregulation related to the IMF and NAFTA restructuring in Mexico facilitated the diffusion of the US model of poultry production.     

Livelihood change,farming, and managing flood risk in the Lerma Valley,Mexico

In face of rising flood losses globally, the approach of “living with floods,” rather than relying on structural measures for flood control and prevention, is acquiring greater resonance in diverse socioeconomic contexts. In the Lerma Valley in the state of Mexico, rapid industrialization, population growth, and the declining value of agricultural products are driving livelihood and land use change, exposing increasing numbers of people to flooding. However, data collected in two case studies of farm communities affected by flooding in 2003 illustrate that the concept of flood as agricultural “hazard” has been relatively recently constructed through public intervention in river management and disaster compensation. While farming still represents subsistence value to rural households, increasingly rural communities are relying on non-farm income and alternative livelihood strategies. In this context, defining flooding in rural areas as a private hazard for which individuals are entitled to public protection may be counterproductive. A different approach, in which farmers’ long acceptance of periodic flooding is combined with valuing agricultural land for ecoservices, may enable a more sustainable future for the region’s population.

Building the local food movement in Chiapas,Mexico: rationales,benefits, and limitations

Alternative food networks (AFNs) have become a common response to the socio-ecological injustices generated by the industrialized food system. Using a political ecology framework, this paper evaluates the emergence of an AFN in Chiapas, Mexico. While the Mexican context presents a particular set of challenges, the case study also reveals the strength the alternative food movement derives from a diverse network of actors committed to building a “community economy” that reasserts the multifunctional values of organic agriculture and local commodity chains. Nonetheless, just as the AFN functions as an important livelihood strategy for otherwise disenfranchised producers it simultaneously encounters similar limitations as those observed in other market-driven approaches to sustainable food governance.     

Food sovereignty: the debate,the deadlock,and a suggested detour

Whereas hundreds of social movements and NGOs all over the world have embraced the concept of food sovereignty, not many public authorities at the national and international level have adopted the food sovereignty paradigm as a normative basis for alternative agriculture and food policy. A common explanation of the limited role of food sovereignty in food and agriculture policy is that existing power structures are biased towards maintaining the corporatist food regime and neo-liberal thinking about food security. This article sets out to provide an alternative explanation for this limited role by critically reflecting on the debate about food sovereignty itself. The main argument is that this debate is characterized by deadlock. Two mechanisms underlying the deadlock are analyzed: confusion about the concept of sovereignty and the failure of the epistemic community to debate how to reconcile conflicting values, discourses, and institutions regarding food. To overcome this deadlock and organize meaningful debate with public authorities, it is proposed that the food sovereignty movement uses insights from legal pluralism and debates on governance and adopts the ending of “food violence” as a new objective and common frame.     

AAAS in Mexico: Inter-American Goodwill but Little Press Coverage

This summer, in cooperation with the Mexican government's National Council of Science and Technology, the AAAS marked its 125th anniversary with a special meeting in Mexico City, the association's first in Latin America. For the occasion, News and Comment asked Edward Edelson, a science writer for the New York Daily News who has covered previous AAAS meetings, to review the Mexico City gathering from a reporter's point of view. A second article by Robert Gillette of the News and Comment staff will elaborate on the objectives of the meeting and on the difficulties of organizing a major international conference.     

Teotihuacan, tepeapulco, and obsidian exploitation

Current cultural ecological models of the development of civilization in central Mexico emphasize the role of subsistence production techniques and organization. The recent use of established and productive archeological surface survey techniques along natural corridors of communication between favorable niches for cultural development within the Central Mexican symbiotic region resulted in the location of sites that indicate an early development of a decentralized resource exploitation, manufacturing, and exchange network. The association of the development of this system with Teotihuacán indicates the importance such nonsubsistence production and exchange had in the evolution of this first central Mexican civilization. The later expansion of Teotihuacán into more distant areas of Mesoamerica was based on this resource exploitation model. Later civilizations centered at Tula and Tenochtitlán also used such a model in their expansion.     

Silenced voices,vital arguments: smallholder farmers in the Mexican GM maize controversy

Smallholder producers are the collective most likely to be affected by the introduction of GMOs globally, yet the least included in public debates and consultation about the development, implementation or regulation of this agricultural biotechnology. Why are the voices and arguments of smallholder farmers being excluded from national and international GM debates and regulation? In this article, we identify barriers which prevent smallholder farmers in Mexico from having a voice in public political, economic, scientific and social fori regarding the GM maize controversy. Through the analysis of empirical data from a case study in Mexico, we identify political, institutional, economic and ontological reasons that lie behind that exclusion. We conclude with an appraisal of smallholder farmers’ perspectives on GM maize and their visions of Mexico’s rural future, within which they demand a meaningful and rightful space.     

Trade and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Totomoxtle</Emphasis>: Livelihood strategies in the Totonacan region of Veracruz,Mexico

Following the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Mexican farmers altered their livelihood strategies to respond to changing market incentives. While many commercial farmers responded to falling maize prices brought on by NAFTA by shifting into the production of vegetables for export, the coping strategies of low-income farmers have been varied, from diversifying income sources through off-farm employment, to migration, to searching for niche markets for new or added-value products. In the Totonocan region of the state of Veracruz, Mexico, many farmers who can no longer earn sufficient income from the sale of maize grain are turning to a byproduct of maize to generate income. The commercialization of totomoxtle, or maize husks, for domestic and international markets has not only enabled farmers to continue to profit from maize production, but it has also encouraged farmers to utilize and conserve criollo maize varieties that serve as important reservoirs of genetic diversity. Moreover, the growing importance of totomoxtle in livelihood strategies has caused some farmers to alter their maize management, selecting for better quality husks rather than for grain production. The purpose of this paper is to understand both the broad impact of NAFTA on the local agricultural economy and its more specific effects on the management of maize in the Zona Totonaca. Participation in international trade can lead to unexpected outcomes, in some cases creating new values for goods with a long history of local consumption. Commercialization of maize husks is likely to be only a temporary solution for the relief of rural poverty. Given the volatility of international markets, the long-term welfare of farmers may depend on the development of more diversified production strategies. Amanda King Amanda King holds an MSc from the University of California-Berkeley in Environmental Science, Policy, and Management. She was a Mickey Leland International Hunger Fellow based at the International Center for Maize and Wheat Improvement (CIMMYT) in El Batán, Mexico in 2003 and at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) in Washington DC in 2004. She is currently conducting research in East Kalimantan, Indonesia on oil palm plantations and changes in local livelihoods.     

The international stakes of biotechnology and the patent war: Considerations after the uruguay round

The article explores briefly some problems associated with Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) for biotechnological inventions. IPR are inadequate for the protection of new advanced technologies and particularly for biotechnology. The problem is not only legal but mainly economic, for IPR has emerged as the major competitive weapon in the world economy. In this context, the main role of IPR is as a mechanism for the appropriation of new inventions, and as an instrument to deter rivals and control markets. The current debate, including the negotiations of the Uruguay Round, are not so much concerned with the search for legal mechanisms adapted to the characteristics of biotechnologies as they are for the building up of an efficient appropriability mechanism on the international level for biotechnological inventions and with mechanisms for the control of their diffusion.     

关于物质的量和物质的量浓度

1984年2月7日国务院发布了《关于在我国统一实行法定计量单位的命令》,并要求1990年底完全过渡。改用国际单位制后,传统的旧概念和单位随之废除,但如何用国际单位概括过去的旧概念和旧单位,使用中显得有点混乱和不习惯,本文谈了自己的一点看法,试图尽早结束这种混乱和不习惯局面.     

浅析国际非政府组织在国际法中的地位

随着全球化的发展, 国际非政府组织的影响力越来越大, 但对于其在国际法上的地位问题还存在着争议。本文通过对国际非政府组织的定义、发展历程和兴起原因、国际法上的地位三个方面进行分析, 认为国际非政府组织在一定范围和条件是可以成为国际法主体的, 应给予这些国际非政府组织国际法中的地位。     

发挥国家团队优势,推进油菜科研与产业国际化

国家农业竞争力的核心指标是农业技术与产业的国际占有率,我国在油菜研究中以波里马细胞质雄性不育材料为代表的成果率先进入国际合作领域,为国际油菜遗传育种和产业发展做出了贡献,同时也提高了我国的学术地位与国际竞争力。充分发挥国家优势团队力量,开展广泛的资源、人才和技术的国际合作,用先进成果拓展国际市场,推进油菜产业化,是今后我国油菜科研与产业发展的重要途径。     

Species diversity of thrips (Thysanoptera) in selected avocado orchards from Mexico based on morphology and molecular data

Avocado is one of the most important crops in the world, and Mexico is the largest producer of this fruit. Several insect pests affect its production, and thrips are amongst the most important. A key step in the design of control methods is accurate species identification. Despite this, formal reports on species diversity of thrips in Mexico are very scarce. Morphological identification can sometimes be time-consuming and inconclusive. Therefore, we explored the species diversity of thrips in Mexican avocado orchards(Michoacan state) based on partial sequences of the mitochondrial gene cytochrome oxidase subunit Ⅰ(COⅠ). Forty-four specimens were analysed, which represented approximately 8% of all individuals collected from five localities distributed in three Municipalities. All specimens were analysed using the COⅠ marker, and specimens within the genera Frankliniella were also analysed using a marker within the D2 domain of the 28 S(28 SD2) nuclear ribosomal DNA. Molecular identifications were confirmed using morphological taxonomy. Overall, six genera were found(Neohydatothrips, Scirtothrips, Frankliniella, Arorathrips, Caliothrips and Leptothrips). All genera contained only one species, except Frankliniella, for which there were six species. Data from the two molecular markers suggest the existence of cryptic species within Mexican F. occidentalis populations.     

焦作竹子种质资源调查评价及保存利用

竹子是林木种质资源不可或缺的重要内容,经调查,全市共有竹子种质资源11 属74 种 (包括种下单位),其中本地竹种7 种（特有竹种2 种）,引进品种67 种,对其焦作立地条件的生长应 用简要分析与评价,不断加大竹子种质资源的保护和开发应用力度。     

小麦玉蜀黍赤霉的比较研究

用墨西哥、斯里兰卡、印度尼西亚和中国的玉蜀黍赤霉[Gibberella zeae (Schw.)Petch]对42个中国品种和116个墨西哥品种麦穗进行接种。两年结果说明,墨西哥和中国菌株间致病力的差异显著。中国菌株的致病力最强,墨西哥菌株最弱,印度尼西亚菌株与斯里兰卡菌株介于两者之间。因此,在不同病害流行区可能存在不同的生态型。此外,国内外菌株的培养性状也有相应的差异。     

Conserving copalillo: The creation of sustainable Oaxacan wood carvings

Most accounts of the effect of the global marketplace on deforestation in Africa, Asia, and Latin America emphasize the demand for timber used in industrial processes and the conversion of tropical forests to pastures for beef cattle. In recent years, numerous scholars and policymakers have suggested that developing a market for non-timber forest products (NTFPs) might slow the pace of habitat destruction. Although increased demand for NTFPs rarely results in massive deforestation, the depletion of the raw materials needed to make particular products is common. Many rural households in the Mexican state of Oaxaca have prospered over the past three decades through the sale of brightly-painted, whimsical wood carvings (alebrijes) to international tourists and the owners of ethnic arts shops in the United States, Canada, and Europe. This paper examines a promising project aimed at providing Oaxacan alebrije-makers with a reliable, legal, and sustainable supply of wood. The ecologists, artisans, merchants, and forest owners involved in the project face formidable obstacles. Gaining permission to harvest wood from land belonging to Oaxacan communities requires the negotiation of a complex social, legal, economic, and political landscape. Artisans’ decisions about where to obtain wood rest largely on price, quality, and reliability of the supplier; they are willing to pay a premium for ecologically sustainable wood only if the additional cost can be passed on to consumers. Nonetheless, a group of carvers has begun to buy sustainably harvested wood. This arrangement has economic advantages for both the alebrije-makers and the owners of the forests where the wood is produced. Michael Chibnik is Professor of Anthropology at the University of Iowa. He has conducted fieldwork in Belize, Peru, Mexico, and in various parts of the United States. His research interests include economic anthropology, artisans, work organization, agricultural decision-making, and political ecology. He is the author of Crafting Tradition: The Making and Marketing of Oaxacan Wood Carvings (University of Texas Press, 2003) and Risky Rivers: The Economics and Politics of Floodplain Farming in Amazonia (University of Arizona Press, 1994), and editor of Farm Work and Fieldwork: American Agriculture in Anthropological Perspective (Cornell University Press, 1987). Dr. Silvia E. Purata is a Mexican ethnoecologist based in Xalapa, Veracruz. She is a member of People and Plants International, an organization that works to integrate conservation and the use of natural resources. Purata has conducted research on the methods indigenous peoples use to extract non-timber forest products (NTFPs) in tropical forests and the fate of such systems in varying socioeconomic circumstances. She has also been working on the promotion of forest certification in the Selva Maya.     

作物种质资源研究回顾与发展趋势

经过上百年的发展,作物种质资源研究在全球取得了突飞猛进的发展。随着国际社会政治环境的变化和科学技术的进步,目前种质资源研究出现了一系列新的发展趋势和特征,包括种质资源考察收集全球化、保存保护多元化、鉴定评价精准化、基因发掘规模化、种质创新目标化、共享利用主动化等。中国作物种质资源研究在建国后也取得了重大进展与突破,查清了中国农作物种质资源本底的物种多样性,创建了农作物种质资源科学分类、统一编目、统一描述的技术规范体系,创建了世界上唯一的长期库、复份库、中期库、种质圃、原生境保护点相配套的种质保存和共享利用体系;开展多种农作物种质资源精准鉴定评价,新基因发掘取得显著成效;高效作物种质创新及其利用技术不断完善,并在作物育种中发挥了重要作用。2015年,中国颁布了《全国农作物种质资源保护与利用中长期发展规划（2015—2030年）》,提出了今后作物种质资源研究的五大行动,为种质资源学科的发展提供了战略支撑。     

垦红号小麦品种的亲缘关系

绘制的垦红号小麦品种亲缘关系图清晰地绘出了农垦红兴隆科研所育成小麦品种的亲缘关系及它们的墨麦血缘含量.通过对关系图进行分析,结果表明:垦红号小麦大多都有墨麦血缘,墨巴66在垦红号小麦品种的亲缘关系中占有主导地位.克71F4-370-7可谓是垦红号小麦的祖母,意大利品种阿夫则是祖母的祖父.垦红号小麦秆强抗锈和多花高产的优...