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    NHS Chief Executive was a founder member of an organisation lobbying for health to be included in TTIP

    Dave Darby of Lowimpact.org | 03-Feb-2016 | 0

    Just allow a few seconds for that to sink in. Simon Stevens was Vice President of UnitedHealth Group, the largest health insurer in the US. He was in charge of global expansion of their business. Now he’s Chief Executive of the NHS. Read more

    The discipline of economics presupposes corporate capitalism and perpetual growth, which renders it invalid

    Dave Darby of Lowimpact.org | 01-Feb-2016 | 2

    Economics is not an unbiased academic discipline, it’s an ideology. Furthermore, economics is based on the false premise that perpetual growth is achievable. It is not, and the reason most people can’t see this is Read more

    ‘Business Against TTIP’ launched yesterday; we could actually win this

    Dave Darby of Lowimpact.org | 19-Jan-2016 | 1

    I’m beginning to think that we could actually win this struggle against TTIP – the latest in the corporate strategy to undermine democracy. Yesterday, ‘Business Against TTIP’ launched – no corporations involved, obviously, but Read more

    US bans pipeline, TransCanada sues US taxpayers for $15 billion. How TTIP will transfer wealth from taxpayers to corporations

    Dave Darby of Lowimpact.org | 18-Jan-2016 | 1

    Investor-state dispute settlements (ISDS) have been around for over fifty years. Originally meant to protect investors from losses due to government actions – what may have seemed a good idea at the time has spiralled out of control Read more

    Why the Real Farming Conference gave me grounds for optimism

    Dave Darby of Lowimpact.org | 09-Jan-2016 | 4

    Sometimes, when I’m sitting in front of my laptop screen, I forget how many great people there are out there doing wonderful things, and it’s easy to believe that we’re never going to get rid of this damaging system, and that it will eventually damage ecology so much Read more

    Live from the Real Farming Conference: Equality in the Countryside – a rural manifesto

    Dave Darby of Lowimpact.org | 06-Jan-2016 | 13

    I’m blogging from the Real Farming Conference in Oxford, in Oxford Town Hall. This is the seventh annual conference, set up as a counter to the corporate farming conference running at the university in Oxford. I wasn’t expecting such a huge affair – 850 attendees, with some fantastic sessions. Read more

    What will TTIP mean for European farmers?

    David Margolies of Stop TTIP | 05-Jan-2016 | 0

    A new report from the US Department of Agriculture assesses the potential effects of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership on farmers. It’s pretty difficult to decipher, but our position is that we don’t want an increase in Transatlantic trade when it comes to agriculture. Read more

    Review of ‘Drinking Molotov Cocktails with Gandhi’ by Mark Boyle – part 1: reformism and the Transition movement

    Dave Darby of Lowimpact.org | 02-Jan-2016 | 28

    This was a very challenging and thought-provoking read. Mark lived without money for three years, and wrote the Moneyless Manifesto, published in 2012. This is his latest book about the corporate ‘Machine’ and appropriate responses to it. Read more

    What will TTIP mean for small companies and local economies?

    Dave Darby of Lowimpact.org | 27-Dec-2015 | 0

    Promoters of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) claim it’s good for all business, but is this really true?  The European Commission (EC) and the USA say it will especially help SME businesses (small and medium-sized enterprises), not just multinationals. Read more

    How has the 2008 financial crash affected the wealth of the rich and the poor, and what can we do about it?

    Dave Darby of Lowimpact.org | 26-Dec-2015 | 1

    Have we all suffered equally since the crash of 2008? Have we all shared in the austerity? Well, no – the gap between the rich and the poor is widening in the UK, the US and in fact, in the OECD. In the US, Robert Reich reports that 95% of economic gains since 2009 have… Continue reading How has the 2008 financial crash affected the wealth of the rich and the poor, and what can we do about it? Read more

    How superstores destroy jobs and local resilience

    Dave Darby of Lowimpact.org | 19-Dec-2015 | 4

    A report by the National Retail Planning Forum (partly financed by supermarkets) found that in a catchment of 15km around 93 new superstores, around 10,000 new retail jobs were created and 35,000 destroyed – a net loss of 25,000 retail jobs (full-time equivalent). Read more

    Take back the city – if you’re not “proud that London is the natural habitat of the billionaire”

    Dave Darby of Lowimpact.org | 14-Dec-2015 | 0

    People of Britain, are you proud that your capital city is geared towards attracting billionaires (that’s a quote by Boris Johnson by the way)? Read more

    TTIP: investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) may be illegal under EU law

    Dave Darby of Lowimpact.org | 13-Dec-2015 | 0

    ISDS is a legal instrument within international trade treaties that allows corporations to sue elected governments if they introduce legislation that can be shown to be detrimental to the profits of corporations active in their country. Read more

    What might poultry farms and human society look like if chickens and humans weren’t treated as machines to maximise profit?

    Paul Jennings of Criafolen | 10-Dec-2015 | 1

    Making use of biological resources, or renewable resources and services as David Holmgren characterises them, is an important principle of Permaculture Design. ‘Renewable services (or passive functions) are those we gain from plants, animals and living soil and water without them being consumed.’ Read more

    To all environmental groups: lifestyle change isn’t going to be enough to avert ecological catastrophe

    Dave Darby of Lowimpact.org | 09-Dec-2015 | 7

    Someone said to me the other day that he associated ‘low-impact’ with lifestyle but not with politics or economics. Someone else asked why we blogged about TTIP, economic growth or system change when we were ‘just’ an environmental organisation. Read more

    Hats off to Brandalism for exposing corporate greenwash

    Dave Darby of Lowimpact.org | 05-Dec-2015 | 1

    Genius campaign by a group called Brandalism. They managed to get around 600 spoof but corporate-looking adverts all over Paris in time for the climate talks. The fake ads were the work of 82 artists from 19 countries, and they parody the companies involved in sponsoring the climate talks. Read more

    Corporations suing elected governments for introducing laws that reduce their profits isn’t new, but TTIP will make it much worse

    Dave Darby of Lowimpact.org | 04-Dec-2015 | 0

    It’s called Investor-state Dispute Settlement (ISDS), and it’s a mechanism whereby corporations can sue governments that introduce legislation that they claim reduce their potential to make profit – for example, requiring plain packaging for cigarettes (Australia and Uruguay sued) Read more

    Why does Jeremy Hunt want to give junior doctors more work for less money, and can we stop the corporate takeover of the NHS?

    Dave Darby of Lowimpact.org | 01-Dec-2015 | 0

    The planned strike is off, but we all know that the assault on the NHS will continue. The corporate incursions into the NHS that Hunt and his ilk are encouraging are because of neoliberal ideology, not a desire to provide the best healthcare. Can there be anyone on the left or right who doesn’t appreciate this,… Continue reading Why does Jeremy Hunt want to give junior doctors more work for less money, and can we stop the corporate takeover of the NHS? Read more

    How TTIP fits perfectly with the Deregulation Act, which can overrule all other laws if they affect growth or corporate interests

    Linda Kaucher of Stop TTIP | 28-Nov-2015 | 5

    The Deregulation Bill, proposed by Tory privatiser Oliver Letwin, slipped into law at the end of the last Parliament. It can change all other law, according to criteria of ‘growth’ i.e. business interests. It fits perfectly with the EU’s deregulatory agenda, and that of TTIP and the other new ‘trade’ agreements, which have largely come… Continue reading How TTIP fits perfectly with the Deregulation Act, which can overrule all other laws if they affect growth or corporate interests Read more

    Microdairies: making them as successful as micro-breweries

    A conference on the benefits of small-scale commercial dairy farms of up to 40 cows or the equivalent of sheep or goats. How to establish them and how to promote the concept. For practising and prospective dairy farmers and others with a professional interest in the future of the British dairy industry. Read more

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