Pigging Out.
Huge pork producers devour small farmers Linus Solberg's hogs are giving birth again this spring. Purebred hogs have been the mainstay of his farm near Cylinder, Iowa, every year since 1958. "I really like hogs," says Solberg. "Hogs were one of the reasons I decided to get...

How the farm crisis affects one farm: reflections of a hog producer.
(This article was written and sent to two members of the Ontario legislature by Wilma Jeffray who, along with her husband, Ross, and their four children, operates a pork farm near Belmore, Ontario.) We farm a 90-sow, farrow-to-finish operation with a small beef-feeding operation as well. We...

Visitors from North take in southern sights.
There are no cattle, pigs or horses on Sanikiluak, the only inhabited island in Hudson Bay's Belcher Islands. So when 12 Inuit educators from the remote island -- which is now part of Nunavut, Canada's newest territory -- visited Owen Sound, Ont., one of the highlights of...

Rising Sam.
IS THE Japanese economy the yellow peril imagined by Ross Perot and James Fallows, with keiretsu taking the place of carriers? Or is it an autarchic lion, which can be bullied to lie down with the free-trade lamb? President Clinton's recent confrontation with Prime Minister Hosokawa shows the Clinton...

Farmers Hold Out Hope for Hemp Crops.
For the second year in a row, Congress had to bail out American farmers. Grain prices plunged in 1999, well below the break-even point, as did the livestock market. Pigs were selling for as little as $40 apiece; wheat for less than $2.91 a bushel, driving farm losses. ...

China WTO accession to benefit RP trade.
Particularly semiconductor exports The Philippines expects to increase its exports of semiconductor components to the electronics industries in China with the imminent accession of the world's most populous economy to the World Trade Organization (WTO). Trade and Industry Secretary Manuel A. Roxas II, who is accompanying President...

Gov't mulls rehab plan for coco industry.
The government is drawing an immediate and long-term plan to revive the ailing coconut industry adversely affected by the decline in the price of coconut oil, strong competition against Asean countries and the unabated cutting of coconut trees. The Board of Investments (BOI) would closely coordinate with...

Zuckerman's dilemma: a plea for environmental ethics.
E.B. White's Charlotte's Web serves as an environmental parable for our time. As we reflect in our relationship with nature, we might consider the three ways in which Wilbur the pig was valued in White's story. His instrumental value cashes out in ham hocks and sausage. His aesthetic value...

Futures shock.
FUTURES SHOCK Recent press reports have blamed thevolatility in the stock market on stock index futures and options. Traders bristle at the suggestion, arguing that the market behaves wildly because of "market fundamentals," not because some financial tool is forcing it to. "It's like the National Rifle Association...

The 21st century comes to Paris.
Billed as a grand 21st-century urban park, the cultural complex of La Villette in northeastern Paris still has the raw look of a construction zone. But the first phase of building is complete, and for Paris visitors who've seen the usual sights, this development in the 19th arrondissement offers an...