Environmental Issues and Food Security Aspects in the Ongoing WTO-Negotiations on Agriculture

At the beginning of 2000, the World Trade Organization (WTO) commenced negotiations on the continuation of the liberalization process in international agricultural trade. This step was agreed upon as early as at the creation of the World Trade Organization in 1995; however, it had been largely ignored by the broader public after the spectacular failure of the WTO ministerial conference in Seattle in December of 1999. Nevertheless, a large number of WTO members, among them a majority of Developing Countries, have tabled detailed and far-reaching demands.