Our 60 Minutes piece from 1998 chronicles the work of Sr. Pat Marshall and Sr. Pat Daly. As Lesley Stahl reports, religious congregations have for years called for socially responsible practices from their corporations. From the board room of CBS News to the annual meeting of General Motors, the audience witnesses the sisters utiliizing their power as shareholders to call for more ethical actions.

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7380089n

We are proud to carry on this legacy!

In November, Kate Walsh, Associate Director, traveled to Zambia to speak at conference co-sponsored by Catholic Relief Services and CAFOD on Extractives in Southern African. Here is her reflection on that experience:

“The first weekend, I went to Mongu in the Western Region. This is the poorest region of the country. After a 7 hour bus ride from the capital, I arrived and went to visit the Diocese of Mongu Development Centre (DMDC). When this opened in the early 70′s, its focus was to provide nutritional assistance to the local residents, specifically children. Today, it focuses on local food sustainability. To meet that goal, DMDC provides everything from farmer training; to running a distribution center for seeds and equipment; and operating a rice polishing machine, free for the community to use. DMDC is even exploring technologies with bio-diesel. One of the greatest benefits of all their work is how earnestly they commit to sustainability. They teach people how to grow rice for sustenance as well as for sale at the market. All the rice seeds sold to the local farmers are organic. Rice husks and residual powder are given purposes such as fertilizer for local crops and road cover. Trees are grown at the center and then planted to restore deforested areas.

Later that day, I met Fr. Michael, the finance director of the Mongu diocese. He gave me the greatest gift: the reminder of my purpose in this trip. He told me to share the story of Mongu. He did not ask me to take action; he did not ask me to find funders for their wonderful programs. He asked me to tell others of the poverty, but also the wonderful hope and programs that do exist. His message was wrapped up in his quick statement “Be a mouthpiece, Kate”. And I think that is what we are collectively called to do with this work- be a mouthpiece and lift up the stories.

So, as our work allows us to be a mouthpiece, the rest of my time allowed me to hone that ability. The rest of the week I spent In Lusaka at the CRS/CAFOD Conference, which was incredibly well run. There was such excitement over this work, and it brought over 100 people from 13 countries together to strategize on such a complex, yet crucial issue of extractives.

Africa is rich in natural minerals and resources. Yet, the local people do not always benefit from these resources. Our conference pulled together NGOs, CSOs, company representatives, and others to begin to talk through the issues. We learned about Free, Prior, and Informed Consent, and how to utilize it before an operation begins; we learned about international laws and remediation tactics; how to utilize social media, especially in the wake of Egypt’s example; we studied conflict resolution; and heard about great groups like EITI and Publish What you Pay.

What was difficult some of our differences US ownership of companies  vs. Ownership in general, which is so incredibly dissimilar, and not what the organizers wished to spend time on. The good news is that conference participants did strongly appreciate how to engage companies, regardless of different securities laws- such as tactics when they aren't responding, knowing it takes time not a silver bullet, and how to build relationships for the benefit of communities. The CSO groups were very excited to take these strategies back and if there can be partnerships with ICCR, they will let us know!

All in all this was a great experience, getting to see some fantastic sustainable food production, as well as work with on the ground groups in the extractives industry as well as learn some critical life lessons".

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On October 18th 2011, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) agreed in a 3-2 vote to approve limits on the size of positions in futures and swaps markets. This action will place restraints on financial institutions, but to what extent must still be examined.

TriCRI has been advocating diligently on this issue, as the rising cost of food affects the poor worldwide and is affected by many speculative dollars entering the agricultural commodities futures market. If passed, strict positions limits provide regulatory certainty and encourage stable derivatives markets for the benefit of farmers and consumers, versus those looking to make a quick profit.

Along with ICCR, we called on the Commissioners of the CFTC to disallow the practice of gambling on hunger. More than 400 people joined us to raise our voices in solidarity.

Read ICCR's Press Release and the letter writing campaign update.

Standing at the corner of the Irish Hunger Memorial park and New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), TriCRI, Maryknoll, and other faith and anti-hunger based organizations drew connections between excessive speculation in agricultural commodities and price volatility.

TriCRI and Maryknoll Members during a prayer service

Increased speculation has devastating affects across the globe, as it destabilizes prices for commodities, especially food.  In 2008, this speculation contributed to the food and energy bubbles that caused food riots in dozens of countries in the global south. The United Nations estimated an additional 130 million people were driven to hunger because of the high prices.

See the National Catholic Reporter, Sojourners, Catholic News Service, and  Stop Gambling on Hunger for more coverage.

Sr. Barbara Aires, Fr. Seamus Finn, ICCR members, walk into a crowd of journalists with Cathy Rowan, CRI member, Kate Walsh, CRI Associate Director, Fr. Joe La Mar, CRI member, and  ICCR Staff Susana McDermott upon arriving at the Goldman Sach's Annual Meeting to discuss disclosure of derivatives trading and it's role in the financial crisis.

Over 50 news outlets covered this event, including the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and the National Catholic Reporter.