Agriculture, Food, and Food Security - Dragons and Tigers: A Geography of South, East and Southeast Asia - page 146

ultimately death. In Asia in 2007, 380,000 people suc-
cumbed to AIDS-related illnesses.
HIV mostly affects sexually active young adults who
are among those who are likely to be economically produc-
tive. Without proper treatment, these individuals will de-
velop AIDS, resulting in repercussions for the food supply
of other family members and even the community at large.
Women are biologically , socioeconomically , and so-
cioculturally more at risk of HIV infection than men.
They also tend to be economically dependent on men
and have unequal access to resources, whether these are
food or medical care. Further, the burden of looking after
a relative with AIDS is considered a woman' is duty .

riches growers along with government with taxes on prof-
its. However, loss of forest resources, soil fertility , and sub-
stituting a single plant species in a multispecies forest not
only devastates the physical environment but also elimi-
nates ways of life that have been sustained for generations.
People are forced to migrate to already overcrowded cities
where their agricultural skills are of little use.
So-called “free market forces” encouraged by the
WTO, means that wealthy countries' agricultural sur-
pluses are exported to poor countries at prices that un-
dercut local prices. Local farmers, who cannot compete
in the market, fall into debt and many end up losing their
land. Peasant farmers are displaced by large-scale,
agribusiness ventures that are vertically integrated, own-
ing all elements of production from seeds to final packag-
ing. While some will argue that such shifts in production
provide jobs, political ecologists will counter with the ar-
guments that many of these jobs are demeaning of hu-
man worth, especially for women, and that they shatter
traditional ties to physical and cultural environments.

Agricultural and Food
Sustainability

Agriculture uses more land in the world than any other
economic activity and employs more than 40 percent of
the working population. It has been the principal enter-
prise of survival for all of human history . Fundamentally ,
it is an interactive system between environment and hu-
manity . However, agricultural lands are disappearing
with rapid population growth, urbanization, and indus-
trialization. Overuse of land, forest removal, and tech-
nology have degraded physical environments, destroyed
natural habitats, exacerbated floods and droughts—even
to the point of famine—and increased social inequality .
In addition, in the wake of globalization, integrated local
systems of supply and demand have been fractured as
they are impinged on by larger, more complex, and dis-
tant transnational enterprises intricately woven into the
global network of production.
Sustainable development in agriculture for every-
one, even at a global scale, means that there is enough
nutritious food for everyone to meet their full potential
in life. The United Nations calls for an effort to improve
present-day living standards in ways that will not jeop-
ardize the well-being of future generations.

PROMISING PROJECTS ON THE HORIZON
Outside Manila, in the Philippines, farmers are returning
to traditional methods. There, farmers have had a long
tradition of raising livestock, rice, and fish together. Ma-
nure from hogs and chickens fertilize algae in both rice
and tilapia ponds. Very little waste is produced by this in-
tegrated system, which gives the farmer a sense of secu-
rity if other food prices fluctuate. Moreover, animals that
are raised outdoors seldom suffer from respiratory ail-
ments common in factory farming.
NGO-operated projects in Bangladesh have demon-
strated that integrated rice-fish culture reduces produc-
tion costs by 10 percent. One 2.54 acre (1 ha) rice field
produces 550-3,300 pounds (250-1,500 kg) of fish,
which is enough to eat and extra to sell. The average farm
income from this system has risen 16 percent.
In China, Taiwan, and elsewhere in Asia, the de-
mand for shark fin soup has risen dramatically with
growing elites. This soup costs around US$250 a bowl.
Historically , this delicacy was consumed only by royalty
and very-high-status individuals. Now there is a roaring
market in shark fins, which can fetch US$700 for 2.2
pounds (1 kg). More than 100 million sharks are slaugh-
tered each year. They are captured, their dorsal fin is
chopped off, and they are thrown back into the sea to
drown. Several major shark species are now extinct.
People are now beginning to speak out against this
selfish act of cruelty . Asian celebrities such as director

DEVELOPMENT FOR WHOM?
Many geographers who consider themselves political ecol-
ogists ask the critical question: “Development for whom?”
These scientists investigate the inner workings of “devel-
opment” processes. They want to know just whose needs
are being addressed and how “success” is being measured.
Political ecologists have already exposed the travesties of
oil palm plantations. As we have noted above, palm oil en-