Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
timally. The world's top ten crop-science companies spend approximately US$3 bil-
lion a year on bioteh researh (Karapinar and Temmerman, 2008, p192). Compare
this to the US$30 million spent annually by CGIAR (Consultative Group on Interna-
tional Agricultural Researh) on bioteh researh aimed at beneiting farmers in the
developing world (about seven per cent of its annual budget). If the US conceived of
'food aid' a litle diferently, funds equal to more than half of what the world's top
ten crop-science companies spend on bioteh researh would be available annually
to breeding projects aimed at the needs of farmers in the developing world. In sum-
mary, policies directed at improving global food security, when done with an eye
towards both quantity and quality, need to balance short-term realities (recognizing
that people are starving and need to eat now) with long-term visions (those people
will need to continue to eat in the future).
To put it simply: 'Cheap food causes hunger' (Wise, 2010). Economic policies
supported by the World Bank and IMF (International Monetary Fund) treat food and
food production as just another form of manufacturing. But food is different. People
do not need cars or other consumables to sustain life and carry on tradition. But the
hanges in Mexico's corn production following NAFTA (North American Free Trade
Agreement) illustrate not a tragedy of the commons, but a tragedy of a faith in mar-
kets. We are taught in our 'introduction to economics' classes that comparative ad-
vantage speaks to agro-ecological conditions, to something inherent to a region or
country that gives them an advantage over others (Kona coffee, from the 'big island'
of the Hawaiian Islands, comes to mind here). But more often than not, comparative
advantage is an artifact of market distortions, of subsidies, export subsidies, tariffs,
and government-funded infrastructure build up. Case in point: Mexico. Having pro-
duced corn for millennia, how else could Mexico NOT have a comparative advant-
age over the US in corn production?
While food needs to remain heap either via government or international regula-
tions, hanges in food habits are also constrained by culture. A few years ago, a star
professional baseball player swithed to a vegetarian diet. Ater struggling at the be-
ginning of the season, many sportswriters and former players atributed the lak of
performance to the dietary swith, as well as conlating vegetarianism with femin-
inity. Meat consumption around the world is associated with progress - intellectual
and economic - and masculinity. To be able to eat meat is to have arrived. And just
offering alternatives like Slow Food, or even healthier options at McDonald's, is not
