Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
vision aid and development, commodity and supply hains, alternative food systems
and the relationships between them.
As a society do we believe that people are entitled to food, shelter, education and
a right to livelihood; or do we value the freedom to accumulate wealth without guar-
antees against failure? (Is Monsanto too big to fail?) When the business of business
became business and not livelihood (to paraphrase Calvin Coolidge) we assumed all
would work out fine. But, as the IAASTD report stated: 'We cannot escape our pre-
dicament by simply continuing to rely on the aggregation of individual hoices to
ahieve sustainable and equitable collective outcomes' (McIntyre,
et al.
, 2009, p3).
Given that food is not a true commodity, there is a role for government regula-
tion not only of price, but also of the movement and distribution of food. It is further
apparent, however, that the complexity of the social and environmental relations of
the global food system is beyond the capacity of governmental action. The process of
moving toward a more appropriate food utopia also requires an active citizenry as
popularized by Tom Lyson's concept of civic agriculture (2004) and Melanie DuPuis
and Sean Gillon's promotion of civic engagement as the basis for alternative agricul-
tural systems (2009). Evidence of the potential of suh action is found in the case of
Toronto (Friedmann 2010). These examples represent new forms of food governance
that, while more complicated and subjective than the idealized neoliberal market,
we believe are a necessary element of a more just and flexible food system.
As Van der Ploeg (2009) points out, the EU is partially based upon the principle of
subsidiarity, that is if something can be done lower down the scale, then it should be.
his promotes a direct hallenge to the neoliberal cul-de-sac. he Toronto example
documented by Friedmann (2010) demonstrates a viable application of the principles
of subsidiarity. Extended to the scale of a global food system, it is possible to envi-
sion an international federation of regional and local agreements, audit shemes and
production goals that would be able to mediate the demands of stakeholders as di-
verse as Cargill, the raw milk producer in Madison, and the cassava grower in Thai-
land. At heart, the failure of the global food system is simply a symptom of a world
trying to act as one and, only capable of governing as many. And it's the seduct-
ive potential of subsidiarity - to govern at appropriate scales - that fits so well with
food.
On the whole, the framework of a food utopia provides us with the linguistic
tools to incorporate a unifying theme, while offering pragmatic space for those who
often conceive of one another as enemies, to engage in healthy debate. The neoliberal
