Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
national context is surely questionable in the absence of a large, wealthy domestic
market and a prosperous polity that can afford a high level of direct and indirect
subsidization.
The neoliberal model exemplified by New Zealand is often cited as a potential
model for wider development of economically sustainable global agriculture within
the context of a global free market. The absence of subsidies and a highly export-
oriented agricultural economy makes New Zealand superficially more like a Devel-
oping World agricultural producer than the US or Europe. That, however, is where
the similarity ends. New Zealand has prospered under neoliberal conditions because
of extremely propitious, temperate production conditions; a highly educated agri-
cultural workforce; high levels of literacy and computer-use; politically empowered
grower organizations; strong direct dialogue with purhasing agents from elite mul-
tiple retailers; marketing expertise; a relatively highly resourced agricultural R&D
sector and a very positive global brand image. Yes, New Zealand has no subsidies,
but it is not a Developing World country. Accordingly, it is bordering on the delu-
sional to assume that the neoliberal model demonstrated by New Zealand has relev-
ance to Developing World contexts where actual participation in the formal market
is by no means guaranteed.
Conclusion: if cake is not the answer, then what is?
This longer term examination of food since the Industrial Revolution tells us some
important things about transformative possibilities in world food relations. First, we
are not 'loked in' to the existing system: there are conditions under whih major
transformation can take place. Twice in the last 170 years, the world food system's
fundamental structure has been radically altered. In both cases, food security con-
cerns in the wealthy nations drove that hange. he coincidence of both these trans-
formations taking place during the ith decade of eah century should not be given
too muh atention, as it is not only possible but highly likely that we may not be
waiting until the 2040s before suh transformative conditions arise again. Many of
the hapters in this volume identify conditions like instability in world futures mar-
kets, peak oil and climate hange, as dynamics that may, quite soon, destabilize the
food supply of wealthy countries in the same way as briefly occurred in 2008 and
more compellingly in the 1840s and 1940s.
When that does happen, it is essential to recognize a second key lesson from our
recent history: namely, that the current three prevailing models for organizing agri-
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