The Global Food System Part I Introduction to Global Studies XIDS 2301

Stuffed...

... and Starved Since WFS

Global Food Production Three defining processes: 1) Commoditization 2) Industrialization 3) Globalization

Subsistence Production Food is produced to be consumed by the producer Commercial Production Food is produced to be sold in the market Commoditization Two basic types of food production

Subsistence Production Food is produced to be consumed by the producer Commercial Production Food is produced to be sold in the market Commoditization The shift from subsistence to commercial farming is known as the commoditization of food production Commodity—something produced with the intent to sell it

The consumer has direct/non- market access to food Producer = Consumer Commoditization In subsistence food production, producer is motivated by own needs

The consumer has direct/non- market access to food Consumer access to food is mediated by the market Producer = Consumer Commoditization Producer Consumer MARKETMARKET In subsistence food production, producer is motivated by own needs In commercial food production, producer is motivated by market calculations; the need to “satisfy” market imperatives Increase in productivity Shift to “cash crops” Social, ecological costs

Commoditization Historical Geography of Food Commoditization 1400s-1600s, England “the first time and place that a new social dynamic is clearly discernible, a dynamic that derives from the market dependence of the main economic actors” Politically unified, centralized Physically unified by network of roads, water transport Disproportionate size, growth of London as population and trading center Land holdings concentrated in hands of few large landlords Large-scale, accessible markets emerged Compelled landholders to increase productivity of land Could not rely as much on “non-economic” powers (military, judicial, political) as elsewhere in Europe Thus, sought to increase “economic” means Led to preoccupation with “improvement” and “enclosure”

Commoditization Historical Geography of Food Commoditization 1600s-1900s, Western Europe, North America, colonies in Americas, Africa, Asia Emergence of states, merchant class Colonialism 1980s-2000s, Global South (e.g. Mexico, India, Kenya) Liberalization of agriculture Emergence of agri-business TNCs Role of global governance institutions (WB, IMF, WTO)

Industrialization In general, industrialization is a fundamental transformation of the production process involving: Mechanization Use of high energy, external inputs (fossil fuel energy, bio-engineered seeds, chemical pesticides and fertilizers) Subdivision of process into specialized, sequential tasks, each undertaken by a different individual or firm

Industrialization

Farm Processing Retailing Consumer Processing Industrialization

Retailing Consumer Processing Transportation and Wholesaling Farm Processing Retailing Industrialization

Farm Processing Manufacturing Retailing Consumer Transportation and Wholesaling Industrialization

Industrialized chicken production

Industrialization Features of commoditized, industrialized food production Appropriationism Substitutionism Intensification Contract farming

Monopoly in processing through horizontal integration Farming Farming A Processing Manufacturing Retailing Farming B Farming C Farming D Manufact I Manufact J Manufact K Manufact L Retailing M Retailing N Retailing O Retailing P Processing E Processing G

Concentration within various stages of the food system Production stage% mkt share by largest four largest firms Beef slaughter87%(IBP, ConAgra, Cargill, Farmland) Sheep slaughter73%(ConAgra, Superior, High Country, Denver Lamb) Broiler slaughter/processing55%(Tyson, Gold Kist, Perdue Farms, ConAgra) Flour milling62%(ADM, ConAgra, Cargill, CFP) Soybean crushing76%(ADM, Cargill, Bunge, Ag Processors) “You get the day olds or you get nothing.” (Perdue Farms rep to North Carolina chicken farmer)

Monopoly in processing through horizontal integration Farming Farming A Processing Manufacturing Retailing Farming B Farming C Farming D Processing E Manufact I Manufact J Manufact K Manufact L Retailing M Retailing N Retailing O Retailing P

Green Revolution 1960s and 1970s Miracle seeds (HYVs) Chemical inputs (fertilizers, pesticides) Irrigation (water access, capital) Tractors (capital, farm size)

Blue Revolution Began in 1970s Industrialization of aquatic food production—“fish farming”

Genetically Modified Organisms Took off in 1990s GMO = any species whose DNA has been manipulated in a lab setting; using genetic code from other living species

driven by profit-seeking “biopiracy”

Globalization Two principal (and related) dimensions to the globalization of food production: 1) Production—organization of production chains across multiple countries 2) Regulation (or governance)—Role of international institutions, the “global free market”, and TNCs

Farm Processing Manufacturing Retailing Consumer Transportation and Wholesaling Globalization

Country D Country C Country AFarming Processing Manufacturing Retailing Consumption Country B

Agribusiness Transnational Corporations (Ag TNCs) Operate in more than two countries, often via vertically integrated food systems  this in essence created the “global” food system Ag TNCs produce enormous quantities of food primarily for consumers in the First World Ag TNCs play a role in the creation of hunger, primarily in the Third World  by motivating a shift from subsistence to commoditized, industrial agriculture o Shift to cash crops, decline in production of staples o Indebtedness among farmers o Loss of peasant access to land Globalization

States Liberalized agriculture  Ag TNCs (very powerful within domestic politics!) pushed for this as they “globalized” o This does not mean that Ag TNCs were willing to give up government subsidies and various trade “protections”

Globalization States Liberalized agriculture  Ag TNCs (very powerful within domestic politics!) pushed for this as they “globalized” o This does not mean that Ag TNCs were willing to give up government subsidies and various trade “protections” International institutions (WTO, WB, IMF) Liberalized agriculture  USA, Europe (very powerful within these institutions!) pushed for “openness” in agriculture (specifically, regarding international trade and investment in agricultural commodities) o Prior to the 1980s, US Ag TNCs wanted less liberalization, and so they pushed for agriculture to be excluded in the broader post WWII push for liberalization and economic integration Debt crisis and structural adjustment  countries in debt crisis were “helped” by IMF, WB as long as they enabled the liberalization, commoditization, and industrialization of agriculture, among other things

American food aid policy Globalization

PL-480 Title I Authorizes “friendly” sale of agricultural commodities to other countries How this typically works: --US gov’t buys food from US farmers/agribusiness --Sells food to foreign gov’t and provides low-interest loan w/ which to pay for the aid Title II Authorizes food to be given to other countries as a grant Since 1955, 70% US food aid has been provided through Title I Globalization

The issue of subsidies...

FIRST WORLD THIRD WORLD Basic Model of the Global Food Economy Cash Crops Shift to industrial farming Decline in subsistence crops Landless, jobless peasants Rural-to-urban migration IMF, WB, WTO Structural Adjustment Wealthy consumers Ag TNCs Ag TNCs Investment $$ Food Aid (food surplus)