International Perspectives
Historical Colonial Past
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Changing Land ownership
Emphasis on Cash Crops
Decline of local small scale industry
Introduction of wage work
International Perspectives
Historical Colonial Past
• Shift from rural to urban
• Localized to capitalist system of
production
• Global connections in food production
International Perspectives
Contemporary
• Focus on industrialization – Western
development model
• Industrial focus on Agriculture
• Increased use of chemicals Agriculture
• Dependency on few export crops
International Perspectives
Contemporary
• Unequal power relations between
countries of N. & S.
• Heavy debt burden
• Structural Adjustmentment Policy
• WTO Trade rules dumping of subsidized
foods by US & EU
IMF – International Monetary Fund
• Established after WWII.
• A multilateral organization consisting of
184 member (countries).
• A member country's voting power is
dependent on its contribution.
• U.S. has the most voting power.
IMF – International Monetary Fund
Initial Role of IMF
• Stabilize exchange rates
• Assist nations with balance of payments
IMF – International Monetary Fund
Current Role (Bail Outs)
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Mexico
Russia
Argentina
IMF – International Monetary Fund
• IMF asks borrower governments to:
– Assume responsibility for repaying debt of
private companies both domestic and foreign
• Increased the burden of debt
Austerity Programs of SAPs –
Structural Adjustment Policy
• Increase Exports
• Devalue currency, hoping for a trade
surplus
• Exporting more meant falling prices.
• Privatize their state-run businesses
• Government change laws to allow TNCS
to purchase
– Devaluation had made these cheap
– Remove Subsidies
Impact of SAPS
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Economic Decline.
Increased Poverty.
Environmental Destruction (deforestation).
Women and Children’s Health (education
suffered).
• Debts Increased.
• Paid more than received.
– Mexico paid $100 billion in debt service
between 1982 - 1988
Impact of SAPS
• Debt Relief
– Uganda received partial debt relief in
exchange of severe austerity programs
– U.S. Government has reduced/paid the debt
Gap Between Rich and Poor
Countries Have Widened
• Falling commodity prices
• Neoliberal economic policies supposed to
stimulate growth, did not.
– Made it easier for purchasing foreign assets
– Capital flight
• Most of global investment flow is to the
countries of the Northern Hemisphere.
– Latin American investors invested $300 billion
in the North.
Globalization of Agriculture and
TNCs
• Increase in long distance trade of fresh
foods
• The affluent class of the developed
countries consume fresh produce which
are cut and packaged
• These fresh produce are sold at a high
price which increases the profit margins of
the supermarkets
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Globalization of Agriculture
• Developed countries agro-businesses
invest capital in developing countries to
take advantage of lower costs of
production
• Regional Trading blocs facilitates and
increases fresh food markets
• Globalization of diets more evident in the
diets of the affluent groups in both
developed and developing countries
Role of TNCs in Global Food
System
• TNCs play roles in food production,
processing, trading of foods
• They operate in many countries and often
engage in business with other TNCs
• Cargill, largest grain trading firm has joint
venture with Nippon Meat Packers to
produce and process broiler chickens in
Thailand
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TNCs and the Global Food
System
• Globally dominant TNCs are mainly based
in USA, EU and Japan
• In deciding where to base their production
and processing sites, they get favorable
terms by playing different locations against
each other
• TNCs have joint ventures to get access to
the market
TNCs and Industrial Agriculture
• TNCs has transformed the agricultural
production
• The connection between agricultural and
industrial sector intensified
• Agricultural inputs such as chemical
fertilizer, pesticides, herbicides, farm
equipments are produced in the industrial
sector
• Diffusion of industrial agriculture to
developing countries
Summary
• Factors at international level Influencing
access to food
Unequal power relations beginning
with colonialism
Capitalist system of production
reinforces the unequal power relations
between developed and developing
countries
Policies of IMF, World bank and power of
TNCs
• Traditional methods of farming are
replaced by industrial agriculture
• TNCs are playing major role in the spread
of industrial agriculture which has negative
effects on the environment
• Global influences in the diets of people are
found everywhere but it is more evident
amongst the privileged
• For most people in the developing
countries diet remains local but they do not
have adequate resources to meet their
needs.