Free Trade and World Hunger

Paper Summary:

The writer of this article, notes that as trade barriers come down and as the world grows more inter-connected and inter-dependent, it is tempting to suggest that free trade is the antidote to world hunger. This paper explores how free trade globalization has compelled some areas of the globe to specialize or concentrate in the harvesting/cultivation of foodstuffs that are anticipated to sell well in foreign (western) markets or have done so in the past. The writer argues that free trade has not, and will not, as it stands right now, reduce global hunger inasmuch as those markets that have sufficient wealth to "fatten" the bottom lines of agricultural corporations will continue to be catered to, while the economic and health-related needs of the global poor will be cast aside in the quest for profits. The writer concludes that unregulated free markets that do not demand a social conscience on the part of producers or corporations do nothing to alleviate world hunger.

From the Paper:

"One other thing that happens is that free trade as it is presently constituted advantages the wealthy populations of the world while disadvantaging the poor peoples of the globe. This occurs because, as we in a free market global economy relentlessly define food productivity by production per unit of labor, any technological or business "advance" that can be implemented in a developing part of the world with the end goal of boosting food production - or at least foodstuff production when it comes to a desirable commodity - is coveted to the exclusion of all other concerns, such as fears of environmental displacement and social/labor dislocation. Suffice it to say, new adaptations may include the aforementioned introduction of new pesticides as well as new forms of bio-engineering; not to be overlooked, food producers may look at the re-deployment of the infrastructural or manufacturing resources of a region in ways that facilitate the production of one or a few types of "in-demand" foodstuffs as opposed to deployments that facilitate the production of many different types of foodstuffs. These so-called "innovations" frequently do little more than result in over-specialization, resource exhaustion, and in a loss of jobs for those who are not involved in the cultivation of in-demand goods."

Sample of Sources Used:

• "Fair Trade Certified Bananas: TransFair Canada Background Document." N.d. 8 Jun. 2007 <http://www.transfair.ca/download/Fair+Trade+Certified+Banana+backgrounder.pdf>
• Hawkes, Corinna. "Uneven Dietary Development: Linking the Policies and Processes of Globalization with the Nutrient Transition, Obesity, and Diet-Related Chronic Diseases." Globalization and Health, 2.4 (2006): 1-18. 7 Jun. 2007 <http://www.globalizationandhealth.com/content/pdf/1744-8603-2-4.pdf>
• Kitahara, Atsushi. "Agrarian Transformation and Rural Diversity in Globalizing East Asia." International Journal of Japanese Sociology, 13.1 (2004): 7-21.
• Shiva, Vandana. "Gift of Food: How to Solve the Agricultural Crisis, the Health Crisis, and the Crisis of Poverty." 451-456. (Additional bibliographic information not provided by client).

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