Raj Patel, a South African specialist in development economics, has published an intriguing-looking book on global food issues. It's called Stuffed and Starved. I definitely want to read it! He also has a very informative blog, of the same name, about the global food crisis. (Hat-tip Rami Zurayk.)
In this post, about the food crisis in Haiti, Patel writes,
The fact that Haiti produced more rice in 1984 than it does now isn’t an accident. The fact that the bags of rice to be found in Haiti have US flags stamped on them is no accident. As former secretary of state for Agriculture, Earl Butz, put it: ‘Hungry men listen only to those who have a piece of bread. Food is a tool. It is a weapon in the US negotiating kit.’
And that’s also one of the ironies behind the complaints of institutions like the IMF and World Bank. At the same time as they bemoan the food crisis, they are its architects. They have aggressively prohibited the kinds of policy that might have mitigated the price shock. No grain reserves. No support for domestic agriculture. No tariff barriers. All so that weapon in the US toolkit could be honed a little sharper.
In this post, about the global rice market, he notes that though many rice-eating countries have been hit by massive price increases in recent weeks, China, South Korea, and Japan have not.
He asks,
What distinguishes all three of these countries from others in Asia? First, they have their own domestic production. Second, they augment domestic production with domestic grain reserves. Third, they're only able to do this because they're aggressive and powerful negotiators in international trade agreements. Japan has long held that its rice isn't just a commodity but a way of life.
The political commitment to sustain this way of life, in China, South Korea and Japan, using some Old School economic policy (subsidies, protection, grain reserves) means that in the lean times, these countries will be able to survive. That's great for them - there's no indication that the lean times are going to end any time soon. And it's tough for the weaker countries in Asia, who find themselves cut loose, in the perfect storm that the free market has produced.
Patel's bio says he used to work at the World Bank and has interned at the WTO. He certainly seems to know a lot about what he's writing about. This page on his website gives a handy list of "ten things that we all can do to promote justice and food sovereignty." Definitely worth looking at!
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