Food and Culture Who Really feeds the world – localization Erik Chevrier November 14th, 2017

Exam Date Reminder!!! For students who do not have an e-mail about the exam (SOCI 252 A) Exam Room – MB2.435 Exam Date – December 7th Exam Time – 14:00 – 17:00 ANTH 252 students have received an exam date online

NO CLASS – November 21st You DO NOT have class on November 21st. This is a great time for you to meet with your groups and complete part of your assignment.

Fill Out Form to Reserve the Date You Bring Your Food Item Please write your name beside one of the dates for you to prepare your food item for the class. On the date you choose, you will: Bring in your pre-prepared food item for the class to taste (we have about 65 students) Find a way to serve ‘tasters’ to the class Make sure you do not create an abundance of waste Bring in your recipe so people can know what is in your food and how you prepared it Make a display of some sort to entice people to come try your food item Come on time to class You can bring in a different food item than the one you wrote about in the previous assignments BUT YOU MUST COOK/PREPARE IT YOURSELF

Group Project Check In How is everything going? Are you meeting your expectations? Are you abiding to your timeline? General questions or concerns?

Localization Feeds the World Not Globalization (Vandana Shiva) Two principles have shaped the evolution of food systems across the world. Everyone must eat Every place where human beings live produces food (there is always local food of some sort) How do we define local?

Free Trade Agreements Trade liberalization:(Shiva) Opening of boarders to allow the easy flow of goods and services Free trade agreements (Stanford, 2008) Promotes the deregulation of commerce Limit governments’ ability to regulate trade and capital flows Enforces the elimination of tariffs and other trade barriers Prioritizes businesses over governments

Critique of Free Trade (Shiva) Free trade is not based on competition, it creates monopolies: Giants that control seed – Monsanto, Syngenta, DuPont, Bayer, Dow. Giants that control grain – Cargill, Archer Daniel Midland, Bunge, Glencore International, Louis Dreyfus Giants that control food and beverage – PepsiCo, JBS, Tyson Foods, Danone, and Nestle Giants that control retail – Walmart, Carrefour, Metro Group, Aeon, Tesco Free Trade allows: Food dumping Externalizing of cost (not true cost) – pollution, public subsidies and infrastructure development, etc. Privatization of public goods Dumping of EU milk led to collapse of local dairy production in Jamaica India went from a large exporter of oil to an importer after trade liberalization Indonesia went from a major soy producer to a soy importer

Transition to Ethical, Just & Sustainable (Shiva) Transition to ethical, just and sustainable food systems Countries should prioritize their budgets to support the poorest consumers to have access to insufficient foods Countries should prioritize domestic food production Internal markets need to be stabilized at a reasonable level for farmers and consumers. Direct sales should be encouraged In every country an intervention system should be put in place to stabilize market prices – taxes and tariffs. Build surplus reserves. Land must be distributed equally through agrarian reforms and land reforms – including control over acess to water, seeds, credits, and appropriate technology.

Competition? Capitalism does not encourage competition: There are large food corporations who monopolize the markets of the economy Prices are fixed by large food corporations who receive government subsidies and who do not account for externalities – i.e. climate, ecology and people’s local needs (Source, Stanford, 2008) Issue Theory of Competition Real-World Competition Firm size Tiny and many Large firms dominate Firm size on cost Costs increase for bigger firms Decrease for bigger firms Economies of scale Limit on firm size Diminishing returns Threat of new firms Relationships (firms) Completion is anonymous Strategic competition Influence on market Cannot influence prices Strive to influence prices Product differentiation Products are homogeneous R&D – Products are differentiated Competition and profits Do not earn ‘pure profits’ Strive to earn ‘pure profits’

World Systems – The State (Immanuel Wallerstein) States Sovereignty Borders Reciprocal Recognition from other States Legitimacy Part of an Interstate System States assert authority in at least seven principal arenas of direct interest to them 1 – Sets rules on how capital & labour flows in and out of its border (people, capital and goods) 2 – Sets rules on property 3 – Sets rules about employment and compensation 4 – Decides which costs are internalized 5 – Decides which economic process may be monopolized and to what degree 6 - They tax 7 – They protect its own core production process internationally

Institutions in a Capitalist World Economy (Immanuel Wallerstein) Market - Concrete & Virtual - Quasi-Monopoly Firms - Main actors in the market - Cyclical rhythm and Curve (Kondratieff Cycles) - Core, periphery, semi-periphery (degree of profitability in the production process) State maintains quasi-monopolies by: - Maintaining patents - Putting restrictions on imports - Providing subsidies and tax benefits - Regulations

Discussion What were the consequences of structural adjustment policies implemented in Kenya? What were the consequences of the North American Free Trade Agreement in Mexico? Please know these examples!

Thanks! Questions or concerns?