Trading away the rights to Food

2 Paradox The world has never produced so much food and food has never been so cheap yet the number of hungry people has risen in 47 countries of the developing world.

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4 Hunger exists because of huge inequalities in the distribution of wealth. In 1998 the world’s richest 225 billionaires were worth $1 trillion — equal to the annual income of 2.7 billion people.

5 Among the top wealthiest entities in the world 49 are countries and 51 are ???

6 AgribusinessAgribusiness

7 Corporate Market Power and the Food Production Chain  oil and natural gas  chemicals, machinery, seeds  capital (banking)  crop production  food processing  distribution  retailing

8 What percentage of the average price of a loaf of bread goes to the farmer?  Less than 10%  Approximately 25%  Slightly more than 50%

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10 Mega Hog Barns can produce up to 200,000 hogs for market a year

11 What’s wrong with big business dominating the agricultural sector? 2. little investment in or ties to communities 1. environmental and working conditions 3. cash export crops

12 ? Why are governments of developing countries encouraging the export of crops when there is not enough food for their own people

13 Debt Debt

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16 The World Bank The International Monetary Fund

17 Structural Adjustment Policies of the IMF 1. A reduction in spending on social programs 2. The selling off, or privatization, of government assets 3. The elimination of subsidies 4. The insistence on export or cash crops

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19 Paradox The world has never produced so much food and food has never been so cheap yet the number of hungry people has risen in 47 countries of the developing world.

20 What effect does the growth of cash export crops have on world food prices? a) They go up. b) They go down

21 More and more land is used for export crops.

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23 “Dumping” Subsidies

24 Subsidies for Farmers

25 In 1999 rich countries spent more than twice as much for agricultural subsidies as developing countries earned from crop exports!

26 Subsidies Per Dollar To Farms 11 cents Canada 48 cents United States 56 cents European Union Top 7% get 50%

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28 ? “Dumping” Why

29 Subsidies for Transportation

30 Paradox The world has never produced so much food and food has never been so cheap yet the number of hungry people has risen in 47 countries of the developing world.

31 Tariffs

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33 Free Trade Mechanisms 1. Unilateral agreements 2. Treaties 3. The World Trade Organization

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37 National Farmers’ Union

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39 WTO dining on the World

40 Reasons for Hunger and Food Insecurity 1. The redistribution of wealth from poor to rich 2. Corporate Market Power 3. The debt crisis and the IMF 4. Food Subsidies and Dumping 5. Trade Rules and the WTO 6. The increasing corporate influence on government

41 So what can we do to make a difference ?