Globalization

What are some positive aspects of globalization? How does globalization impact your life? In your blog feel free to reflect on the negatives as well, many of which were pointed out inthe readings for the week.

I greatly appreciated the critique by Vandana Shiva on globalization and agriculture especially in India, one of the greatly disproportionately unindustrialized countries today. Obviously globalization on paper as an idea looks greatly efficient in an economic sense. In this sense, each country should produce what they can do so the most efficiently, and then trade for the rest, meaning they should stick to those products which they have a comparative advantage producing. This in theory is correct, but as Vandana pointed out, homogenizing cultures, and attempting countries to take on practices which do not serve them is hardly worth what is being lost to some. I like to look at it like investing, would you put all of your money in one high risk stock portfolio? You could, but you'd have a lot to lose, it would be smarter to invest in a variety of ways, bonds, stocks, mutual funds. In this comparison, small and large commercial farms across the globe could be the answer. Certainly I feel that leaders of the world need to unite in that we are all of the same human species, and have similar needs when it comes to nutrients. Working together to achieve some amount of economic efficiency while preserving the cultural diversity would be a great goal, one that is likely already being sought after.

Food Safety

Food safety should be both shared by producers and consumers. Producers have the initial responsibility to follow through with safe growing, handling and packaging processes. It would also be in the best interests of consumers if the producers were to report themselves in the event of a concern regarding their food products being exposed to unsafe practices or introduced to disease causing pathogens. The governments role in responsibility is to regulate the industry and make sure that producers are following the rules in employee training, labeling and food safety procedures. Sampling, testing, and investigating claims all help to keep the industry operating safely to the benefit of consumers.

Organic Food Production

As a large supporter of organic products, the topic greatly interests me. Because there the great possibility for misunderstanding, and misusing the term "organic" I appreciate the government regulating what is and is not "organic". This at least creates a base level of understanding, and rules about what organic means. One could easily get all of their essential caloric needs from non-organic foods without potential detriment to their life span. Is it possible to correlate disease, cancer, and other body ailments to long term chemical exposure including pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers? Not entirely. This is why I feel that there is potential wellness to be gained by eating more pure whole foods, less, if not untouched by these said chemicals. Because organic foods should not contain anything altered by biotechnology, eaters of organic foods would need to attain nutrients through eating a broad spectrum of foods in order to meet caloric, mineral, and vitamin needs. The drawbacks to organic food production are mainly that organic farms tend to be smaller and less efficient in terms of yield as compared to traditional farms. There would also tend to be more loss of crops to disease and bugs as less chemicals are used to control this loss. I tend to think and buy locally, and so would rather shop at a whole foods store which stocked organic food from nearby farms, or at least nearby states. Whole Foods the store is likely to carry products as far away as Chile and beyond. Obviously the whole world right now cannot be sustained on organic produce alone. My hope however would be that it would be on the forefront of the future to limit the exposure humans have to chemicals which could have far reaching effects that are currently unknown. For me, that means stopping in at Briar Patch on my way to class to get some organic soup, which feels good to the body and the mind.

Biotechnology Quiz Replacement

Should foods produced using biotechnology be labeled for consumers? What are the impacts of labeling (good and bad to society, the environment and the whole food production chain...farmers, distributers, wholesalers, resalers and consumers...)?

It is my personal desire to have access to information about whether the foods I am eating have been produced using biotechnology. I understand that because the term biotechnology means many different things, that it would be an enormous task to label all products with this information. Foremost there would be a large cost associated with this undertaking, due to labeling standards and policies. Currently the practice is that you need not label the food if produced using biotechnology, but some companies do, in order to appeal to those who do not want to eat altered foods. Fortunately I attempt to eat mainly organic foods, and in doing so I know that at least in theory the foods I'm consuming are not altered by biotechnology. If it turns out that more food than not will be produced using biotechnology then it makes sense that those NOT using it should be labeled as to save time and money. Labeling will cause an increase in costs all the way down the line. I personally would like those who implement the technology to be charged, but judging by the way economics work, everyone would feel that cost in the long run.

Topic #9 Biotechnology

Topic #8 Biotechnology

Over half of the world's 2004 soybean crop (56%) was genetically modified, a higher percentage than for any other crop. Each year, the EU Member States import approximately 40 million tons of soy material, primarily destined for use as cattle, swine, and chicken feed. Soybeans are also used to produce many food additives.

Soybeans originated in Asia, and now 55% of the world’s production is in the U.S. We export 1/3 of that back to other countries for consumption. In the U.S. soy has gained recent attention for its high protein content and other beneficial nutrient makeup, and has become a new staple in the American diet. They are still consumed mostly in China, Japan and Korea, but many other countries in Europe and now the U.S. are also consuming soybeans, their byproducts.

Soybeans are an annual legume that are very tolerant of many different growing conditions. They are self-pollinating, but need to be re-sown from seed every year. Soybeans grow best in warm temperate climates with moderate amounts of rainfall (Levetin and McMahon, 2006). Little if any fertilizer is needed due to the fact that the Soybean is a legume, although it is often planted with certain microorganisms that are preferable for nitrogen fixing. Soybeans are typically grown as a monoculture crop in rows, and then picked at the end of their growing season to become many different products. Tofu, soymilk, forage hay, cloth and oil are all possible end products of soybeans.

It definately seems that we would not be able to produce as much soy if biotechnology were not used, which would greatly affect many aspects of this food source. This fact doesnt stop me from buying it organically however.