Broken Agriculture

The World Agricultural System: Feast or Famine?

Where do you buy groceries?

Prepared to buy your groceries at Wal-Mart?

• Wal-Mart facts:– World’s largest

corporation

– Customer base is 80% of the US population

– 2% of US GDP/annum

– CA sales 2007

– Top grocery retailer in US

Growth of Transnational Agribusiness Corporations

• Cheaper costs of foreign resources

• Optimized access to raw materials

• Incentives from foreign governments (ie NAFTA)

• Domestic export subsides • Lower/no taxes• Less economic,

environmental and governmental regulation and enforcement

• Less transparency in operations

Results:

• Increased corporate profit, decreased corporate social responsibility

• Corporate consolidation

– Larger monopolies and increased control

• Decreased National Secuirty

• US Trade deficit

• Increased Rural Poverty

Corporate Consolidation in Agribusiness

• Consolidation: Vertical and Horizontal

• Banana industry: top 3 corporations Chiquta, Dole and Del Monte = 66% of world market

• US Dairy Industry Consolidation (1985-1997)

• Cargill - soy savvy, palm oil megafarmers in Indonesia – enemy of Orangutans?

The current price of Soy and Palm Oil.

FDA Unable to Monitor Food Imports

• FDA-regulated food imports have doubled in last 5 yrs

• FDA monitors >9 mil entries of imported food/yr

• 60% of national supply of food is imported

• FDA admits that its import monitoring and inspection resources are “challenged”

• Unsafe food causes 76 mil illnesses and 5000 deaths per annum

Blind Faith

• It’s safe if you say it is

• Unregulated food ingredient imports

• US consumers bear the health risks– Melamine scandal– Salmonella– E.coli O157:H7

Salmonella (typhimurium)

Escherichia coli O157:H7

World Hunger

• A new threshold for chronic malnutrition

• The world produces enough food

• Hunger is due to food pricing and distribution issues

• Access to food is hampered by poverty, war natural disasters and food stockpiling

Environmental Costs

GMOs and Pharming

“With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility”

Organics are the solution, right?

• Organic Industry– 20% growth/annum– Revenue in 2006: 18 billion– Increasing TNC participation

Organic PesticidesTNCsMonocultures

A More Integrated Food Paradigm

• Environmental issues: polyculture farming

• Health issues: support organics, eat more simply, eat less processed foods, GMO labeling

• Distribution and National Security: Local farming

• Local agricultural systems: Farmer’s markets, CSAs

• Urban and sub-urban farming

• Food Not LawnsUrban farming at San Diego City College

What can I do to help?

• Transform our tastes: eat less processed food• Think global, eat local - choke the supply by

dousing demand• Eat seasonally• Reconnect with the art of food by preparing

more of your own meals• Try growing some of your food yourself• Support locally owned businesses• Speak out against TNACs

Links:Replace the White House Lawn with a Veggie Garden!

http://www.eattheview.org/ROOTS Sustainable Food Projecthttp://www.sandiegoroots.org/index.htmlSan Diego Food Not Lawnshttp://www.sdfoodnotlawns.com/index.htmlSan Diego Farm Bureauhttp://www.sdfarmbureau.org/BuyLocal/Farmers-Markets.phpSan Diego Community Gardenshttp://communityfarmsandgardens.org/?page_id=6Sustainable Urban Gardenshttp://www.sacgardens.org/index.htmlEco-Urban Developmenthttp://www.ljurban.com/2008/05/24/eco-urban-101/Vertical Farminghttp://verticalfarm.com/