Food Wars ( A Book Review)

This work of Walden Bello brings back again the line that connects the Global North and South. From his book explicitly entitled “Deglobalization” to his contribution in the “Another World is Possible”, Bello’s “Food Wars” continuously assert the spread of international movements countering the industrialization crafted by these “club of rich countries” at the expense of the lives from the Global South. This time is a focus for the farmers and peasants completely hurt by the current economic order.

The problem all started from the uncontrolled increases in the food prices that spread across the continents. This alarming situation triggered protests and hunger to many people especially those living in absolute poverty who cannot afford the minimum level of basic needs, most importantly the food. All these are traced in the neoliberal project that aims a corporate industrial agriculture.

The degradation of the agricultural sector that develops the underdevelopment of countries like the Philippines was then pointed out by the abandonment of the government through cutting its subsidies on agricultural sector which is exposed to the massive importation of goods that are relatively cheaper. Without the government’s assistance in the picture, products from the countryside lead to skyrocketing prices that makes the farmers aim for return from high costs. Thus, exposing to cheaper imported products such as rice from Thailand gives an unfair treatment to our domestic products. With the farmers hurt, the free-market is more than a typhoon that destroys the sector which was the backbone of the economy way back during Marcos period.

More than the government snubbing our exhausted farmers on the field, the production which was supposed to serve sustenance in the level of their community is distorted. If serving the community was the initial purpose, then lately it shifts to serve the interest of the developed countries by supplying demands for biofuel production instead of agricultural.

This type of production is extracted from the South. This specifically refers to ethanol and biodiesel; both are renewable and believed to combat climate change.  Ethanol is made from crops high in sugar or starch while biodiesel is produced from oils and fats. The latter is most commonly consumed in Europe. With a very high demand of agrofuel from the North, Brazil, the agrofuel superpower has to respond in parallel to the promise released in the World Trade Organization. Now, this starts the ironic situation. With the higher demands from the North and the greater supply from the South, Brazil, has to expand its sugar plantation for example, to the extent of hacking away its forests. These forests are supposed to absorb the carbon emission majorly produced by developed countries. In addition, South America, the second largest ethanol producer, comes to the extent of inevitably causing deforestation in the Amazon, losses biodiversity, and even resulting to slavelike working conditions. This is reality and this is the product of the false hopes created by the agrofuel production.

So this explains that in a decrease of supply, price increases. With the focus from agricultural channeled to biofuel, prices on goods continuous to soar high. However, two other main contentions explain this situation that directly devastates the lives of millions of people.

In relation to poor Africa, where countries are remnants of the colonial Europe, African government has failed to care farming. Given the low productivity in the country, New Green Revolution might ease its problem. This is through a genetic engineering based agriculture that is seen as necessary in the continent. However, with Europe’s ban on GMO, African feared that their exports will be barred from entering Europe. Again, unfair trade exists. The fact of the nondevelopment of agriculture in Africa also extends the low supply of food in Africa unable to keep up the demand of the continent.

Branded by the corporate world that peasants’ way of farming is obsolete and uncompetitive, a capitalist industrial agriculture has been a trend in the international economy. Not knowing this led the destabilization of our local industries through the opening up to the international market legitimizes the transformation of our local land, nature, and social relations when countryside is alienated- all these are effects that made responsible to the food crises.

Another very important example to understand in the era of skyrocketing prices is the diversion of Mexico’s corn to biofuels. 60% increase in the price of Mexico’s tortillas last 2007 was enough to stage thousands of protests. With the US Government subsidizing corn in Mexico for ethanol rather than for food consumption is the root of the problem. By then, an intriguing question arrive; How on Earth had Mexicans, who lived in the land where corn was first domesticated, become independent on imports of US corn in the first place? This is very crazy to understand but easy to answer when we come to think of the global agrifood system pushed by the World Trade Organization plus the transnational corporation taking advantage in all sides for profit maximization at the expense of the developing countries’ formation towards development.

The former concrete example is also not different to the food crises especially on the deficit of rice in the Philippines. How can we be currently a net rice importer, when we achieved a respectable degree of rice sufficiency in the late 1970s? Right now, we are regularly sourcing 1 to 2 million tons of annual rice requirement in the international market. So what really weakens our national economy? The answer- Structural Adjustment Programs.

If only SAP is a person, I see him as Osama Bin Laden intentionally killing the lives of many innocent people. SAP has been more than a terrorist that legitimizes its threats in the developing country through the mandate of the World Trade Organization and some other international financial organizations such as IMF and WB.

Shifting the attention to debt servicing from agriculture during Cory Aquino’s administration was nothing but suicide. With a weak local industry due to political crisis in the 70s and 80s, Aquino liberalized the market, cut off tariffs and quotas from imported goods, and left the agriculture to the hands of private entities thus creating a government who hands-off to the sector. This is the winning situation for the rich peasants and landlords which former president Cory is a part of. Also, cutting the quota, massive importation of rice follows which exacerbates the country’s fall behind Thailand and Vietnam. This even discourages the farmers and leaves the countryside to the cities which massive migration from the rural areas to the cities makes the government head aches. Now, with the emergence of new export industry specializing in high value added crops like cut flowers, asparagus, broccoli, and snow peas,- employment in the agriculture dropped.

Another major example of this global trending economic system is China. The capitalist development path for China is really a failure. Though, it did not feel the same level to Philippine’s experience since Chinese government had been so wise in gradually opening up its market while still holding many state-owned enterprises (SOE) at the same time.

            

Among the principle widely discussed and the realities explicitly uncovered, I strongly agree the current order that we are in. The food crisis that Walden Bello pointed out last 2009 was perhaps just 3 years ago, but the drastic increase in the prices of goods is definitely shocking for a three years period to almost double. This will mostly fit the example of oil prices.

As a resolution, I couldn’t agree more on the idea of deglobalization. Though this does not strictly mean a strict protectionist policy, but about still participating in the international economy that at the same time builds local economic capacity rather than destroying it; with a destroyed local industry, more protests and social unrest seeking for the right path to development is triggered. That is why, there is a need to respond these international movement forwarded by different farmers all over the globe.

It is so much disheartening to see more people self-immolating in a struggle for genuine reform in the system. These people die in vain without returning their land grabbed by powerful private entities, they died without witnessing the growth of their domestic market that upgrades the quality of life that their family must have experience. More than that, there’s nothing more to ask in living a society on the sphere of a democratic decision making and operating a market with the values of equity and justice. It is so much fun for an economy to be “reembedded” in the society, instead of having our society driven by the principles of the economy that will naturally hurt the people if left unregulated.

I personally hoped that all these propositions were gladly opened up in the World Economic Forum just this January in Davos. Planning among global business elite is expected to get realized in the next few months. This made me excited on how they will answer the problems resulted from the current order that they imposed on the past few years. Knowing that these elite people conceded the shortcomings of a market-free system, delegates in the said forum are forming a new model. System recovery is the biggest challenge for these delegates.

Witnessing their shortcomings already shed them light to realize that indeed there is a need for a change- a change that must be definitely different to their system of neoclassical counterrevolution that emphasizes market fundamentalism. I hope they will fulfill the theme “The Great Transformation”, that is, a transformation for the benefit of everyone. So long as they fulfill not just only advantageous to their private interest but also to the interest of the global world that will feel the convincing change, then a peaceful forum for them will take place in the next few years. No more naked protesters combatting the extreme coldness in Davos will happen. No more Igloos set as camps for Occupy Davos protesters will take place.

Bombarded by all these crises, future decisions must all be learned from these nightmare experiences. Most primarily, the strength of agriculture should not be left behind. The attention of the government for this sector is even worth since it is through our farmers that sustain the lives of the people who are supplied by food which is a basic need for everybody. If we pursue the kind of globalization that continues to shape the society in which we live today, social unrest will continuously rise and I believe that it will all the more consolidate to a more powerful movement that will sooner topple the world order created by the elites in the developed and developing countries. In this I am optimistic.

Major ideas credited to Walden Bello's "Food Wars". No one shall be held responsible for any errors of analysis.