Many countries are now facing rising food prices. This doesn't mean a shift from not-so-healthy Applebee's to notoriously-sickening McDonald's, but a choice between paying for food or utilities. Either eat in the dark or sit hungrily in the dark, unable to to get piped-water or flush your toilet. Does this sound a bit too extreme? It is reality.
This is not some small problem. Nigeria (the title is based on this article), Haiti, Mongolia, Sudan, South Africa, North Korea, Madagascar, Djibouti, Liberia, Egypt, Brazil, and even Israel are facing this disconcerting choice. Think this is a long list? This is just the tip of the iceberg, a sampling similar to the bit of the giant that sunk the Titanic.
While it may have been an iceberg that sunk the ship, it was the low-quality steel used to construct the hulls that failed, breaking apart due to the cold water temperature. What is our low-quality steel? WTO abuses, a declining global economy, and a generally apathetic stance. There are more issues, such as using food for bio-fuels, but these are subsumed within the WTO and apathy cases.
Under WTO agreements, the US has been able to grandfather in many domestic agricultural subsidies, which would otherwise be ruled illegal under the WTO. Yet, while the US and several other countries enjoy the benefits of cheap food, the rest of the world does not have such a subsidy exception. The result is low global food supplies, fewer people to grow the food, and rising food prices due to a decrease in the domestic and foreign food supplies.
Most Americans benefit greatly from free trade. There are always people who suffer because they have low-efficiency jobs, such as manufacturing, that are not guaranteed to remain in the US - we live in a capitalist society that, as my sociology professor stated, "treats people like condoms - you get fucked and thrown away". It is a vicious characterization, but I do not think it is inappropriate. The people who lose their jobs because of this system hate free trade, a hate that is unjust because they continue to buy large amounts of goods from China and Mexico at WalMart and CostCo.
The reasoning behind such dislike towards a concept that causes Americans to lose jobs appears simplistic. But, jobs that are being shipped to countries less fortunate than the US, and they can perform the same job better and cheaper. Simultaneously, domestic jobs increase in quality, and the GDP of the nation climbs because we are able to perform tasks at which we are better. The result, in theory, is that while one generation may suffer the loss of a job, the second generation has a chance for greater success in life. This chance is not restricted to the US, but applies to all countries involved.
The cost of our cheap goods does not result in food crises in other countries. It is the misuse of the WTO that causes a maintained suppression of food production across the world by allowing inequality under the guise of "grandfathering". Concern with issues such as monetization as opposed to human life often prove the irrational and harsh ideals of the WTO. Americans may currently lambaste free trade, but they stop whining as their food prices rise.
Transportation and supply costs are a large part of this problem too, due to rising oil prices and decreased economic strength. Food costs more to produce and distribute. Subsequently, food producers charge more to make up for these costs. The result? Starvation by millions of people since buyers can't buy and producers can't sell, causing businesses to collapse and food production at all levels to decrease once more.
Then, there is apathy. I hate apathy. It is a sign of willful ignorance and the utter failure of humanity, while members of these groups go on to pray in their churches, temples, or mosques for salvation and peace. I don't get angry often, but apathy is guaranteed to break through most of the control I have.
People are dying. Most people I know seem to ignore or forget that. We can fix it simply by changing US policy. In this day and age, we can feed the world if we had the desire to do so. So what if we don't like how these ideas make us feel? We should feel guilty every time we go to the grocery store and see food rotting. We should feel guilty every time we toss excess food in the trash. We should realize the cost of our actions.
This apathy climbs to the highest levels. This paragraph is from the International Herald Tribune - the EU spokeswoman's comment just sickens me:
The United Nations special rapporteur for the right to food, Jean Ziegler, has said biofuels are "a crime against humanity" because they raise global food prices. But Barbara Helfferich, spokeswoman for the European Union environment commissioner, Stavros Dimas, said, "You can't change a political objective without risking a debate on all the other objectives" of climate change and energy reform.For a good summary on the situation, read the full version of the article.
Most people in America live in comfort. I have no problem with wanting to provide a materially rewarding life for oneself. I do have a problem with that life creating a forgetful layer of insulation from the suffering of the world. Our ability to drive a nice car to a restaurant, eat whatever we want, and then go home to sleep in an air-conditioned house does not allow the additional luxury of ignoring the death of millions.
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