Lecture delivered in the Module "Global Food Policies" of the Master Food, Law & Finance at International University College, Torino, Italy (22 Feb 2017). The Global North, that used to be dubbed "Developed Countries" or "First World", is experiencing a growing pandemic of malnutrition (growing obesity and stagnant undernutrition) due to its complete reliance in the industrial food system and its driving ethos: profit maximisation out of food production. This low-cost food system is killing us and destroying Nature. Specific food policies found in the Global North will be analysed, including the huge Farm Bill (US) and CAP (EU). Amongst the topics addressed, one can mention: Can we afford a healthy diet?, the productivist paradigm, Corporate Ethos VS Public Policies,
GMO Labelling in US and Civic Collective Actions for Food. At the end, a set of alternative Policy Options for the North will be presented and discussed, based on a different valuation of food: not as a commodity but a commons.
1. Food Policies in
The Global North
Driving ethos, current crisis,
growing alternatives
1
JOSE LUIS VIVERO POL
PhD Research Fellow
in Food Governance
Module “Global Food Policy & Developement”
Master in Food, Law and Finance 2017-18
International University College, Turin, Italy
2. Topics 2 be addressed
• Can we afford a healthy diet?
• Farm Bill: main food support & food assistance
policy in US
• CAP: main driver of EU food systems
• The productivist paradigm in the North
• Corporate Ethos VS Public Policies: profit-
maximization or commonwealth
• GMO Labelling in US
• Civic Collective Actions for Food
• Alternative Policy Options for the North
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3.
4. Ultra-processed VS Fresh food
• Price evolution between fresh food and processed and
ultra-processed food between 1990 and 2012, a
research (Wiggins et al., 2015) found that fruits and
vegetable prices rose between 55-90% whereas ultra-
processed food prices simply dropped.
• The unhealthy food produced by the industrial food
system is subsidised, prioritised and most efficiently
per unit produced than the fresh ones, but it is not
better for our health, not better for the food
producer’s livelihood or the environment.
• Policy options: over-taxing ultra-processed food,
moving subsidies from commoditised food to fresh one
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8. What Are the Various Types of Agriculture
Subsidies in Farm Bill?
• Farm subsidies include
• income support,
• price controls,
• land ownership loans,
• insurance, and
• disaster relief.
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9. Winners and Losers
• Winners are large agriculture enterprises.[16] Indeed, the
vast majority of larger farms collect subsidies compared to
only 24% of the (relatively) little farms.
• Big farms with gross sales of +$1 million received 8% in 1991
and 23% now. Family farms shrank from 34% in 1991 to 15%
in 2009.[17]
• Members of Congress and their immediate families are
eligible for farm subsidies.
[16] Robert A. Hoppe and David E. Banker, “Structure and Finances of U.S. Farms,” USDA Family Farm
Report, July 2010, http://www.ers.usda.gov/Publications/ EIB66/EIB66.pdf (accessed May 30, 2012).
[17] T. Kirk White and Robert A. Hoppe, “Changing Farm Structure and the Distribution of Farm
Payments and Federal Crop Insurance,” USDA Economic Research Service, February
2012, http://www.ers.usda.gov/Publications/EIB91/EIB91.pdf (accessed May 30, 2012).
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14. Food Insecurity (unability to eat meat
every second day): 10.9%.
13.5 M people
2.7% increase since austerity
measures
30 M Malnutrition
(Transmango Project)
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15. Food security
in compliance
with societal
requirements
Fair income
Singularity of
the agricultural
sector
Reasonable
consumer
price
Guiding
Principles of
EU CAP
1962-2016
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16. RECAP: Europe´s Food Security in 1 min
• 1945-1980: Increase production at any cost
• 1980-2008: Production reached. So…quality,
lower prices, commodification (biofuels,
financialisation, long chains, global trade)
• 2008-2016: Two food crises. Climate change
will threat Food. Limited resources (water, soil,
P, N). Obesity
• 2016-2050: Securing Food Supply. More trade.
Common Food Policy
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17. 1962: produce more + good prices
for farmers
Guaranteed Prices & Shared Funding
1992: From market to producer
support
1990s: Organic farming & food
quality
2000: Rural Development
2003: CAP REF (market oriented &
conditionality)
2000s: Open Food Trade (EBA)
What do we do with farmers?
2007: Farming population doubles
2011: CAP REF (competitiveness).
Climate Change, Rural Landscapes,
employment, leisure, innovation
2014: CAP is 40% of
EU Budget
52 Billion Euro
(0.43% of EU GDP)
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18. • Farmers represent 5.4 percent of the EU’s population. Yet
they receive 40 percent of the EU’s total budget through
CAP.
• Bigger farmers are the greatest beneficiaries, with 20% of
farmers estimated to receive 74% of funding
• Europe’s taxpayers hand over €52 billion in subsidies
EU AGRICULTURE´S SHARE
• 12 million farms in the European Union (2010).
• Around 10 million persons are (directly) employed in
agriculture, representing 5% of total employment
• Farm Structure Survey (FSS) indicates that 25 million
people were regularly engaged in farm work (agriculture +
non-agriculture) in the EU during 2010
Source: EU Agricultural Economics Briefs No 8 | July 2013. How many people work in agriculture in the European
Union? An answer based on Eurostat data sources
http://www.ecpa.eu/information-page/agriculture-today/common-agricultural-policy-cap 18
21. Why so much for so few?
Although not recognized publicly, food is not like
other commodities. It is “the special one”
In 1985, around 70% of EU budget went to agriculture
“Agriculture's relatively large share of the EU budget is entirely
justified; it is the only policy funded almost entirely from the
budget. This means that EU spending replaces national
expenditure to a large extent”
“The average EU farmer receives less than half of what the
average US farmer receives in public support”
Source: http://ec.europa.eu/budget/explained/myths/myths_en.cfm
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22.
23.
24.
25. 1. Sustainable Intensification (science)
2. Green Growth (UN + Governments)
3. New Green Revolution (Corporate)
4. Climat-smart Agriculture (World Bank)
26.
27. If we waste one third of total food production
(wasted land, money, labourforce, energy, GHG emissions) AND
humanity is proyected to increased just 20%
(from 7.2 B in 2012 to 9 B in 2050),
why do we need to increase production by 50-70%?
Academia questioning the productivist paradigm
29. Profit-driven Maximisation VS Public Interest:
colliding narratives?
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News sparked furious condemnation from green MEPs
and NGOs, intensified by the report’s release two days
before an EU relicensing vote on glyphosate, which will
be worth billions of dollars to industry.
47. 47
The six food dimensions relevant to humans:
multi-dimensional food as commons VS mono-dimensional food as commodity
Source: Vivero-Pol (in press). http://www.preprints.org/manuscript/201701.0073/v1
50. To support local purchase
(small farming, agro-
ecology & cooperatives) to
satisfy food needs of
municipal premises
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51. Stricter & innovative rules to
avoid food waste
To recycle all expired food (i.e. France)
Supporting citizens´ collective actions to
reduced waste,
promote food sharing
and co-producing
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52. Shifting from charitable food
(Food Banks) to food as right
(Universal Food Coverage)
A food bank network that is
universal, accountable, compulsory
and not voluntary, random, targeted
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55. Encourage Food Policy
Councils (open membership
to citizens) through
participatory democracies,
financial seed capital and
enabling laws55
56. Set target for food provisioning in
2030
(Food Council)
• 60% private sector
• 25% self-production (collective
actions)
• 15% state-provisioning (public
buildings, destitute people,
unemployed families) through
Universal Food Coverage
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57. 57
Eager to exchange on food as a commons
Many uncertainties & gaps remain to be
developed in a common way combining
praxis with normative social constructs
@joselviveropol
joseluisviveropol
http://hambreyderechoshumanos.blogspot.com
http://hungerpolitics.wordpress.com
Jose Luis Vivero Pol
joseluisvivero@gmail.com