It is very important. Not only does trading food globally give us more choice about what we can eat, it means that countries that do not produce enough food themselves to feed their populations will not starve.
Trading food globally, though, is not free of criticism. Although it is accepted that some countries need to either import or export food in order to survive, there are some who believe that the cost of transporting food across the globe just to satisfy our desire for foods that are not in season in our own areas is too high.
This criticism is not based on the monetary cost of transporting the food, but rather on the cost to the world in relation to the huge carbon footprint that this trade produces.
Last year there were nine million shiploads of food imported into the States, and a great number of those came from China
In the last 10 years, food imports have more than doubled, yet shipments from China are almost four times what they were.
The brutal answer is that it is not; the United States is more than capable of producing the majority of what is needed but the huge supermarket chains like Wal-Mart and other large food processors are turning away from home grown produce in favor of cheaper suppliers who can provide it at such a price because their workers do not demand the same wages as they do in the US.
The easy answer is everybody; it may be the big supermarkets that are turning their backs on our own farmers, but it is in response to our demands that we get our produce as cheaply as we can, which in turn is because the country is in financial difficulty and we don't have as much to spend. It is a vicious circle, but the cost could ultimately be too high.
Trading food globally, though, is not free of criticism. Although it is accepted that some countries need to either import or export food in order to survive, there are some who believe that the cost of transporting food across the globe just to satisfy our desire for foods that are not in season in our own areas is too high.
This criticism is not based on the monetary cost of transporting the food, but rather on the cost to the world in relation to the huge carbon footprint that this trade produces.
- How much food does the United States import?
Last year there were nine million shiploads of food imported into the States, and a great number of those came from China
In the last 10 years, food imports have more than doubled, yet shipments from China are almost four times what they were.
- Why is this necessary?
The brutal answer is that it is not; the United States is more than capable of producing the majority of what is needed but the huge supermarket chains like Wal-Mart and other large food processors are turning away from home grown produce in favor of cheaper suppliers who can provide it at such a price because their workers do not demand the same wages as they do in the US.
- Who's to blame?
The easy answer is everybody; it may be the big supermarkets that are turning their backs on our own farmers, but it is in response to our demands that we get our produce as cheaply as we can, which in turn is because the country is in financial difficulty and we don't have as much to spend. It is a vicious circle, but the cost could ultimately be too high.