Analysis on the Globalization of Food

The meaning of globalization could be slightly altered depending on the topic chosen, such as when discussing food. It is laborious to compare the shifts in the world food system with those of cell phones and vehicles. Food is a basic necessity required for all living beings. One of the early stages of international food trade involved discovering different regions of the earth. The discovery of India by Vasco Da Gama not only gave him 100 years of direct access to Indian spices but also placed Spain and Portugal as the forerunners for direct trade. Due to this, the initial globalization of eating habits had begun, which was intensified by the industrial revolution.

The invention of machinery during the industrial revolution seeped into agricultural production with the development of agricultural machinery. In the 19th century, the food industry naturally grew as areas under cultivation increased, which led to the production of crops. Besides that, population growth and urbanization also played a leading role in agricultural production. The revolution created new methods of food preservation such as dry heat sterilization, in which the canning industry was born, and shortly after came refrigeration. In addition to these developments, the transport network began to evolve through new means of transport, particularly air freight. This globalization intensified in the 20th century.

This intense production, which could be known as the Fordist regime, was dominant through the post-World War II period. Here economic accumulation was based on the mass production and mass consumption of uniform, standardized, manufactured goods supported by Keynesian state policies and institutions.

The post-Fordist food regime was built on state deregulation, growing international free trade, as well as the manufacturing in the marketplace for food. The ratification of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) allowed the exposure of agriculture to economic liberalization. However, shortcomings of the GATT lead to the establishment of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995. As the WTO is not limited strictly to trade in goods, the introduction of its authority was enforced into so-called non-trade-related activity. These activities include, for example, foreign investment rules, intellectual property rights, and domestic regulatory mechanisms, such as services for insurance and transport, farm policy, and food and environmental standards.

Free-trade supporters firmly believe that WTO development would lead to a new world of global prosperity. Global markets will form rapidly by removing tariffs and quotas and banning barriers to non-tariff trade. Furthermore, this would lead to a rapid increase in worldwide commerce, along with the spread of wealth across the world. On the other hand, critics will argue that the terms of trade are heavily biased toward industrialized nations of the West. Therefore, free trade merely allows the less economically developed countries of the world to be plundered by the rich.

Globalization is a force for homogenization, blurring the boundaries that distinguish states but also contain distinctive cultures and lifestyles as well. Retailers are transforming the global food delivery system, not only influencing what consumers consume but also what farmers produce, and the resources required to fabricate it. For example, the American Diet allows large companies, such as KFC, Pizza Hut, McDonald's, and Starbucks, to sell their merchandise through a variety of countries. Such as McDonald's outlets are now located in over 100 countries. Nowadays, it is a vital concern that many small local businesses will be eradicated inevitably due to large multinational companies. Yet the health implications of these heavily processed diets, repleted with saturated fats, are being exploited globally. The concept of dietary burgerization is driven by youthful demand as a burger is a symbol of modernity. These modern eating habits will aid and abet future cases of the so-called Western diseases such as coronary heart disease and the possibility of food-related cancers.

While mass consumption diets remain, there has been a shift towards trade and consumption in non-traditional foods and niche commodities, such as fresh fruits and vegetables and organic produce. In part, this shift has been in response to those consumers who reject the production methods, techniques, and products of mass consumption and are concerned about issues such as food safety, food quality, and environmental sustainability. Since the mid1990s, increasingly rigorous grades and standards regarding fruit appearance, quality, the environment, and packaging demanded by retailers.

Furthermore, the farmer share of the food dollar has declined and continues to do so. On average, farm gate prices now make up less than 20 percent of the retail price across all farm products. So even a 10 percent increase in a given commodity, the farm gate price is likely to result in a retail price increase of only 2 percent. As a result, supermarkets are more likely than ever to prioritize delivery quality and consistency over price, at least within a definite range. Additionally, price increases are likely to be much more effective when applied to the cost of brokering, packaging or shipping, or reducing spoilage and waste, than when applied to the price of the farm gate.

No one has revolutionized the global food economy more than food retailers, in which they form an oligopoly-like system. This shift has also been aided and abetted by declining transport costs. Air transport costs have been reduced sufficiently that Kenyan french beans can now be harvested, washed, trimmed, packed in blister packs, bar-coded, and delivered to British retail shelves in less than one day. Moreover, for many products commonly eaten by consumers in industrialized nations, there are numerous sources of supply. Simple German strawberry yogurt has absurd ecological implications the processing, packaging, and distribution of a truckload of 150g tubs of yogurt would travel 1,005 KM. Strawberries from Poland, yogurt from North Germany, corn and wheat flour from the Netherlands, Jam from West Germany, and sugar and beet from East Germany, then the Aluminum foil came from 300 KM away. Thus to produce one truck of strawberry yogurt would amount to 10,000 liters of combusted diesel.

In conclusion, any country participating in a globally deregulated system is likely to find its ability to create a viable local food system undermined by dependence on foreign suppliers. An export orientation imposed on its farmers means a dislocation in food culture: produce sold that is not consumed locally, and products are consumed that are produced elsewhere. This economic regime contradicts the policies of those developing countries previously committed to national food self-sufficiency policies. The world needs a shift away from cheap export-led food policies to more local production for local use everywhere. This requires more people on the land, not throwing people off to more the economic audit of farming look more efficient.

References:

New! Improved? The Transformation of the Global Agrifood System*

The Global Agenda – Issues and Perspectives (6th Edition)