2008-04-20

The End of Agriculture

This is an interesting post and thanks for the Guardian link.  I was hoping one of the commenters might have discussed what has happened with Mexico; seems like this article on high corn prices in Mexico - due to corn shortages - relates to the same issue.  This Washington Post article - A Culinary and Cultural Staple in Crisis - points the finger directly at . . . wait for it . . . NAFTA.


US corn - subsidized in our farm bills - is being dumped on Mexico, which in turn drives farmers from the land.  Once that happens, should we expect anything but for those farmers to cross the border to the US seeking work here?

It seems almost axiomatic that a globalized community market will include labor as well as goods and services; we cannot have one without the other.  Instead, for years we have attempted to create a world with no borders for goods and services, all the while with nary a thought on what the impact on labor will be.  "Let them be retrained" is the mantra.  Today, we have farmers without farms and people left wondering where their food is to be found.

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