2008 ADI Topic LectureDr. Dave Hingstman

Resolved: that the United States Federal Government should substantially reduce its agricultural support, at least eliminating nearly all of the domestic subsidies, for biofuels, Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, corn, cotton, dairy, fisheries, rice, soybeans, sugar and/or wheat.

Critical Thinking about the Topic

• Who is doing the farming?

• Who is doing the consuming?

• What is the history of domestication, production and exchange?

Agriculture links people to land

Policy Options and the Topic

• Types of domestic subsidies to be changed

• Advantage areas

• Plan-inclusive counterplan options

Amber box Blue box Green box?

Green box

Trade and Development

Environment Health

Corn Farming as Cultural Practices

• European colonists adopted maize agriculture from Native Americans

• Corn is pervasive in animal & human food and increasingly in fuel

• Industrialized in the US with a combination of mechanical and migrant labor. Primarily Midwestern

Corn Farming as Economy & Industry

• Direct payments, countercyclical payments, market loans, conservation programs

• WTO Doha Round, world food prices, indigenous agriculture, producer relations, biofuels issues, soil erosion, water pollution, livestock, obesity

• Conservation program PICs, trade bargains, production bans or requirements

Cotton Farming as Cultural Practice

• Historically associated with slave and poorly paid labor, but increasingly mechanized wherever it is grown

• To make clothes fashionable, cotton is promoted as a “new fiber” and heavily water-polluting dyes are added. Cotton may be the most resource-intensive crop product on the planet

• The word “cotton” means “the plant found in conquered lands.” Alexander the Great may have seen it in India

Cotton Farming as Economy & Industry

• Direct payments, countercyclical payments, market loans and guarantees

• WTO Brazil cotton decision, indigenous agriculture, producer relations, pesticide harms, water shortages and pollution

• Irrigation, integrated pest management & organic cotton development PIC, land conservation PIC, undermine WTO dispute resolution procedure CP

Rice Farming as Cultural Practices

• In many parts of Asia, the word for “rice” literally means “food.” Very little rice is consumed in the U.S.

• Rice is extremely versatile in storage and preparation

• Rice production gives jobs to rural landless worker because high-yield Green Revolution varieties are labor-intensive

Rice Farming as Economy and Industry

• Direct payments, countercyclical payments, market loans, import tariffs

• WTO Doha round, world food prices, indigenous agriculture, pesticide harms, GMOs, habitat loss, methane

• Green Revolution II PIC; bilateral trade deal PIC; carbon trading PIC

Soybean Farming as Cultural Practice

• Highly mechanized in every stage of production in most places, with some migrant labor

• Soybean oil is the most heavily consumed oil worldwide. US farmers sees soy meal as cheap, high-protein animal food, while others enjoy tofu

• Soybean is the oldest domesticated food crop. It is a major reason for the widespread growth of CAFOs

Soybean Farming as Economy & Industry

• Direct payments, biodiesel credits and research, countercyclical payments, market loan guarantees

• WTO Doha round, indigenous agriculture, US-Brazil relations, herbicide harms and genetically modified organisms

• Technology diffusion PIC; carbon offsets PIC; bilateral trade deal PIC

Sugar Farming as Cultural Practices

• Sugar raising historically moved from East (India) to West, and now has become a North/South issue--beets vs. cane

• Sugar makes up 20% of all calories consumed by those in the US, even though it has almost no nutritional value

• Sugar cane fueled the slave trade more than any other crop. It still requires very hazardous and poorly paid manual labor

Sugar Farming as Economy and Industry

• Production subsidies, price supports, import quotas, disaster relief & agricultural diversion programs (Katrina)

• US-Latin American relations, health, indigenous agriculture, habitat loss, soil erosion, energy

• Environmental innovation PIC, bilateral trade deal PIC, production bans and restrictions

Wheat Farming as Cultural Practice

• Crop most closely associated with family farming, although the first to be mechanized

• Wheat constitutes the major part of the diet for 1/3 of the world, although the richer you are, the less you eat

• Wheat is the most common plant on the planet. The ancient Egyptian word for “wheat” means “soul of the Earth”

Wheat Farming as Economy & Industry

• Direct payments, countercyclical payments, market loans and guarantees

• WTO Doha Round, US-Australian relations, soil erosion, habitat loss, fossil fuel use

• Bilateral trade deal PIC, conservation PIC; technological innovation PIC

Biofuel Farming as Cultural Practices

• Biofuels are the oldest form of energy, wood and fiber burning having been displaced by fossil fuels

•US biofuel consumption is locked into the fuel vs food and energy dependency controversies

• Biofuel production has been associated traditionally with small-scale agriculture, a byproduct of clearing land and crop residues, although corn and sugar are large-scale

Biofuel Farming as Economy & Industry

• Production subsidies, market loans and guarantees, renewable fuel standard as subsidy?

• World food prices, energy security, US-Latin American relations, indigenous agriculture, habitat loss, soil erosion, warming• Next generation biofuels

PIC, bilateral trade deal PIC, production bans and restrictions (see corn and sugar notes)

Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations as Cultural Practices

• Intended to be factory farms, capital-intensive with migrant labor

• CAFOs raise a source of controversy between animal welfare and vegan movements. Is meat-eating inherently cruel to animals?

• Factory farming began in Britain in 1947 as a means of providing food security. Mad cow disease was discovered in Britain in 1986.

Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations as Economy & Industry

• Direct payments through EQIP in the farm bill, indirectly subsidized through corn and soybean commodity programs

• animal rights, food safety & health, air & water pollution, monoculture, disease

• Environmental quality innovation PIC, production bans and restrictions

Dairy Farming as Cultural Practices

• Milk-producing animals have been domesticated for 1000s of years. Cows, goats, buffalo, sheep, horses, camels

•Dairy involves a wide array of products: milk, cream, butter, casein, cheese, whey, yogurt & milk powders. “Wholesome”

• Dairy farming was small-scale, on mixed farms, until the invention of automatic milking machines

Dairy Farming as Economy & Industry

• Price supports, market loans and guarantees, milk marketing orders (production quotas) support

• Dairy surplus dumping, hormones, health, air and water pollution

• Bilateral trade agreement PIC, production bans and restrictions

Fisheries as Cultural Practices

• Fisheries can involve commercial “wild” fishing or fish farming

• Fisheries provide 16% of the protein eaten in the world

• Fishing dates back 40,000 years. It began as a pastime, but Mediterranean exchange practices made it a trade. It is an old metaphor for recruitment

Fisheries as Economy & Industry

• Direct payments, boat fuel tax rebates, rural fishing development funds, marketing support, R&D

• WTO Anti-dumping initiative, Overfishing, disease, water pollution

• Bilateral trade deal PIC, conservation PIC, technological innovation PIC, production bans and restrictions

Two Things Everybody Should Get to Know

2008 Farm BillWorld Trade Organization