The Locavore's Dilemma (39 page)

7
E. C. Pasour, Jr.'s and Randall R. Rucker. 2005.
Plowshares and Pork Barrels: The Political Economy of Agriculture
. The Independent Institute, p. 308.

8
Robert Paarlberg. 2010.
Food Politics. What Everyone Needs to Know.
Oxford University Press, p. 86.

9
For the European Union's official stance on the CAP and description of recent reforms, see
http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/capexplained/index_en.htm
.

10
Caroline Boin. 2008. “Free Trade can Stop World Food Crisis turning into Tragedy.”
The Scotsman
(April 19)
http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/top-stories/Free-trade-can-stop-world.3999431.jp
.

11
Michael Pollan. 2008. “Farmer in Chief.”
New York Times Magazine
(October 9)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/12/magazine/12policy-t.html
.

12
For a discussion of the recent evolution of national food reserves, see Global Food Markets Group. 2010.
The 2007/08 Agricultural Price Spikes: Causes and Policy Implications.
DEFRA
http://archive.defra.gov.uk/foodfarm/food/pdf/ag-price100105.pdf
.

13
See, among others, Robert Bailey. 2011.
Growing a Better Future: Food Justice in a Resource-Constrained World
. Oxfam International, p. 46
http://www.oxfam.org/en/grow/reports/growing-better-future
.

14
IRIN (UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs). 2008. “Niger: Are Cereal Banks the Best Option to Fight Hunger?”
IRIN Humanitarian News and Analysis
(October 16)
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?Re-portId=80953
.

15
For a discussion of strategic grain reserves between the early 1970s and mid-1990s, see John Lynton-Evans. 1997.
Strategic Grain Reserves - Guidelines for their establishment, management and operation
. FAO Agricultural Services Bulletin—126
http://www.fao.org/docrep/w4979e/w4979e00.htm
.

16
Evan D. G. Fraser and Andrew Rimas. 2010.
Empires of Food. Feast, Famine, and the Rise and Fall of Civilizations.
Free Press, pp. 66–67.

17
The Food Corporation of India is a government entity charged with providing effective price support to farmers, distributing foodgrains to the public and maintaining buffer stocks of food grains to ensure food security. See its website at
http://fciweb.nic.in/
.

18
Rupashree Nanda. 2010. “One-Third of India's Food Reserves Left to Rot.”
CNN-IBN Live
(July 25)
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/onethird-of-indias-food-reserves-left-to-rot/127434-3.html
.

19
See, among others, William Harte. 1764.
Essays on Husbandry
. W. Frederick, p. 116
http://books.google.com/books?id=DaI1AAAAMAAJ&source=gbs_navlinks_s
; Anne Robert Jacques Turgot. 1770. “Seventh Letter [on the Grain Trade].” In David Gordon (editor). 2011.
The Turgot Collection. Writings, Letters and Speeches of Anne Robert Jacques Turgot, Baron de Laune.
Ludwig von Mises Institute, p. 240
http://mises.org/books/turgot_collection_turgot.pdf
; and Edmund Burke. 1840/1795.
Thoughts and Details on Scarcity.
F. and C. Rivington, p. 28
http://books.google.com/books?id=DUgJAAAAQAAJ&hl=fr&output=text&source=gbs_navlinks_s
For a more recent overview, see Cormac Ó Gráda. 2009.
Famine. A Short History.
Princeton University Press.

20
Louis Torfs. 1839.
Fastes des calamités publiques survenues dans les Pays-Bas et particulièrement en Belgique, depuis les temps les plus reculés jusqu'à nos jours.
Casterman, pp. 238–239
http://books.google.com/books?id=W1ZbAAAAQAAJ&hl=fr&source=gbs_navlinks_s
For recent historical scholarship on the effectiveness of some past European and Chinese granaries, see, among others, Olivier Zeller. 1989. “Politique frumentaire et rapports sociaux à Lyon, 1772-1776.”
Histoire, Économie et Société
8 (2): 249–286
http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/hes_0752-5702_1989_num_8_2_2368
; and Carol H. Shiue. 2004. “Local Granaries and Central Government Disaster Relief: Moral Hazard and Intergovernmental Finance in Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century China.”
Journal of Economic History
64 (1):100–124.

21
William Harte. 1764.
Essays on Husbandry
. W. Frederick, p. 51 (adapted to modern English by the writers)
http://books.google.com/books?id=DaI1AAAAMAAJ&source=gbs_navlinks_s
.

22
Joachim von Braun and Maximo Torero. 2009.
Implementing Physical and Virtual Food Reserves to Protect the Poor and Prevent Market Failure.
IFPRI Policy Brief 10
http://www.ifpri.org/sites/default/files/publications/bp010.pdf
.

23
See the IATP's Global Observatory on Food Reserves
http://www.tradeobservatory.org/issue_foodSecurity.cfm
.

24
STWR Brief. 2009.
Global Food Reserves—Framing the Context for a New Multilateralism
(October)
http://www.stwr.org/food-security-agriculture/global-food-reserves-a-key-step-towards-ending-hunger.html
.

25
Grassroots International and National Family Farm Coalition. 2008.
An Open Letter to Congress on the Need for Strategic Grain Reserves
(April 28)
http://www.grassrootsonline.org/news/articles/open-letter-congress-need-strategic-grain-reserves
.

26
For a more detailed introduction and criticism of these various forms of government-sponsored food reserves, see Brian Wright. 2009.
International Grain Reserves and Other Instruments to Address Volatility in Grain Markets.
World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 5028, World Bank
http://econ.worldbank.org/external/default/main?pagePK=64165259&theSitePK=477916&piPK=64165421&menuPK=64166093&entityID=000158349_20090825154655
; and Global Food Markets Group. 2010.
The 2007/08 Agricultural Price Spikes: Causes and Policy Implications.
DEFRA
http://archive.defra.gov.uk/foodfarm/food/pdf/ag-price100105.pdf
.

27
FAO (Trade and Markets Division). 2009.
The State of Agricultural Commodity Markets. High Food Prices and the Food Crisis—Experiences and Lessons Learned.
FAO
http://www.fao.org/docrep/012/i0854e/i0854e00.htm
; See also, among others, Siddharta Mitra and Tim Josling. 2009.
Agricultural Export Restrictions: Welfare Implications and Trade Disciplines
. IPC Position Paper Agricultural and Rural Development Policy Series. International Food and Agricultural Trade Policy Council
http://www.agritrade.org/documents/ExportRestric-tions_final.pdf
.

28
Cormac Ó Gráda. 2009.
Famine. A Short History.
Princeton University Press, p. 138.

29
William Harte. 1764.
Essays on Husbandry
. W. Frederick, p. 52 (adapted to modern English by the writers)
http://books.google.com/books?id=DaI1AAAAMAAJ&source=gbs_navlinks_s
According to the historian Peter Garnsey, Athens and Rome were the exception rather the rule in the Ancient World, at least inasmuch as the rulers of other cities did not object to food exports in good times as it brought them increased revenues. Peter Garnsey. 1988.
Famine and
Food Supply in the Graeco-Roman World: Responses to Risk and Crisis
. Cambridge University Press, chapter 5.

30
Arthur Young. 1792.
Travels in France during the Years 1787,1788, 1789.
George Bell and Sons, chapter 2 (unpaginated version available at
http://www.econlib.org/library/YPDBooks/Young/yngTFCover.html
).

31
Benjamin Franklin. 1774. “Principles of Trade
.
” Reprint in Jared Sparks (ed.) 1836.
The Works of Benjamin Franklin, volume 2
. Hilliard, Gray and Company: 383-409, pp. 407-409
http://books.google.ca/books?id=IvE_AAAAYAAJ&source=gbs_navlinks_s
.

32
See, among others, Siddharta Mitra and Tim Josling. 2009.
Agricultural Export Restrictions: Welfare Implications and Trade Disciplines
. IPC Position Paper Agricultural and Rural Development Policy Series. International Food and Agricultural Trade Policy Council
http://www.agritrade.org/documents/ExportRestrictions_final.pdf
.

33
Quoted in Bernard Lugongo. 2010. “Debate on Food Export Ban Continues.”
The Citizen
(November 29)
http://thecitizen.co.tz/business/13-local-business/5957-debate-on-food-export-ban-continues.html
.

34
Global Food Markets Group. 2010.
The 2007/08 Agricultural Price Spikes: Causes and Policy Implications.
DEFRA, p.11
http://archive.defra.gov.uk/foodfarm/food/pdf/ag-price100105.pdf
; See also Derek Headey. 2011. “Rethinking the Global Food Crisis: The Role of Trade Shocks.”
Food Policy
36 (2): 136-146.

35
E-mail correspondence with Gary Blumenthal of World Perspectives, Inc., December 2011.

36
Similar schemes were also in existence for a long time in advanced economies ranging from Canada to New Zealand.

37
William O. Jones. 1987. “Food-Crop Marketing Boards in Africa.”
The Journal of Modern African Studies
25 (3): 375–402.

38
For a more detailed survey of the impact of commodity marketing boards on less developed economies, see Lee R. Martin. 1991.
A Survey of Agricultural Economics Literature, volume 4: Agriculture in Economic Development 1940s—1990s
. University of Minnesota Press, especially pp. 44–48 .

39
Edward R. Cook, Kevin J. Anchukaitis, Brendan M. Buckley, Rosanne D. D'Arrigo, Gordon C. Jacoby and William E. Wright. 2010. “Asian Monsoon Failure and Megadrought during the Last Millennium.”
Science
328 (5977): 486–489.

40
Robert L. Schuettinger and Eamonn F. Butler. 1979.
Forty Centuries of Wage and Price Controls: How Not to Fight Inflation.
The Heritage Foundation, pp. 33-34
http://mises.org/books/fortycenturies.pdf
.

41
William Wilson Hunter. 1871.
The Annals of Rural Bengal, fourth edition
. Smith, Elder and Co, pp. 43–46
http://books.google.ca/books?id=yEoOAAAAQAAJ&dq=related
:OCLC19227940&source=gbs_navlinks_s.

42
Mark Bittman. 2011. “Don't End Agricultural Subsidies, Fix Them.”
Opiniator (The New York Times)
(March 1)
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/01/dont-end-agricultural-subsidies-fix-them/
.

43
Adam Smith. 1776.
An Inquiry Into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations,
Volume II, Book 4, Chapter 8, Conclusion of the Mercantile System
http://oll.libertyfund.org/?option=com_staticxt&staticfile=show.php%3Fti-tle=200&chapter=217484&layout=html&Itemid=27
.

44
Fonterra's website can be found at
http://www.fonterra.com/wps/wcm/connect/fonterracom/fonterra.com
For assessments of the environmental impacts of agricultural trade liberalization in New Zealand, see OECD. 1996.
The Environmental Effect of Removing Agricultural Subsidies: Case Study of New Zealand.
OECD COM/AGR/CA/ENV/EPOC (96), p. 119 and Willie Smith and Hayden Montgomery. 2003. “Revolution or Evolution? New Zealand Agriculture since 1984.”
GeoJournal
59 (2): 107–118 for a somewhat more critical analysis.

45
Eutrophication is the process through which water bodies receive excess nutrients that stimulate excessive plant growth.

46
See, among others, Elinor Ostrom. 1999. “Coping with Tragedies of the Commons.”
Annual Review of Political Science
2: 493-535; and Elinor Ostrom. 2000. “Private and Common Property Rights.” In Boudewijn Bouckaert and Gerrit De Geest (eds.).
Encyclopedia of Law and Economics
. Edward Elgar, pp. 332–379.

47
Peter M. Kjellingbro and Maria Skotte. 2005.
Environmentally Harmful Subsidies. Linkages between Subsidies, the Environment and the Economy.
Environmental Assessment Institute
http://imv.net.dynamicweb.dk/ Admin/Public/Download.aspx?file=files/filer/rapporter/diverse/harmful_subsidies.pdf
; OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development). 2006.
Subsidy Reform and Sustainable Development: Economic, Environmental and Social Aspects
. OECD. Partly available at
http://www.oecd.org/document/1/0,2340,en26493742 5365 6691311137425,00.html
.

1
The “great grandmother” line was made most famous by Michael Pollan in his various writings, such as in his In Defense of Food
http://michaelpollan.com/books/in-defense-of-food/
While neither of us has met any of our great grandmothers, one of our grandmothers was rather fond of processed foods and the availability of fresh produce in the middle of the Canadian winter.

2
To give but one case among a multitude of others, the mongooses once brought to Hawaii to control imported rats quickly developed a taste for native
birds. Of course, sometimes events played out the other way, with a local pest discovering a particular fondness for an imported crop. A case in point is the Colorado potato beetle, an insect native to the Rocky Mountains which had previously thrived on the leaves of local wild plants.

3
Software specifically designed to help manage organic Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) schemes have long been part of the food activist's toolkit while a new “locavore” iPhone application had become available as we were beginning to write this book.

4
Paul Johnson. 2007.
Intellectuals: From Marx and Tolstoy to Sartre and Chomsky
, HarperCollins, p. 391.

5
Winston Churchill. 1946.
Address to Westminster College
http://www.historyplace.com/speeches/ironcurtain.htm
.