MAG a Z I N E 0 F F 0 0 D, FAR M, and RES 0 U R Eel S SUE S Sotheysay What Agricultural and Resource Economists Are Finding About Food, Farm, and Resource Issues
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THE MAG A Z I N E 0 F F 0 0 D, FAR M, AND RES 0 U R eEl S SUE S SoTheySay What agricultural and resource economists are finding about food, farm, and resource issues • STAFFORD has been studying "Hazardous Waste Management Susan and Christine N. Heggem. "Evaluating Telemedicine Tech Firms." She says that if a state spends a huge amount on environ nologies in Rural Settings," Montana State University, Department mental programs, waste management firms may not locate there. She of Agricultural Economics and Economics, Technical Research Cen also says that states with stringent environmental regulations attract ter, Policy Issue Paper 10, April 1999.) hazardous waste management firms. (Stafford, Sarah, "The Impact of Environmental Regulations on the Location of Firms in the Haz • RUNGE AND SENAUER say "To meet the demands posed by ardous Waste Management Industry," Forthcoming, Land Eco population and income growth [between 1995 and 2020], the world nomics, 76(November, 2000)). must produce 40 percent more grain by 2020. Only about one fifth of this increase is li kely to come from expanding the amount • In a recent book, VICTOR DAVIS HANSON says, "The cor ofland in production. Yet yield increases are slowing from the heady porization of food is simple and operates on a single truth: there is days of the Green Revo lution in the 1970s. " (Runge, C. Ford and no money in growing harvests, but a great deal in packaging them, Benjamin Senuaer. "Trade Insecurity and Food Security: After Seat shipping them, and selling them. Invulnerable is the conglomer cle. " University of Minnesota, Center for International Food and Agri ate that can do all three, which can lose money from growing food cultural Policy, Wotking Paper WPOO-1, Februaty, 2000.) and profit enormously on getting it to you. Irs upper- and mid level employees, with health benefits, retirement plans, and usu • RUTTAN recalls that at a seminar held a short time after his join ally clean and comfortable workplaces, ;u-e polite, kind, and relaxed ing clle IRRI staffin India in 1963, the Director, Robert Chandler, fo lk more to America's tastes than farmers, who have no money or used a Saturday morning staff seminar to define for the scientists time for such things. [The farmers] have been busy, we must remem and their assistants exactly what IRRI was all about. Ruttan remem ber, going broke growing only food. " (Hanson, Victor Davis. The bers it this way, "Robert Chandler responded to a question about Land was Everything: Letters From an American Farmer, New York: research priorities by pounding on the table and announcing, 'The The Free Press, 2000, pp. 182-83.) purpose of mis institute is not to do good science! ... The purpose of this institute is to raise rice yields in Asia!' Then after a pause he • PATTERSON AND RICHARDS say that the size of a newspaper adver added: 'And raising rice yields in Asia may require that you do good tisement has a positive impact on the sales of Golden Delicious, science!'" (Ruttan, Vernon. "Imperiali sm and Competition in Granny Smith, Gala, and McIntosh apples. However, they say, the Anthropology, Sociology, Political Science, and Economics: a Pet size of a newspaper advertisement has a negative effect on the sales spective from Development Economics." University Of Minnesota, of Red Delicious apples. (Patterson, Paul M. and Timothy J. Economic Development Center, March, 2000.) Richards. "Newspaper Advertisement Characteristics and Con sumer Preferences for Apples: A MIMIC Model Approach." Agribusi • THE ENVIRONMENTAL WORKING GROUP says, "Less than a mil ness, 16(numbet 2,2000): 159-177.) lion acres of U.S. farmland are being used to grow organic crops t11at consumers can't seem to get enough of, while more man 60 million • SUNDING says that if a market mechanism coupled with the acres are planted with genetically engineered crops mey may not opportunity to trade water is used to reallocate 800,000 acre-feet want to eat at all. " (Environmental Working Group, Washington, annually from growers in California's Central Valley, farm profits will DC. Ava ilab le at <http://www.ewg.org/pub/homelreporrs/ mal be reduced by about $10 million and farm sales will drop byapprox adroitfarm/maladroitfarm.htmb June, 2000. imately $19 million. If water trades are not all owed, such a reallo cation wi ll reduce farm profits by nearly $45 million and revenues • LACY says, "Communities are the foundation of any society and will fall by approxim ately $85 million. (Sunding, David. "Market of our overall well-being. Unfortunately they are experiencing rapid Based Strategies are Needed to Cope with Scarcity." CaliforniaAgri transformations that may significantly erode t11eir capacity to remain culture, 54(March-April 2000):56-6l.) viable and sustainable both domestically and internationally. How we shape decisions and actions around work, science and technol • CAPALBO AND HEGGEM say " ... telemedicine systems have the ogy, and food as we ll as other key factots affecting our communi potential to simultaneously address several problems characteristic ties, is crucial to achieving a just and sustainable agenda for the of health care in rural areas, including access to care, cost contain future. " (Lacy, W illi am B. "Empowering Communities T hro ugh ment, and quality assurance .... [However] the potential benefits Public Work, Science, and Local Food Systems: Revisiting Democ ... have not yet been verified by research in a field serring." (Capalbo, racy and Globalization." Rural Sociology 65(1),2000. Page 3.) 2 CHOICES Second Quarter 2000 Guest Editorial by Luther Tweeten Coexisting )lVith Alternative Agriculture Advocates acteristics. They are mostly not of farm back The ends AAAs seek using what scien ground. Conspiracy theories bind them I tists consider to be unethical means are together. They largely view corporate Amer sometimes eventually judged to be des ir ica, including the commercial agricultural able and accepted by society. Examples establishment, as the enemy. include Upton Sinclair The Jungle and The income elasticity of alternative agri Rachael Carlson's Silent Spring that aroused culture activity is high, so expect to see more, the nation to address neglected problems. not fewer, AAAs in the future. People drawn AAAs are at their best operating in our to alternative agriculture issues are educated type I and II error zones. Scientists typi and articulate adults savvy at working with cally test hypotheses at the 5 percent level, the media. Many AAA shock troops are sub hence incorrectly reject a true hypothesis urban housewives and student activists who (Type I error), on average, 5 out of 100 have time and other resources to devote to times. Also we sometimes incorrectly fail to such issues. Freed from worrying about reject the null hypothesis when the alter where their next meal is coming from, affiu native hypothesis is correct (Type II error). ent people can direct their attention to food Thus, in their non-scientific advocacy of production processes and food safety. Food laetrile, opposition to genetically modified labeling and certification need to catch up food ingredients, and the like, AAAs are ne might expect public complacency so that people can express their views in the likely to be correct about 5 percent of the O regarding food policy in this age of market with dollars rather than in street time. That's frequent enough odds for sci record consumer affluence, unprecedented demonstrations. entists to be cautious in attacking the posi food quantity and quality, falling global AAAs are deeply committed, sincere peo tions of AAAs. Stated al ternatively, it is numbers oHood insecure people, declining ple who are highly normative in their impossible to prove universals, such as that soil erosion, and a world headed (Q zero approach to perceived problems. Many a particular food containing transgenic population growth before the end of this AAAs are followers of Postmodern Philos ingredients will be safe for all consumers century. However, the proposition from the ophy, which rejects "grand narratives" such for all time. 1960s that "agriculture is too important to as neoclassical economic theory. They reject To paraphrase Edmund Burke, all that be left to agriculturalists" has never been the Enlightenment as embodied in is required for ignorance to triumph is for more promll1ent. Descartes' teaching that rational thought is informed people to remain silent. Contin I have spent many rewarding years work the best way to make decisions and must ued objective research and education on ing, often in disagreement, with alternative be free of emotional encumbrances. Instead, AAA issues are essential. Educational pro agriculture groups. These groups include a key belief of AAAs is embodied in the grams need to be targeted ro the uncom anti-globalists, radical environmentalists, statement from the Organization for Com mitted at the teachable moment. AAAs small farm zealots, organic food advocates, petitive Markets (Newsletter, Lincoln, NE, largely have their minds made up. Their autarkists, neo-Luddites, and animal wel PO. Box 6486, March 2000, p. 1) that misleading and erroneous assertions should farists. Many individuals from these and "Emotion is an absolute necessity for reason." be contested, but education must mainly other protest groups demonstrated against Most Americans label AAAs as left wing, target the uncommitted. trade in Seattle in late 1999 and against eco but they have ultra-conservative dimensions. At egregious COSt to society in misallo nomic development in Washington, DC a As ultra conservatives, they reject new tech cation of resources (e.g. $6 billion on few weeks later. For convenience, I have nology. They want to keep old technology, organic food; far more on lost trade), agri grouped these protesters together and des nature, and ways of life. As liberals, they cultural economists are abdicating food ignated them as "alternative agricultural fear that no one is in charge to ensure that and agricultural policy education to AAAs.