I. Sustainable Agriculture
• Protect environment and family farms
• Use pubic policy to preserve soil, water,
biodiversity
• Promote economically secure family farms and
rural communities
• Less chemical and energy intensive farming
practices
• Reducing time, distance, and resources to move
food from production to consumption
II. Free Trade
• Deliver crops and livestock to processors
and industrial buyers at lowest possible
price
• “Externalize” social, environmental, and
health costs
• Scale back price supports, supply
management, and environmental protection
II. Free Trade (cont.)
• Open state and national borders to unlimited
and deregulated imports and exports
• Heavily promoted by agribusiness
corporations (low prices) and producers of
farm inputs (chemicals, fertilizers)
History in U.S.
• Depression (govt. establishes annual
minimum price)
• Nixon Compromise (target price)
• 1980s (drop in guaranteed price)
• Farmers response (intensification of
production, surplus of cheap US grain)
Effects Abroad
• Increase in US imports of oil, fertilizer, tires,
which become more costly (trade deficit)
• Debtor nations dependant on food exports for hard
currency need to lower prices and boost volume in
response
• Farmers wiped out or turn to environmentally
unfriendly intensification
• Chemical input production moved overseas
Prevention of Backlash
• Discussion kept in arena of trade talks,
away from open and political negotiations
• “Fast Track” prohibits amendments
• GATT prevents limits to volume of raw
material and agricultural imports
• Environmental regulations challenged as
unfair
Long term Environmental Effects
• Increased oil and gas use
• Massive immigration to cities