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حروب الغذاء - صناعة الازمة
Violent protests across the global South, in response to rocketing food prices from 2006 to 2008, highlighted an intrinsic flaw in the modern system of world trade—one that poses a serious threat to regional and international stability. In The Food Wars, Walden Bello traces the evolution of this crisis, examining its eruption in Mexico, Africa, the Philippines and China. Daring in vision and impassioned in tone, The Food Wars speaks out against the obscene imbalance in the most basic commodities between northern and southern hemispheres.
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First published January 1, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
December 31, 2010
How on earth had the Mexicans who live in the land where corn was first domesticated, become dependent on imports of US corn? How did the Philippines---a once primary rice exporter, became the world's biggest importer of rice, regularly sourcing 1-2 million tons of its annual rice requirement in the international market? Why did the structural adjustment in Africa failed so miserably, a contention that is no longer disputed by the World Bank? Why did the Chinese Communist Party need to regain the peasant confidence after joining the World Trade Organization? These questions are actually not mine. But any geopolitical eyes can perceive it, and it's in the book carefully dissected, analyzed, and ultimately answered by the professor from UP.
Though I deeply sympathize with the displaced and dispossessed peasants and farmers(including the Korean farmer Lee Kyung Hae who took his own life in protest against the WTO in 2003), there are still a lot of "new" thoughts (or maybe late realizations) in this book that really made me think again of my personal views on this currently hyped Global Age. Perhaps, this might be the best description of this book and I encourage you all to read this one.
Here are examples of those points:
---Agrofuel (biodiesel, ethanol, etc.) as a renewable source of energy still contributes to global warming and cannot be considered as a solution (or the lesser evil, if you want to push it) to climate change.
---The best solution to Global Warming is still, cut the energy consumption. We are all guilty of overconsumption.
---Unless they make policies in favor of the peasants, the World Trade Organization will always be nasty. And the World Bank-IMF, nastier.
---The biggest investor in the Philippines is...the government itself!
---There are double standards in the international free trade rules and it sucked.
---The Food Sovereignty paradigm proposed by Via Campesina and their advocates is a sound plan that values the back-to-nature principles of farming and the community-centered food production. This will be the biggest headache of the transnational capitalists and profit-centered policymakers.
---Agrarian Reform Program in the Philippines will never succeed as long as the lawmakers (Members of the House of Representatives) are landlords themselves. The President PNOY himself is also a landlord!
---Land is now the desired commodity
This book is an eye-opener, and a paradigm shifter too. Too bad, we are living in an extremely Capitalistic World and majority of the people will never understand him.
Though I deeply sympathize with the displaced and dispossessed peasants and farmers(including the Korean farmer Lee Kyung Hae who took his own life in protest against the WTO in 2003), there are still a lot of "new" thoughts (or maybe late realizations) in this book that really made me think again of my personal views on this currently hyped Global Age. Perhaps, this might be the best description of this book and I encourage you all to read this one.
Here are examples of those points:
---Agrofuel (biodiesel, ethanol, etc.) as a renewable source of energy still contributes to global warming and cannot be considered as a solution (or the lesser evil, if you want to push it) to climate change.
---The best solution to Global Warming is still, cut the energy consumption. We are all guilty of overconsumption.
---Unless they make policies in favor of the peasants, the World Trade Organization will always be nasty. And the World Bank-IMF, nastier.
---The biggest investor in the Philippines is...the government itself!
---There are double standards in the international free trade rules and it sucked.
---The Food Sovereignty paradigm proposed by Via Campesina and their advocates is a sound plan that values the back-to-nature principles of farming and the community-centered food production. This will be the biggest headache of the transnational capitalists and profit-centered policymakers.
---Agrarian Reform Program in the Philippines will never succeed as long as the lawmakers (Members of the House of Representatives) are landlords themselves. The President PNOY himself is also a landlord!
---Land is now the desired commodity
This book is an eye-opener, and a paradigm shifter too. Too bad, we are living in an extremely Capitalistic World and majority of the people will never understand him.
March 11, 2018
عنوان الكتاب ضخم بالمقارنة بمحتواه ولكن رغم ذلك فهو يتيح لنا صورة متكاملة حول أزمة انتاج الغذاء وأسعاره ومشكلة المجاعات رغم وجود انتاج يكفي سكان العالم.
September 10, 2013
THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF FOOD (FOR STARTERS)
Director of Focus on the Global South and professor of Sociology at the University of the Philippines, Walden Bello has written an excellent introduction on the international politics of food. Written just after the rocketing food prices of 2006 to 2008 he identifies the roots of the crisis in the "free" trade agreements and Structural Adjustment Programs (SAP's) that have destroyed third world food sovereignty under a barrage of subsidised exports from the 1st world, destruction of government support for domestic agriculture in the 3rd world, orientating agriculture away from fulfilling domestic demand to that of export markets, the sundering of the peasantry and rural population from the land when the main alternative is life in the burgeoning third world slums, with little prospect of paid work.
Bello also looks at one of the most popular books on the subject, Paul Collier's "The Bottom Billion", which is characterised as being the orthodox approach. Collier identifies the causes of the food crisis as (i) rising prosperity in China and India, (ii) governments being lacklustre in their support of commercial farming in Africa, (iii) the failure to make use of GM crops, and (iv) the growing consumption of agricultural land and produce by the bio-fuels industry. Bello is sceptical about the effect of the first point, on the second and third he is deeply critical. Only the last point is deemed to have had an effect on the price of food, and is regarded by Bello as a worrying development that has a potential to have disastrous effects if it continues it's growth.
The main body of the text is taking up with case studies that illustrate how the issues mentioned in the first paragraph have affected different countries (China, Mexico and the Philippines) as well as African agriculture in general. He also examines the bio-fuel industry, the relationship between peasants and capitalism as well as a number of examples of peasant resistance including the inspirational Via Campesina (Peasants Way).
"The Food Wars" is an excellent, and succinct introduction to the international politics of food that asks questions of the orthodox solutions for the food crisis (Agri-business, food aid, "free" trade), and offers an alternative based on food sovereignty, deglobalisation and privileging peasants over vast corporate food interests.
Director of Focus on the Global South and professor of Sociology at the University of the Philippines, Walden Bello has written an excellent introduction on the international politics of food. Written just after the rocketing food prices of 2006 to 2008 he identifies the roots of the crisis in the "free" trade agreements and Structural Adjustment Programs (SAP's) that have destroyed third world food sovereignty under a barrage of subsidised exports from the 1st world, destruction of government support for domestic agriculture in the 3rd world, orientating agriculture away from fulfilling domestic demand to that of export markets, the sundering of the peasantry and rural population from the land when the main alternative is life in the burgeoning third world slums, with little prospect of paid work.
Bello also looks at one of the most popular books on the subject, Paul Collier's "The Bottom Billion", which is characterised as being the orthodox approach. Collier identifies the causes of the food crisis as (i) rising prosperity in China and India, (ii) governments being lacklustre in their support of commercial farming in Africa, (iii) the failure to make use of GM crops, and (iv) the growing consumption of agricultural land and produce by the bio-fuels industry. Bello is sceptical about the effect of the first point, on the second and third he is deeply critical. Only the last point is deemed to have had an effect on the price of food, and is regarded by Bello as a worrying development that has a potential to have disastrous effects if it continues it's growth.
The main body of the text is taking up with case studies that illustrate how the issues mentioned in the first paragraph have affected different countries (China, Mexico and the Philippines) as well as African agriculture in general. He also examines the bio-fuel industry, the relationship between peasants and capitalism as well as a number of examples of peasant resistance including the inspirational Via Campesina (Peasants Way).
"The Food Wars" is an excellent, and succinct introduction to the international politics of food that asks questions of the orthodox solutions for the food crisis (Agri-business, food aid, "free" trade), and offers an alternative based on food sovereignty, deglobalisation and privileging peasants over vast corporate food interests.
March 23, 2021
An adequate introduction to many of the issues surrounding food security in the contemporary world, with historical examples to prove the writer's points on the issues of historical amnesia.
While the rage against the excesses of neoliberalism and passion for a more localised and deglobalised world is endearing and hopeful, I cannot help but also wonder what are the issues associated with the causes Bello supports too. I would have liked to read a little more, for instance, on the shortcomings of the Via Campesina movement. I think the whole book would also have read a lot smoother if Bello had written with less dense, meandering sentences crammed with facts and figures.
While the rage against the excesses of neoliberalism and passion for a more localised and deglobalised world is endearing and hopeful, I cannot help but also wonder what are the issues associated with the causes Bello supports too. I would have liked to read a little more, for instance, on the shortcomings of the Via Campesina movement. I think the whole book would also have read a lot smoother if Bello had written with less dense, meandering sentences crammed with facts and figures.
April 9, 2019
Really useful book, and in some ways a reminder of something that feels quite distant but no less relevant - a recognition of the dynamism and importance of the peasant-led struggle against globalisation. Urgent reading, especially for those engaged with Labour's current consultation on food policy - which references the notion of food sovereignty.
A few quibbles. I thought it was slightly surprising that Bello, a former CPP member, doesn't reference more Maoist or otherwise sympathetic literature on China. More seriously, and perhaps in deference to e.g. Via's preference to glossing over differences between farmers in the North and the South, I felt like there could have been a deeper discussion of the forces which are behind contemporary agricultural policy - beyond erroneous economics, which Bello sometimes leans on in a sort of Polanyian fashion. No doubt this is partly speaking from the position of someone in the North - and that is by no means who this book is ideally intended for - but I sometimes struggled to see exactly how the positions which Bello advances might play out in somewhere like Britain, and particularly the extent of opposition which they could be expected to encounter.
A few quibbles. I thought it was slightly surprising that Bello, a former CPP member, doesn't reference more Maoist or otherwise sympathetic literature on China. More seriously, and perhaps in deference to e.g. Via's preference to glossing over differences between farmers in the North and the South, I felt like there could have been a deeper discussion of the forces which are behind contemporary agricultural policy - beyond erroneous economics, which Bello sometimes leans on in a sort of Polanyian fashion. No doubt this is partly speaking from the position of someone in the North - and that is by no means who this book is ideally intended for - but I sometimes struggled to see exactly how the positions which Bello advances might play out in somewhere like Britain, and particularly the extent of opposition which they could be expected to encounter.
October 1, 2015
Mostly fairly dry material
March 14, 2024
This would be my entry to nonfiction books, outside textbooks and assigned readings. It felt like reading a position paper in some ways. I could see people may or may not agree with the points raised.
There are a lot of unfamiliar concepts and ideas, but I would want to dive into them next time, until the end when the main arguments are stated. I might list down terms that I might revisit and learn more about.
There are a lot of unfamiliar concepts and ideas, but I would want to dive into them next time, until the end when the main arguments are stated. I might list down terms that I might revisit and learn more about.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 30, 2018
Full review available: https://cookingupatreat.com/2018/09/2...
"When I was reading this book I read half the chapter focusing on agrofuels and the next morning there was one of the companies mentioned with a sponsored advert on my twitter feed. Was it there before or did I just notice it because of my awareness around the topic? Or is there some greater capitalist conspiracy of them getting into your mind? I’ll let you decide that answer but what I do know is that at 07:10 on a Tuesday morning it really narked me off.
As well as discussing agrofuel The Food Wars also covers poverty, agrobusiness, imports, exports, the general food industry and the political groups that try to impact on food production and ‘stability’. Walden Bello sprung into action to write this book when the 2008 financial crisis hit and got supported by his employers, colleagues and those that are also in this area of expertise to power ahead and highlight how the food industry and food prices both partly led to the crisis but also how they would be impacted by that financial crisis and any others that would follow. If you haven’t read about these topics before this book is easy enough to get into and understand but if you feel daunted by the concept I’d certainly start with something like Food for Beginners as, whilst it focuses specifically on the issues on the African continent, it mentions several of the topics and policies included in more depth in Bello’s book."
"When I was reading this book I read half the chapter focusing on agrofuels and the next morning there was one of the companies mentioned with a sponsored advert on my twitter feed. Was it there before or did I just notice it because of my awareness around the topic? Or is there some greater capitalist conspiracy of them getting into your mind? I’ll let you decide that answer but what I do know is that at 07:10 on a Tuesday morning it really narked me off.
As well as discussing agrofuel The Food Wars also covers poverty, agrobusiness, imports, exports, the general food industry and the political groups that try to impact on food production and ‘stability’. Walden Bello sprung into action to write this book when the 2008 financial crisis hit and got supported by his employers, colleagues and those that are also in this area of expertise to power ahead and highlight how the food industry and food prices both partly led to the crisis but also how they would be impacted by that financial crisis and any others that would follow. If you haven’t read about these topics before this book is easy enough to get into and understand but if you feel daunted by the concept I’d certainly start with something like Food for Beginners as, whilst it focuses specifically on the issues on the African continent, it mentions several of the topics and policies included in more depth in Bello’s book."
May 22, 2019
Thank god for Subheadings
It's start rather jargon heavy with a focus on dissecting paradigms and inserting observations of prevailing thinking. But once you get past his exhaustive framing you find his case studies to be insightful and helpful in creating a bigger world picture leading to a plausible counter model in which to fram agricultural development.
It's start rather jargon heavy with a focus on dissecting paradigms and inserting observations of prevailing thinking. But once you get past his exhaustive framing you find his case studies to be insightful and helpful in creating a bigger world picture leading to a plausible counter model in which to fram agricultural development.
Read
October 7, 2021US and EU out of everywhere and everything. Nutrition security. Food sovereignty. Abolish land leaches. Repeasantization. Land back and everything else.
January 3, 2023
The author glosses over the arguments too quickly and does not make his case convincingly. The book requires the reader to be well versed in economics.
February 17, 2021
بحث ممتاز ويفتح للقارىء عدة أسئلة في هذا المجال
June 18, 2010
I think that if there is a problem with this book, and this is a pretty strong IF, it is that Bello assumes a pretty substantial understanding of economics (specifically macroeconomics) on the part of his reader. That is, he consistently cites statistics regarding government funding that I really do not have the tools to understand the exact implications of fluctuations in the GDP or various forms of government investment and their impacts because my Econ 101 class consisted mostly of me skipping. However, even though I may not appreciate the full weight of the various statistics he cites (which do make for slightly dry reading), the book is very clear in illustrating how neoliberal economic policies instituted by organizations such as the World Bank and IMF have disastrous ecological impacts and contribute to increased food prices and increased hunger. The chapters on the government subsidized experiments in biofuels and resistance to the neoliberal model of agricultural production, however, read incredibly well and were very gripping. Overall, if you are either familiar with the impact of the World Bank and IMF (or just cannot stomach reading a significant amount of economics) the final two chapters are easily worth reading.
August 11, 2016
A good, dense primer on how we've used food as an economic weapon against the world. While not super accessible to those without an education in economics(someone such as myself), Bello is able to provide understandable conclusions amidst the storm of facts and statistics provided.
The conclusion offers a faint glimmer of hope, offering portraits of different leaders in peasant farmer movements and provides ways of moving forward. While not incredibly deep in it's solutions, it has inspired me to dig deeper myself.
The conclusion offers a faint glimmer of hope, offering portraits of different leaders in peasant farmer movements and provides ways of moving forward. While not incredibly deep in it's solutions, it has inspired me to dig deeper myself.
December 31, 2017
Magnífico. El epílogo está un poco menos bien tramado, pero el libro debería ser leído por todo el mundo. Lo que le estamos haciendo a los agricultores de este planeta no tiene nombre y lo vamos a pagar caro.
December 4, 2009
I rarely don't finish reading books, but this one was not what I thought. It was pretty dull, and very detailed and I didn't make it past the first chapter.
December 16, 2009
Excellent!
September 23, 2016
Unang librong napahinto ako sa kalagitnaan ng pagbabasa sa galit
October 14, 2014
Educational.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews