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| 1 |
ID:
136469
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| Summary/Abstract |
This paper has two objectives. First, it aims to analyse how transnational agricultural traders are positioning themselves in, and capitalising on, the financialisation of agriculture. Second, it seeks to position land investments in this process. This is done by situating Cargill – one of the largest agricultural trading companies in the world – into the transformation of agriculture in the world economy and by assessing its strategies of adaption through private equity-driven land investment in the Philippines. The article notes, following Burch and Lawrence, that the transforming position of agriculture is created by reshaping relationships in the agri-food supply chain and is based on the logic of finance capital. An example of this process from the Philippines is provided, where Cargill’s private equity arm – Black River Asset Management– is investing in land through equity acquisitions of a Philippine company, Agrinurture, in a manner that allows the company to adapt to national and local dynamics. The evolving and deepening connection between finance and agriculture is presented first, followed by a discussion of how Cargill fits into this transition in the Philippine context.
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| 2 |
ID:
137216
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The nature of food risk in Japan has undergone a qualitative change in recent years. This article synthesises insights from psychology, economics, and political science into an interdisciplinary risk approach to show how international relations impact consumer decisions in Japan by outlining how food risks are constructed and framed within existing narrative frameworks. To this end, the article employs two case studies: the gyōza incident in 2008, when poisoned dumplings imported from China caused ten people to fall ill, and contaminated beef incident in 2011, in which five people died and dozens more were hospitalised after consuming raw beef tainted due to industrial negligence. These cases are analysed in the context of Japan's low rate of food self-sufficiency, deteriorating Sino-Japanese relations and the ‘China threat theory’, and perceptions of food safety. The article shows how, despite suffering recent major domestic food contamination incidents and lethal domestic food terrorism, Japanese food is perceived as safe and healthy whereas imported food, and especially Chinese food, is perceived as dangerous and unhealthy. This is exemplified in the domestic response to the two cases: the gyōza incident led to a national outcry, mass hysteria, and calls for a ban on Chinese food imports. Conversely, the raw beef contamination incident – the deadliest case of food contamination in Japan since the 1990s – saw a far more mixed response, as industry, media, and consumers called for the government to allow individuals to take on self-responsibility to mediate their own risks regarding (domestically produced Japanese) food. The article concludes by pointing out that, while behavioural sciences can tell us important things about risk, the political and international context must also be considered.
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| 3 |
ID:
134449
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While both academics and politicians have long acknowledged the connection between food price shocks and so-called ‘food riots’, this article asks whether rising domestic consumer food prices are a contributing cause of sociopolitical unrest, more broadly defined, in urban areas of Africa. In order to unravel the complex and circular relationship between rising food prices and unrest, an instrumental approach with country fixed effects is used to isolate causality at the country-month unit of analysis for the period 1990 through 2012. Two instrumental variables, changes in international grain commodity prices and local rainfall scarcity, are evaluated and used individually and jointly as instruments for changes in domestic food prices. The main finding is that a sudden increase in domestic food prices in a given month significantly increases the probability of urban unrest, especially spontaneous events and riots, in that month. Undeniably, more fundamental economic and political grievances are also drivers of such events and are likely to determine how the unrest ultimately manifests, even when triggered by rising food prices. Although more research is necessary to determine why people choose particular protest methods and targets, the findings of this research provide evidence that sociopolitical unrest of different types is driven, or at least triggered, by a consumer response to economic pressure from increasing food prices regardless of the cause of the increase.
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| 4 |
ID:
134998
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| 5 |
ID:
137078
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This paper explores the historical and contemporary sources of food insecurity in Haiti. It begins by detailing the impact of colonial legacies on the Caribbean region as a whole and on Haiti in particular. The adverse consequences associated with this period include deforestation, soil infertility and food-import dependence. The paper then turns to more contemporary trends, namely the influence of 30 years of neoliberal ideology. It argues that the belief that Haiti can best achieve food security through the pursuit of comparative advantage, a notion advanced and supported by powerful international and domestic actors, has served to reinforce harmful historic trends. We support this argument with recent fieldwork findings that highlight how the construction of a new export processing zone (EPZ), following the 2010 earthquake, has generated troubling environmental and food security concerns.
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| 6 |
ID:
134881
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China's food safety system is characterized by widespread under-enforcement of regulations punctuated by high-profile food safety scandals. While there has been a wave of public and scholarly interest, official data on food safety are scarce, and some fundamental questions remain unanswered. We evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of media-based event data as a source for scholars and policy makers interested in understanding more about China's food safety crisis. While some biases are likely present, we find that the data produce a reasonable set of results: food safety problems are most acute in poor provinces, and where government expenditures are low. Reported food safety incidents also increase with the rate of urbanization, which may reflect the increased complexity of urban food systems or an urban bias in Chinese media. Importantly, our results indicate that media data can be a valid source for scholars interested in studying food safety or other controversial topics in China.
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| 7 |
ID:
144276
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Food production has been changing significantly in recent years as a result of climate change and of growing demand for food. This article aims to understand the link between food security and international security in the context of climate change, applying a systematic and qualitative analysis of the literature using the bibliometric method. This research observes that climate change tends to affect agricultural productivity, exposing societies to risk and the need for migration. However, good governance, together with international cooperation, can reduce the hazards of food insecurity, strengthening ties between countries and stimulating a fairer and more inclusive form of international trade.
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