Analysis Of The Article ' Quinoa ' Is An Ancient Crop That Has Been A Staple Food Source?

The world continues to face a wide-scale food crisis. The effects of this crisis reach from the farmers who grow and raise the food to the very system of laws that are in place to govern the system itself. Food giants are reaching deep into their pockets for lobbying in order to take advantage of both the producers and the consumer all in the name of profit. Moreover, farmers are being driven to suicide, and the ecosystem’s livelihood is treading a fine line. Both Michael Pollan and Raj Patel bring to light these problems and offer suggestions to help lessen their severity. Though there are many philosophies on which they both agree, they both have their own ideas to fight back. Pollan seeks to challenge the consumer as an individual while

John Soluri 's Banana Cultures: Agriculture, Consumption and Environmental Change in Honduras and the United States, (Which for spatial and repetitive purposes, I will refer to as Banana Cultures for the remainder of the paper), introduces the reader to a world of corporate greed, consumption, and environmental change using the history of the common, everyday fruit, the banana. He explores the various political occurrences, health problems, and changes in mass media through the rise of the consumption of the banana in the United States, and around the globe.

Such unnatural crop selection slowly transforms our lush lands into monocultures, depleting the soil, harming the bees and other wildlife. To one mono-crop—soya bean—Patel devotes a whole chapter of his book, titled Glycine Max, that exposes the massive industry of soya bean production and post-production: from the soybean oil, to food for the cattle, to the enormously popular food additive lecithin. Hence, against the superpower of those who stand behind the soya bean business, one way to rebell, according to Patel, is to start cooking from the scrap, from simple ingredients and not prepacked foods brimming with additives. However, it is easier said than done,”I don't really like Ranch dressing, but can't seem to not have a salad without it” claims my friend

The Michoacan state in Mexico has become the world’s largest producer of avocadoes. Although this vegetable is grown on farms throughout this state, it is also tied to an integral network of trade and export to countries across the globe. In this essay, I will argue that like any commodity chain study, the production of the organic Hass avocado has an intricate production process, which for my commodity chain study begins in Uruapan, Mexico a town in the state of Michoacan. This analysis has indicated the crucial underlying links to trade, labour, and demand that the export of this vegetable has created throughout North America

The Brazilian acai berry has been a food staple for low income families for years and a cultural symbol for generations. This berry is vital in Brazil, where it is farmed and, until recently had a relatively small market. However, after an Oprah interview the demand for acai has become an international affair. The rising demand has created a free market; however the once inexpensive food staple has become too expensive for the low income families. This report will analyse the current markets advantages and disadvantages, followed by two possible government intervention models. The examined interventions will be export tariff and price ceiling.

Supply and demand are the rulers of price in the capitalist economy of the United States, and farm goods rely on these factors as much as any other commodity. The demand for food remains relatively stable although slightly increasing year to year, but the supply fluctuates greatly depending on

Chiquita, the oldest banana transnational in Latin America was the primary target of banana worker rights and environmental activists until 2001. The company has since teamed up with the Rainforest Alliance to roll out the Alliance’s standards to its banana farms in Latin America.6 Chiquita prides itself on its recent changes, which have involved revamping the company to promote “The Chiquita Difference”; this includes a philosophy of social responsibility, sustainability, community involvement and food safety.7 These changes arose from the use of political activism by consumers in response to poor workers rights, thus exemplifying the fact that people do realize where their food is coming from and are willing to fight for those who create it. This shows that the process of defetishization has begun for many. Production

Quinoa is a commodity which has recently gained popularity on the global market. The grain is indigenous to the Andean region in South America, but is now consumed and grown across the globe. While cultural globalization is usually Western dominated, the transnational trade of quinoa is an exception to this notion. Its branding as a “natural, organic, and gluten-free” food has been beneficial as the healthy eating movement continues. Quinoa was only supplied by specialty retailers a few year ago, but now it can be found in most supermarkets and even fast food establishments like Panera Bread have menu items containing the Andean grain. The global demand for quinoa has led to international trade, global adoption of cultivating the crop, creation of new quinoa-based products, and increased competition among producers. The globalization of quinoa has also brought attention to how international movements affect people on a local scale and peaked attention about sustainable food practices and global justice.

Although the people and the economy overall are making money there are some disadvantages to the huge cultivation of quinoa. One of the problems is the overall land is weakening. Farmers are buying more land and in order to keep up with the

The author of the book, “The Fate of the Fruit that Changed the World” (2008), Dan Koeppel, who is a famous journalist describes in a fascinating way banana’s cultural importance, threats associated with the crops of banana in the future and banana’ history. Banana is a very delicious fruit and is eaten all over the world. Banana is one of the world’s fourth largest harvests in the world. Dole and Chiquita are eminent American based distributors and producers of banana. They are claiming to produce the banana on low price. In this book, Koeppel discusses the risks associated to the plantation of banana around the world. He also discusses the fact that due to blight, the plantation of banana is destroyed (Koeppel, 2008). He points out that the farmers and the producers have no insight at all regarding this matter (Koeppel, 2008).

The article explores how the Sulawesian people went from producing the food they needed to survive to planting cacao as a cash crop which they sold to survive (Li, 2014). After reading her article and listening to her lecture, I found that I had a greater appreciation and understanding for the production and availability of the food that I consume.

Bananas are a staple in every region in the world. In the United States it is advertised as the breakfast fruit in an effort to make less nutritious breakfasts more nutritious. Bananas are one of the common, if not the most commonly consumed fruits due to their taste, but also their relatively inexpensive price. Real issues arise when people begin to question why a tropical fruit, grown thousands of miles away, can be purchased on the counter of a gas station for 69 cents. There is a real environmental and socio-economic cost associated with the Banana that is not factored in to the purchase price. World systems theory most closely aligns itself to the banana industry because of the hierarchy between producer and consumer that is required for Bananas to be so available at such an inexpensive price.

The private sector nor the government haven’t been able to fulfill the food demand. This has generated a black market that traffics first need products and sells them to outrageous prices. This black market has help to fulfill the demand, and to reduce the consequences and negatives outcomes the shortage would have produced. For instance, a year ago the associated Press reported that there was a shortage of condoms in Venezuela, which generate a high rate of teenage pregnancy. The black market helped to decrease part of the shortage of condoms, but at the high price of 317 dollars to the official exchange

The global food market is dominated by the most affluent countries, which, on average, have controlled almost 70 percent of the total value of imports and over 62 percent of the total value of exports of all agricultural products in the world since 1961 (see Table 1). During the last quarter of the twentieth century, these countries have been reducing the value of their imports while expanding the value of their exports. Food imports by these countries typically concentrate on

Las sequías son la causa más común de escasez de alimentos en el mundo. En 2011, una sequía recurrente causó grandes pérdidas en el sector agropecuario en Etiopía, Somalia y Kenia. En 2012 hubo una situación similar en la región del Sahel en el África occidental.