chpt 4&5 response

Mariel Kamp
Blog text response
CHC 3213/3214
September 8, 2010

Before I started reading this book I never associated politics and food with each other. I never realized how strongly they correlate with each other. I always knew that the government held certain regulations for farmers and fishermen but I have never really taken the time to fully learn about just how strongly politics plays a role in my meals. On page 84 Patel talks about Rhodes’ worries. I think that all 5 points he makes applies to our society today. The book made a very good point, which I strongly agree with. ‘The donation of food aid continues to be a strategic tool in the negotiating of kits of rich and poor countries alike’ (pg. 93). When I read that quote, it made me think of a movie clip we watched. The clip talked about how it looks like we are donating all this great corn mixture to feed all these malnourished people but in reality this mixture has no nutrients or any substance. It is just a front to make it look like we are doing a lot more than we really are. It is great that our country helps out, but I just do not see the point if it is not providing people with what they really need to become nourished again. It seems like just a front to make the United States look like a positive role model.
Chapter 4 also talks about how in the 18th and 19th centuries order to keep everyone happy, which meant cheap food and enough for everyone, that there needed to be slaves and underpaid workers which just is not right. There are no more slaves anymore but we still have so many underpaid farmers, who provide us with our meals and have such an important role in keeping us alive. In order for the farmers to get the recognition and fair pay they deserve I think there needs to be more awareness and this issue needs to be brought up a lot more everyday. Sure not everyone is going to happy about the way the world works, but I think there needs to be a better system in which farms are run, farmer are appreciated and I think that if the government is going to have such a strong role in trading, they should take just as strong a role in farmers rights. If we did not have them we wouldn’t have one of our core elements for living.