Trade, Food Security, and Human Rights: The Rules for International Trade in Agricultural Products and the Evolving World Food Crisis

297 Pages·2014·1.5 MB·English

by  Ying Chen

Trade, Food SecuriTy, and Human rigHTS
This book discusses global food issues from a unique perspective. It builds a link
between human rights and international trade. The solutions proposed in this book
offer policymakers practical advice to reduce world hunger and malnutrition. This
book is a must read for policymakers from India to Indiana!
Scott Bates, center for national Policy, uSa
Ying Chen’s book starts with a simple premise—the primacy of food for the
survival of humans—and then provides an expansive and thorough coverage of
the complexities of the global food system that reminds us that food policies and
legal frameworks matter when it comes to food security.
michael T. roberts, resnick Program for Food Law and Policy,
ucLa School of Law, uSa
This exposé documents how hunger in poor nations is made worse by rich nations.
Protectionist trade rules, and subsidies to agribusiness, put steak on affluent
tables, but leave many of the world’s poor bereft of beans. To end hunger we need,
not so much another green revolution, as a policy revolution.
douglass cassel, university of notre dame, uSa
This book is dedicated to my parents and grandparents who have always
believed and supported me in all my endeavors.
Trade, Food Security, and
Human rights
The rules for international Trade in agricultural
Products and the evolving World Food crisis
ying cHen
Independent Research Consultant, USA
© ying chen 2014
all rights reserved. no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher.
ying chen has asserted her right under the copyright, designs and Patents act, 1988, to be
identified as the author of this work.
Published by
ashgate Publishing Limited ashgate Publishing company
Wey court east 110 cherry Street
union road Suite 3-1
Farnham Burlington, VT 05401-3818
Surrey, gu9 7PT uSa
england
www.ashgate.com
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
a catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
The Library of Congress has cataloged the printed edition as follows:
chen, ying (Legal researcher)
Trade, food security, and human rights : the rules for international trade in agricultural
products and the evolving world food crisis / by ying chen.
pages cm
Based on author’s dissertation (S.J.d. -- indiana university robert H. mcKinney School
of Law), 2013.
includes bibliographical references and index.
iSBn 978-1-4724-3742-6 (hardback) -- iSBn 978-1-4724-3743-3 (ebook) --
iSBn 978-1-4724-3744-0 (epub) 1. right to food. 2. Foreign trade regulation.
3. agricultural laws and legislation 4. Food supply--Law and legislation. 5. Food
security. i. Title.
K3260.c44 2014
363.8--dc23
2014005361
iSBn 9781472437426 (hbk)
iSBn 9781472437433 (ebk – PdF)
iSBn 9781472437440 (ebk – ePuB)
V
Printed in the united Kingdom by Henry Ling Limited,
at the dorset Press, dorchester, dT1 1Hd
Contents
List of Figures and Tables vii
Preface ix
Acknowledgements xi
List of Abbreviations xiii
1 Introduction 1
The 2008 Food Crisis: Food Shortage or Uneven Distribution? 1
The Structure and Purpose of this Book 5
2 Why Should We Care? 11
A Basic Human Need 11
Global Issue or Regional Issue? 11
Is there a Right to Food? 12
National Implementation 29
3 Causes of the Current Food Insecurity and Potential Solutions:
Poverty 35
Poverty Results in Hunger 35
National Capacity Building and Poverty Reduction Strategies 37
4 Causes of the Current Food Insecurity and Potential Solutions:
Human Overpopulation 51
Current and Future Population Situations and their Impact on
Food Security 51
What Can Governments do to Control Population? 53
5 Causes of the Current Food Insecurity and Potential Solutions:
Lack of Farmland and Expansion of the Biofuel Industry 59
What Causes Cropland Depletion? 59
Protect Limited Farmland 60
Biofuel and its Impact on Food Security 62
6 Uneven Food Distribution and Distorted Agricultural Trade:
An Overlooked Factor 73
Inadequate and Uneven Global Food Distribution: Distorted
Agricultural Trade 73
vi Trade, Food Security, and Human Rights
Slow Progress towards a Freer and Less-distorted International
Agricultural Trade System: From GATT to WTO 79
7 Prospects for Further Agricultural Trade Reform 111
Enhance Market Access through Substantial Tariff Reduction 111
Reduce/Eliminate Subsidies Progressively 113
Phase Out Export Subsidies 132
Flexibility for Developing Countries 133
Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures and Genetically Modified
Organisms (GMOs) 135
Food Aid: Pros, Cons, and Reforms 143
Strengthening the Role of International Organizations in World
Hunger Reduction 151
8 Agricultural Policies in the EU and the US and their Impact on
International Agricultural Trade 153
European Union: Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) 153
Farm Bills in the United States 164
Protectionism and the Absence of Political Will to Correct the
Distorted Agricultural Trade System 181
9 Conclusion 183
Appendices 185
Appendix 1 Constitutional Provisions of the Countries of the
World (The Right to Food) 187
Appendix 2 World Population Growth Rate (Percent) 218
Appendix 3 World Population (Thousands) 220
Appendix 4 Fertility Rates 222
Bibliography 247
Index 277
List of Figures and Tables
Figures
3.1 $1/day poverty and growth in Sub-Saharan Africa, 1970–2006 36
4.1 World population development 52
5.1 Global biofuel production 1990–2011 65
Tables
1.1 Annual real food price indices (2002–2004=100) 2
4.1 World population prospects (2010 revision)—infant mortality rate 56
8.1 The historical development of the CAP 163
8.2 A comparison of US farm bills and the EU CAP 179
Appendix 1 Constitutional Provisions of the Countries of the World
(The Right to Food) 187
Appendix 2 World Population Growth Rate (Percent) 218
Appendix 3 World Population (Thousands) 220
Appendix 4 Fertility Rates 222
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Preface
Food crises have frequently occurred throughout history and are said to be as old as
history itself. The phenomenon of hunger, as well as concerns with crop failures,
have been recorded by ancient Chinese, Greek, and many medieval scholars.
Along with the development of society generally, new agricultural technologies
have been widely introduced and effectively applied to agricultural cultivation.
Under these circumstances, agricultural productive capacity has greatly improved,
and one would think that the problem of food insecurity should now be solved, or
at least mitigated. Yet it continues to be a critical issue in the modern world.
This book explains a few factors that contribute to the current world food
crisis—poverty, human overpopulation, a lack of farmland, and the expansion
of biofuel programs. Several enforceable solutions to reduce world hunger and
malnutrition are proposed, including national capacity building, the improvement
of governance, population control, farmland preservation, and the strategic
development of biofuel programs. However, another significant factor that causes
world hunger has been overlooked. This book examines EU and US agricultural
policies and WTO negotiations in agriculture and how they affect international
agricultural trade; it suggests that current food insecurity is not caused by an
absolute food shortage but rather the result of inequitable food distribution and
trade practices. The international trade regime is advised to reconcile trade rules
with the consideration of food security issues.
This book may be of interest to agricultural trade professionals, consultants,
and policy makers, not only in the US and the EU, but also in developing countries.
Students and researchers with a concentration on international trade, agricultural
economics, global governance, and international law may also find this book
helpful in understanding the world food crisis and agricultural trade.
Dr. Ying Chen
Indianapolis, January 2014