open Democracy News Analysis - A green wall? Kenya, organics, and “food miles”, Stephen Browne Alexander Kasterine - Comments

joeturner on "A green wall? Kenya, organics, and “food miles”"

joeturner — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 16:33:01 +0000

Obviously.

Now, back in the real world, there are plenty of people in developing countries who think that principles of self reliance and sustainable agriculture can develop in their own context. How much of the cotton plantations are for domestic consumption?

Why is there a headlong charge into genetic modification (for example to improve the nutrient diet of rice eaters) when the problems are caused by the superabundance of single crops and when more traditional forms of agriculture would supply all those nutrients? The answer is because there is no money to be made by multinationals growing traditional crops.

h.robert.johnston on "A green wall? Kenya, organics, and “food miles”"

h.robert.johnston — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 10:34:46 +0000

Christopher -- "organic" farming is a Western romantic myth that can cause terrible damage in the developing world.

Organic farming uses twice the land, twice the water and twice the labour -- it is the MOST unsustainable way of growing food and simply cannot supply the ever-growing population. The "organic" concept (invented by a British aristocrat in 1946) freezes agricultural technology in the 1940s -- we wouldn't accept backward technology in any other walk of life, so why should we impose it on the developing world?

We have it lucky in Western Europe -- temperate climate, relatively few plant diseases and pests -- in Africa/Asia an insect or pathogen can wipe out a crop literally overnight. See the outbreak of boll-weevil in India a few years ago. The only cotton plants that survived were from genetically modified seeds.

This is why modern agricultural technology is so popular in developing countries (despite the efforts of selfish Western "green" groups to keep poor farmers poor). People in Africa don't want to stay as subsistence farmers for eternity, they have the right to develop and prosper just as we have.

christopherbaan on "A green wall? Kenya, organics, and “food miles”"

christopherbaan — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 21:44:34 +0000

Thanks for the interesting read. Stephen Browne and Alexander Kasterine raise some interesting points by questioning the sustainability of locally produced food in Northern countries.
But what they forget, in my eyes, is the question whether a whole society - if it shifts more to an organic based economy - can be supplied by organically grown crops from the African continent, and by the same time ensuring food security in the African continent. (talking about labor intensity and land use).

Shortly said: Will the African farmers be better off if they shift massively to organic food, or will they run out of food and cause even more food insecurity because of the labour intensity of organic food, exported to Western countries? Isn't the production (and trade!) of regionally and locally grown food in Africa, a priority for sustainable economic growth and food security in (sub-Sahara) Africa?
Should African farmers, wherever they are better off, produce for us, much-demanding Westerners, to forgo the most basic needs of their country mates?

I'm eager to hear you reactions!

---
www.blog.christopherbaan.org

joeturner on "A green wall? Kenya, organics, and “food miles”"

joeturner — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 16:38:14 +0000

There are plenty of models of sustainable agriculture in developing countries which do not involve international exports to wealthy markets.

But then you're so blinkered and set to judge me, you couldn't really care less could you. By the way, my shoe size is 9. Should you want to judge me on that basis as well.

h.robert.johnston on "A green wall? Kenya, organics, and “food miles”"

h.robert.johnston — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 15:30:07 +0000

You display the typical pampered Western eco-warrior's romantic idea of subsistence agriculture.

If "nothing would give you greater pleasure" than to live in a mud hut hunting vermin and scraping nuts and berries for food then plenty of people in Africa and Asia would be equally delighted to swap places with you.

Buy a book on the development of the human race -- the only way societies have EVER developed is via cash crops and export.

Of course you probably have a better solution -- never before tried in human history -- if so, get yourself nominated for a Nobel Prize.

joeturner on "A green wall? Kenya, organics, and “food miles”"

joeturner — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 13:49:17 +0000

1. You've made my point for me. The PNG farmers can't access international markets. Maybe it was irresponsible to even try.

2. I'm not trying to present myself as morally superior. Quite the reverse. The beliefs I had were wrong and I am trying to change my lifestyle.

3. I am not disagreeing that organic and fairtrade rules exclude many farmers.

4. Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to live and work in several of the communities I have visited.

I am a recent convert to locavarianism and blog about it here: livingsimpler.wordpress.com

h.robert.johnston on "A green wall? Kenya, organics, and “food miles”"

h.robert.johnston — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 11:42:28 +0000

Ooooo -- you actually went to SEE real live Africans! Aren't you just the progressive little Green?

Some of your best friends are black -- you just don't want to eat food they've touched.

Dress it up how you like (and obviously you do) with "fairtrade" and "justice". "Fairtrade" accreditation involves poor farmers in Africa/Asia paying large sums of money to white middle-class people in London. Gee ... that reminds me of something ... what could it be ? .... that's it ... colonialism !

And "justice" means the another bunch of neo-colonialists braying that Kenyan carrots are "unethical" -- unless the Kenyans pay even MORE money to the Soil Association. (Money = ecoethics.)

I raise your "15 years working and campaigning blah blah" with my 12 years spent in the jungles of Papua New Guinea with the UN Development Programme setting up farmers' co-ops to grow coffee, bananas, sweet potato and pyrethrum, and achieving malaria eradication, education and essential medical services.

The people I helped set up co-ops don't use any chemicals or fertilisers (even the highly toxic "natural" ones approved for "organic" farming), the farmers are self-employed, share profits and self-distribute -- but they cannot sell their produce in Britain as "organic" or "fairtrade" because of the extortionate fees charged by the London eco-mafia. Starbucks does more for them by selling PNG Highland Coffee than any campaign by Greenpeace et al. (Try it -- it's good.)

A pity you didn't spend some of your "15 years working and campaigning" finding out what happens in the REAL world and how the wealthy dilettantes of the "Green" movement are making things worse in developing countries every day.

I don't claim any moral superiority -- unlike your faddish "locavarianism" -- but at least I know when the usual suspects of wealthy "organic" hobby farmers and eco-isolationists are pulling a fast one to increase their miserable share of the food market and fatten their wallets at the expense of the poor. (Actually, I think that probably IS morally superior!)

joeturner on "A green wall? Kenya, organics, and “food miles”"

joeturner — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 18:09:26 +0000

Locavarianism. It might help if you actually read my comment, rob.

If you call me a racist, can I call you an idiot? I went to visit fairtrade producers in Africa last year. I've been to visit various other producers in different supply chains in various countries on several continents. I spent most of the last 15 years working and campaigning on fairtrade and justice issues.

I am a recent convert to locavarianism and blog about it here: livingsimpler.wordpress.com

h.robert.johnston on "A green wall? Kenya, organics, and “food miles”"

h.robert.johnston — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 11:34:22 +0000

"Localism" is just another word for protectionism. It is promoted by a despicable collection of self-interested "organic" farmers, political reactionaries and closet racists, who are disgusted by the idea of their food being handled by black people.

Notably, the agricultural policies of the neo-fascist British National Party and the Green Party are identical.

Of course "localism" is just another temporary food fad -- like "macrobiotic" or the Beverly Hills Diet -- but it can cause real damage to farmers in the developing world. The sight of a bunch of over-privileged, middle-class Soil Association dilettantes sitting in an Islington Cafe and deciding to boycott African vegetables was utterly nauseating.

Anyone who really believes in "Drop the Debt" or wears a white wrist band should ONLY buy produce from Africa.

If you want to avoid food from developing nations, admit you're a xenophobe -- don't pretend you have some ethical excuse.

Dr Rob Johnston

joeturner on "A green wall? Kenya, organics, and “food miles”"

joeturner — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 14:51:03 +0000

Whilst there are some good points here, the is also an absence of logic. It is true that road transport produces a lot of emissions - to the extent that a product road transported from Europe may well have produced more CO2 than the same product sea freighted from Southern Africa.

And it may be true that some farming methods overseas are more sustainable than those at home.

But locavarianism does not mean that you purchase blindly anything that is local. It is about buying seasonal products as locally as possible, preferably from a local farm, where you know where the ingredients come from and minimise transport to within 100 miles. It is about seeking out the best possible products from the most sustainable agricultural systems.

Furthermore, the myth of fairtrade is plainly seen by those who go and see it in action. First we have perpetuated the idea that poor farmers should continue on the gravy train of cash crops, almost inevitably causing environmental damage. Then we get them to grow crops which only have markets overseas, sometimes only by air freighting them. Then we pat ourselves on the back, making ourselves believe that our purchasing is making a difference to poor farmers. Fairtrade does make a difference, but it is not good enough. Poor farmers are still poor and fairtrade is never going to give them a decent standard of living.

The solution is breaking the idea that cash crops are the solution and looking for ways poor farmers can find stable and more local markets. We cannot afford the level of international transportation we currently use in the future. We cannot expect that there will be poor people who are prepared to give us foods at low prices whilst we live in luxury. We must learn to be more dependant on our own resources instead of expecting others to give us theirs.

-------------------
I am a recent convert to locavarianism and blog about it here: livingsimpler.wordpress.com

A green wall? Kenya, organics, and “food miles”, Stephen Browne Alexander Kasterine

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 12:13:30 +0000

A rising concern with personal and environmental health in the world's richer countries is influencing lifestyles and public debate alike. One significant trend is the increase in the consumption of organically grown produce - a significant proportion of which is imported. International trade in organic food and beverages currently has a value of more than £15 billion ($30 billion) per year; the United States, Britain and Germany account for two-thirds of imports.

Stephen Browne is deputy executive director and director of operations at the International Trade Centre (ITC), Geneva. He is the author of Aid and Influence: Do Donors Help or Hinder? (Earthscan, 2006)

Also by Stephen Browne in openDemocracy:

"G8 aid: beyond the target trap" (6 June 2007)

"Whatever happened to 'development'?" (17 April 2007)The effect of this trade on developing countries is considerable. As tastes have become more exotic and consumers have increasingly sought out year-round availability of food (particularly fruit and vegetables), exports from the global south have grown appreciably. The British market, where the proportion of organic imports is the highest in Europe for certain items, sources a significant portion of its fresh organic produce from Africa; 70% of the green beans grown in Kenya, for example, was sent to Britain in 2007. More than a million African farmers are estimated to benefit from this trade, and many livelihoods depend on its continuation.

The advantages of this trading cycle are evident. But - like many other promising developing-country export opportunities - "organics" are under threat. This time, however, the obstacle is not just events such as Kenya's post-election turmoil, but arguments by people who in many cases are motivated by the same environmental considerations that lead them to prefer organics in the first place.

The heart of the issue is "food miles". Many European consumers believe - and are informed as such by environmental groups - that the further a product has to travel, the greater must be the overall carbon emissions involved; and that this is especially so if imports come by air rather than overland, as in the case of the more perishable imported fruit and vegetables.

The issue is regarded as serious enough for Britain's principal organic certification organisation, the Soil Association, to consider stopping the certification of all produce arriving in the country by air (for news of an "air-freight summit" convened by the Soil Association in July 2007, click here). The equivalent bodies in continental Europe are contemplating a similar decision.

The wrong target

Read the rest of this post...