DISCUSSION

You have completed a number of readings and played a game related to poverty. During the initial weeks of the course you learned about the relationships between consumer, laborer, merchant and nation-state. The globalization of food occurred through the transition of the local family farm to huge agribusiness enterprises. What is the relationship between this transition and the poverty and hunger we see in the world today? How does food becoming a commodity controlled by market prices lead to hunger?

What are the roles of the consumer, laborer, merchant and nation-state in creating the poverty that we see both at home and internationally? Knowing what we know about the causes of poverty, and that there is enough food to feed the world (though with conversion of crop land to growing non-foods this may change), why do we continue to blame the victim and create or perpetuate stereotypes of poverty? Do the poor in your assigned countries have access to land on which to grow food for their families or work that allows them to purchase food which may have to be imported?