Editor�s Letter

Thu., Nov. 23, 2006

Dear reader,

Although it�s starting to change, most of us in the West don�t give too much thought to where our food comes from, or how it�s made. If we did, we�d probably make our shopping choices very differently. After being told that my sugar levels were a bit high, for example, I started paying more attention to what I was eating. It didn�t take me long to discover that high fructose corn syrup was among the top ingredients in most packaged foods. The links with an extremely high level of diabetes in the United States seem obvious to me, but I�m not sure that everyone is connecting these dots.

For my part, I shop differently now and that includes buying a lot more organic foods, or those without all the chemicals and additives. Of course, I�m lucky enough to be able to afford the higher prices of organics. As more and more big companies enter a rapidly expanding marketplace though, organic food is becoming cheaper and more widely available. Some decry this trend. Others welcome it.

Special thanks to Dr. Prabhu Pingali of the Agricultural and Development Economics Division of The Food and Agriculture Organization
of the United Nations for reviewing the article "Why the Hunger."

Despite the health benefits of organics, I discovered during the course of my research that it remains difficult to use organic techniques to produce at high volumes. Like it or not, more food can usually be processed for more people at lower cost with the higher yields that come from conventional agriculture. Does that matter for people in lower-income communities that can�t afford high food budgets? You bet. Then again, activists point out that many external costs associated with conventional agriculture are not taken into account, like environmental damage associated with chemical fertilizers or the huge amounts of fuel being used to truck food long distances.

In the developing world, there are those who call for further development of export markets and those that advocate for diversifying local agriculture. Smallholder farms remain vital in many countries, but they are often shut out of a system that favors large supply chains. Of course, such supply chains are often necessary to get enough food to urban centers where most people no longer work in agriculture. In the meantime, a way of life surrounding farming and rural communities is being lost.

As with most of the topics we�ve covered in Perspectives,

Share your thoughts on these issues in the Community Space.

there are no easy answers. Consumer movements can, however, drive demand and that�s the exciting part of this story. Buying local and/or organic, supporting fair trade, and reconnecting producers with consumers are all trends that have taken off over the past few years�and which are reviewed in this issue.

On a last and more personal note, this is my last issue as editor of Perspectives. Many thanks go to all the readers and contributors who have helped make the e-zine the unique, dynamic, and engaging product it is today. I've enjoyed creating Perspectives and interacting with so many committed individuals and organizations doing inspirational work around the world. After 20 months and 11 editions, I leave my editorial role here with the strong satisfaction that we have brought a thoughtful discussion about the global issues shaping our world to a wider audience. For anyone who wants to keep in touch, you can reach me personally at zarrin_ow@yahoo.com.

Zarrin T. Caldwell
Editor, Perspectives

PERSPECTIVES HOME: Farm to Table

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OneWorld Perspectives Issue 11: Farm to Table; December 2006

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