Mexican farmers have been flooding the streets of Mexico City protesting againts the NAFTA provisions which went into effect earlier this year, allowing American corn and beans to enter Mexico without tarriffs. They're finding it hard to compete against the low prices charged by American industrial farms.In case you haven't heard, American corn is heavily subsidized by agricultural policies that encourage farms--especially big farms--to produce a lot more corn than we really need. The extra grain goes to feed cattle and is also used to create all kinds of processed food products, like the high fructose corn syrup that's been taking its toll on our health. Now our corn is going to Mexico at very low prices, threatening the livelihood of small-scale farmers there.
Some of those farmers will migrate north in search of work, fueling our already charged immigration debate. The situation is not entirely the fault of NAFTA; American agricultural policy is also at fault, as well as the Mexican government's unwillingness to support its own subsistence farmers.
In any case, the whole sorry situation is another very good reason to eat locally, and to buy our food directly from the people who produce it.
1 comment:
Do you know if these are GMO Mexican corn crops, like most of the large corn producers in the U.S. grow? And what of the indigenous corn varieties? The effects of U.S. corn production have social, economic, political, and ecological impacts on Mexico. One can only hope that the negative impacts remember to respect our borders and not cross illegally.
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