World Food Economy | Political Ecology of the World Food System

In response to this blog post.

I chose to respond to Cameron’s blog post because it uncovers a serious crisis currently in the shadow of COVID-19 news. Their post describes the large swarms of locusts overtaking farmland throughout the Horn of Africa. As of May 13th the locusts continue to spread rapidly; officials warn they may migrate east as far as the Indo-Pakistan border and even to West Africa.

Map showing possible Desert Locust Spread, fao.org

How international organizations are addressing this crisis closely relates our study of the global food economy. Developing countries (like those on the Horn of Africa) face comparatively more severe repercussions from an agricultural crisis like this than in developed countries. Agriculture comprises a much higher portion of their GDP and they lack sufficient resources to respond to such a disaster. The locust swarms are also infesting extremely food insecure nations like South Sudan. Then why has funding been slow and insufficient? Historically (and still today) international trade institutions are manipulated so that the world food system works in favor of developed nations. As discussed by Clapp, developed countries dump their subsidized food in global markets while developing countries struggle to compete with the cheap costs. There seems to be little international movement towards helping the region during this crisis. Developing countries continue to lack influence in intergovernmental organizations like the U.N yet are facing increasingly devastating environmental crises like this one.

Locusts swarm through East Africa

This issue therefore clearly connects to the idea of “triple inequality” discussed in class. As Cameron mentions, climate change has been linked to the locust swarms. The affected countries have had little historical influence on global warming, yet pay the brunt of the climate costs while having little capacity to adapt and respond to this disaster. The “triple inequality” theory, in combination with the structuring of international organizations and the world food system overall, elucidates how the system is stacked against these developing countries. Sufficient funding should be provided in response to this crisis, but we must also think of larger reforms that reshape these global systems by putting power into the hands of climate change threatened countries. How can we reform these systems so that they are fair, just, and work for all, not just the most powerful?

Undocumented farmworkers in the U.S. (roughly 50 percent of crop agricultural workers) are already disproportionately impacted by health and economic vulnerabilities in the U.S. In addition to the challenges raised in Undocumented farmworkers are left at high risk for COVID-19 authored by jingz2, COVID-19 will pose unique economic challenges to migrant farmworkers, highlighting the extreme vulnerability of global economies as they rely on U.S. migrant farmworker income.

The article highlights the lack of legislative inclusion for undocumented migrant farmworkers under labor laws like the Fair Labor Act of 1938 and the National Labor Relations Act of 1835. However, these laws are already exclusionary to migrant farmworkers; far worse impact during COVID-19 will be the decline in migrant workers’ economies as agricultural supply chains grind to a halt, and migrant farmworker remittances decline. As we discuss farm vulnerabilities in the global south due to poverty, low agricultural yields, and warming global temperatures, migration may no longer be as much of a solution for struggling farmworkers abroad.

While the agricultural sector makes up more than USD$1 trillion of the U.S. economy and 5.5 percent GDP, the economic vitality for migrant farmworkers remains in the form of remittances sent externally to family members in migrants’ countries of origin. Last year, the World Bank cited a record USD$554 billion in remittances generated from migrant workers to low and middle-income countries (LMICs). As COVID-19 exacerbates worker vulnerabilities, the World Bank expects a sharp 20 percent decline in remittances, disrupting the livelihoods of families globally.

Data Source: World Bank via Forbes

Not only will the health of migrant farmworkers disrupt the U.S. food supply, but it will also disrupt the economies of millions that rely on remittances, limiting their ability to purchase food and other essentials. As we consider the impact of COVID-19 on migrant farmworkers in the U.S., we must also remember the direct effect it will have on families abroad.

For resources on protections for migrant farmworkers, please visit the following:

Farmworker Justice COVID-19

Georgetown Law: COVID-19 Resources for Workers

Center for American Progress: Protecting Farmworkers From Coronavirus and Securing the Food Supply

Economic Policy Institute: Coronavirus and farmworkers, Farm employment, safety issues, and the H-2A guestworker program

FAQ: Immigrant Workers’ Rights and COVID-19—A Resource for Workers and Their Advocates

Political Ecology of the World Food System

Environmental Politics / Political Science 385

Tag Archives: World Food Economy

In Response to “A Plague Overlooked: The locust crisis lurking in the shadow of COVID-19”

Economic Vulnerabilities Among Migrant Farmworkers in the U.S.