Term Economics On Public Policy

I have chosen to investigate the commodity chain of bananas from the company Dole and their contributions to spatial justice. This product interests me because I have previously worked in a grocery store and have seen the great rate at which these bananas are sold on a daily basis. I am interested in seeing how the mass consumption of this product affects the different locations attributed to the commodity chain of Dole bananas. I am curious as to what consequences or benefits the countries that house the banana plantations receive as a result of growing bananas, as well as the benefits that Dole receives from sourcing their bananas internationally effects. From what I have read so far, the commodity chain of Dole bananas starts in countries located in Latin America and Caribbean, such as Costa Rica, Columbia, Ecuador, Guatemala and Honduras. For the purposes of this assignment I will be tracing the bananas that are grown and packed at the Bananito Farm located in the community of Bananito, just south of Limon in Costa Rica; a community designed and constructed by Dole for the workers of their largest banana farm in Costa Rica. Once the

The Brazilian acai berry has been a food staple for low income families for years and a cultural symbol for generations. This berry is vital in Brazil, where it is farmed and, until recently had a relatively small market. However, after an Oprah interview the demand for acai has become an international affair. The rising demand has created a free market; however the once inexpensive food staple has become too expensive for the low income families. This report will analyse the current markets advantages and disadvantages, followed by two possible government intervention models. The examined interventions will be export tariff and price ceiling.

free trade - ‘Buy local’ as a barrier to EU internal market-.” to inform readers about how local is local food, what “food miles” are, and the justification of buying local food. Hojnik first talks about environmental protection and how, “Sponsors of such campaigns often emphasise the need to increase domestic production and reduce long-distance transport, in light of the fact that transport is a major contributor to pollution” (248). She then goes on to talk about food miles within the environmental impact. She says, “In the context of the environmental impact of food, the term ‘food miles’ (or kilometers) was developed to refer to the distance food travels from its production until it reaches the consumer” (249). One of the last things that Hojnik talks about it how local is local. To many people local means the nearest they could find something. Well, to Hojnik, it means a couple of different things. She says, “People who value local origin as their primary food criterion are sometimes referred to as locavores” (249). Hojnik makes sure that her readers also know how she thinks about local food and its production, “can be thought of as concentric circles that start with growing at home. The next circle might be food grown in our immediate community - then region and state” (249). All in all, Janja Hojnik stated that local foods need to be the main source of food, food miles need to be smaller, and defines

John Soluri 's Banana Cultures: Agriculture, Consumption and Environmental Change in Honduras and the United States, (Which for spatial and repetitive purposes, I will refer to as Banana Cultures for the remainder of the paper), introduces the reader to a world of corporate greed, consumption, and environmental change using the history of the common, everyday fruit, the banana. He explores the various political occurrences, health problems, and changes in mass media through the rise of the consumption of the banana in the United States, and around the globe.

We eat bananas almost every day; however, most of us do not really know where these fruits come from. In Banana Cultures, John Soluri focuses on the relationship between banana production in Honduras, especially in the North Coast between roughly 1870 and 1975, and banana consumption in the U. S.. He focuses on growing, protecting, transporting, and mass marketing of bananas. John Soluri integrates Agroecology, anthropology, political economy, and history in order to trace the symbolic growth of the banana industry. The author admits that his work is highly interdisciplinary, as a desirable trait in the academic world. The study incorporates a wide range of sources, including manuscript census data from Honduras, fruit company records, published scientific records, Honduran and U.S government correspondence, oral testimonies, and ephemera from U.S mass culture. Throughout his work, he combines elements of geography, biology, social history, foreign affairs, and environmental history. Soluri also looks at labor practices and worker’s lives, changing gender roles on the banana plantations, and the effects of pesticides in the Honduran environment and people. His central argument is that United States consumption of bananas causes major social, political, and environmental change in Honduras. In addition, he looks at the banana pathogens, the ways the United States treated these fungal diseases, and the terribly detrimental effects these new treatments had on the farmers on

By 1993, the Banana Empire ceased to exist due to Panama Disease, ongoing labour issues, the rise of new competition and the increased assertiveness of host country governments all contributed to the growing intricacy of the industry. Nowadays, the modern banana farmer has been exposed to many pesticides, which have led to adverse health conditions for the majority of workers but working conditions and wages are on the rise currently. The introduction of fair trade bananas in 2004 was fundamental in bettering the working conditions for farmers and labourers.

“Historically, the banana trade symbolized economic imperialism, injustices in the global trade market, and the exploitation of agriculture-dependent third-world countries”(2). However, they remain to be one of the most profitable items in grocery stores. Making bananas crucial to economic and global food stability for countries all over the world. They are the third largest staple crop, coming only after wheat and coffee. Since bananas are such a sought after fruit, many companies have gone to extensive lengths in the to fight for a share of the market. Chiquita Brands International was one of the pioneer companies to try and globalize bananas. They took a risk and made some very critical mistakes along the way.

One example of this is how powdered milk from America, (which gets subsidized by the American government) destroyed the Jamaican fresh milk industry. This caused many Jamaican farmers to go out of business, and they ended up having to slaughter their cows and then the farmers had to pour out their milk. The market for Jamaican chicken was undercut by the United States, when the US started bringing a lot of low-grade chicken parts into Jamaica. While there are numerous restrictions on foods and goods imported into the US, there are often times no restrictions on food and goods exported to developing countries. Agreements such as NAFTA have the consequence of enforcing this inequity under the guise of "free trade." Subsidized Idaho potatoes have bankrupted Jamaican potato farmers, McDonald's refuses to buy local meat, and sweet Jamaican onions are underpriced by American onions that are sold at a loss. One of the one remaining domestic exports in Jamaica is bananas, however the industry is currently being threatened by wage cuts and stagnation, and the working conditions in the industry are comparable to

This question concerns non-fiscal barriers to the free movement of goods in the European Union. Issues concerning Articles 34,35 or 36 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) are raised and Brian’s potential claim is against France as the Member State who has enacted measures which may restrict imports and exports, thereby violating the Treaty.

In the book, Banana: The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World (2008), Dan Koeppel talks about the historical background of banana. He also talks about its’ importance to African farmers and its’ importance to Latin America and Asia in economic terms. He describes that a disease called blight has caused serious threats to banana crops, as it is rapidly destroying the banana crops around the world (Koeppel, 2008). In this book, the author describes the role of two mega companies; Dole and Chiquita. They are committing massacres in the name of producing cheap banana. In Latin, America Chiquita is exploiting the labor. It also supports

However the tariff is unfair as the Latin America banana producers have been complaining about the unfairness of the EU tariffs ever since they were introduced. Even the World Trade organisation ruled that the EU tariffs are unfair but little has changed.

In modern economic policy of nations and states, the tariffs a tool to tax goods and services being imported. The principal desired outcome for this tool is to create security for the domestic industry from the imported product, which may be cheaper for consumers to purchase. (McEachern, 2015)

In Exodus 4:25, the story is told of how Moses’s wife, Zipporah, circumcises their son Gershom before their trip to Egypt and after the near death encounter with God. After the circumcision, Zipporah “touches Moses’ feet with [the foreskin]” (Exodus 4:25). After a further study, we realize that in fact the word “feet” in this passage is a euphemism for the genital area for Moses. This act by Zipporah of touching Moses’ genital area with his son’s foreskin is extremely symbolic and is one of the reasons God decides not to kill Moses. In earlier readings we see that Moses’ was almost killed because he was not circumcised, nor was his son – the reason God wanted to kill him. The touching of the genital area with Gershom’s foreskin is symbolic

The basis of free trade is that in a growing economy the comparative-advantage shows that resources flow from lower productivity to those with higher productivity (Carbaugh, 2009). Along with increased employment in developing countries and higher standard of living, consumers benefit from more diversity on the market and cheaper prices. One of the baggiest challenges government’s faces is the pressure from public and domestic firms to protect the local work force from cheap foreign imports. Governments must find

When considering the challenges and opportunities posed by EU non market policies, we must look at both the food producer and the manufacturer as both can have positive and negative reactions. Going forward, global warming is now high on the agenda of policy makers. With agriculture a high contributor, it is unsurprising that measures are being introduced that have effect on the producers’ and manufacturers’. The buzz word now associated with the future of the environment and the food industry is “sustainability”. This refers to sustainable growth as the producers (farmers) try to maximise output. Moreover, with world populations set to dramatically increase up to 2050, the EU and the world must find ways to promote food production. Therefore, policies are now becoming more difficult and multifunctional. This is symbolised through the increasing awareness of the environment and it becoming more and more apparent in the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). “The industry realises the need to protect and, where possible, improve biodiversity. Given that the industry’s raw materials are grown in the natural environment, and the industry purchases and processes 70% of EU agricultural production, it is essential that agricultural practices are sustainable.” FoodDrink Europe. (2011). It is here in the CAP that I have found non-market policies to have impacted both positively and, at times, negatively on the food producers and manufacturers operating in the EU. The