- The food item is a Lindt Swiss Dark Chocolate bar. The chocolate bar came from Switzerland. It travelled 4,102 miles or 6,600 kilometers.
2. How does this vast movement of food from one nation to another benefit developing nations? Are there benefits to developed or wealthy nations?
The vast movement of food from one nation to another benefits developing nations. If the food item comes from the developing country, then it means an increase in their exports which translates to more jobs for the country. Furthermore, if there is a great demand for the food item from the developing country, they can command a higher price in the international market. On the other hand, it also benefits the wealthy nation because the importation of food items result in lower domestic prices for the consumers. The local producers may be forced to lower their prices because of the competition from foreign suppliers which may offer the product at more competitive prices. If the food item moves from a wealthy nation to a developing country, it benefits both countries because for the developing country, they have alternative sources for products which they cannot produce. Meanwhile for the wealthy nation, their exports will increase which eventually will benefit their economy. 3. There is an “eat local” initiative developing throughout the US and Europe. What are the benefits to buying fresh, local foods? Are there drawbacks?
There are many benefits in buying fresh, local foods. A London-based independent economic think tank, The New Economics Foundation, found that when people buy at a local farmer’s market or a community supported agriculture, twice the money stayed in the community as opposed to buying in a supermarket. One argument for persuading people to buy local is the nutritional benefits. There is no question that a freshly picked fruit or vegetable is more nutritious than one that has travelled miles, have been refrigerated and sprayed with chemicals to retain its freshness. Economically, buying local results in less energy consumed in relation to the transporting of the food. A drawback of buying local is that sometimes local produce is more expensive than those that can be bought in the supermarkets. The reason behind this is that small farmers do not have a streamlined production process. Also, the choices of food items may be very limited.4. Can you live without the food item you chose? Is there a local substitute available? Knowing what you do of how Global Food Trade effects the global market and the economies of individual countries, explain your position on buying this food item in the future.
Yes, one can live without the food item chosen. Yes, there are plenty of local substitutes available such as those manufactured by Ghirardelli and Hershey’s. Maybe in the future, if one intends to help the U.S. economy, one should patronize locally-made chocolate bars. By patronizing U.S. made chocolates, one will help create jobs. It may also encourage more chocolate manufacturing companies to put up their factories in the U.S. if they have a large market here.
References
Dean, A. (2007, October 25). Local produce vs. global trade. Retrieved from policyinnovations.org: http://www.policyinnovations.org/ideas/briefings/data/local_global
Schwartz, J. (2009, June 11). Buying local: How it boosts the economy. Retrieved from time.com: http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1903632,00.html
Sciutto, J., & Amos, S. (2011, June 29). Made in America: From candy to candles, companies bring jobs home. Retrieved from abcnew.go.com: http://abcnews.go.com/Business/made-america-companies-bringing-jobs-back-home/story?id=13961425
