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The author asserts that the corporate & international organization efforts at liberalization of the agrifood business is undermining the small farmers in the Third World countries that must import food from the West. Regulatory agencies, such as the emerging World Trade Organization (WTO), are developing the potential to strengthen the industrialized world's power & limit the growth of Third World citizens. As the US has sought the potential market for food exports to the Pacific Asian countries, the 1994 agreement of the Uruguay Round, OECD projections predicted the decline in prices from local Third World corn producers by 20% by the year 2000, which would cut the income of 500,000 peasant households. According to Watkins, this agreement requires "developing countries to open their food markets in the name of free market principles, while allowing the US & the EU to protect their farm systems & subsidize exports" (1996). The author traces the history & developments of the Western domination of the agriculture markets including detrimental effects of the green revolution, agro-colonialism & agro-industrialism, the formation of GATT, TNCS, & world-agricultural restructuring. L. A. Hoffman

The author asserts that the corporate & international organization efforts at liberalization of the agrifood business is undermining the small farmers in the Third World countries that must import food from the West. Regulatory agencies, such as the emerging World Trade Organization (WTO), are developing the potential to strengthen the industrialized world's power & limit the growth of Third World citizens. As the US has sought the potential market for food exports to the Pacific Asian countries, the 1994 agreement of the Uruguay Round, OECD projections predicted the decline in prices from local Third World corn producers by 20% by the year 2000, which would cut the income of 500,000 peasant households. According to Watkins, this agreement requires "developing countries to open their food markets in the name of free market principles, while allowing the US & the EU to protect their farm systems & subsidize exports" (1996). The author traces the history & developments of the Western domination of the agriculture markets including detrimental effects of the green revolution, agro-colonialism & agro-industrialism, the formation of GATT, TNCS, & world-agricultural restructuring. L. A. Hoffman

This account of two foods from Lao People's Democratic Republic -- crisps or chips made from either Lao river algae or wild cassava -- contends that as they become harder to find in Lao, they become more valued in North America & Europe. The chips are not a staple food to anyone. They originated during periods of food insecurity or seasonal scarcity, when Lao women were obliged to collected wild foods from the forest such as the algae & cassava. Thus they might be called 'hunger foods'. But some found their way to the markets of Vientiane where they were discovered by food importers from the West, always looking for unique specialties to sell in niche markets of elite Western chefs & consumers. Thus what is a hunger food in its homeland has become an expensive Lao heritage food abroad. References. J. Stanton

Trust is important in the food sector. This is primarily because households entrust some of the tasks related to food preparation to food processors. The public is concerned about pesticides, food additives, preservatives, and processed foods that may harbor unwanted chemicals or additives. After numerous food scandals, consumers expect food processing industries and retailers to take responsibility for food safety. Meanwhile, the food industry focuses on profit growth and costs reduction to achieve higher production efficiency and competitiveness. It means that they introduce innovations, such as new production methods, processing techniques, and additives. Consumers have to delegate the responsibility for ensuring food safety to food producers, retailers, and regulatory authorities who ensure that the foods are safe, healthy, and pose no risks. For consumers, trusting these actors can reduce feelings of uncertainty. It is helpful for companies to be responsible for their activities through transparency and traceability. In turn, the food industry tries to gain consumers' trust by providing objective information, such as ranked brands or labels on food packages.

In recent years, new actors from the outside the agrobusiness – the "index-oriented investors" – have entered the grain futures markets. This activity cannot be understood without considering the fact that prices for agricultural commodities have increased since the mid-1990s due to fundamental factors, both on the demand- and the supply-side. Based on this, agricultural commodities futures have become an attractive asset class for financial investors with two characteristics: first, they look for new asset classes the performance of which is not correlated with other asset classes; secondly, they believe that passive portfolio-management strategies, i.e. the "replication" of the market by distributing investments across various assets such as those being represented in popular indices, are more successful than active selection strategies. Investment in commodity futures by index-oriented investors had been facilitated by the development of new financial instruments (ETC, ETF). It has become ever more appealing as a result of falling returns on investment for traditional financial investments, such as the government bonds. However, the unconditional demand exerted by index-oriented investors on futures markets does not only lead to the reinforcement of the upward price trend on the spot market but also contributes to the emergence of short-term price bubbles (2008 and 2010/11).

An historical account of food history points out that the immobility of food largely determined people's diets until at least the 16th century. Even then, only spices & condiments traveled far or fast. Within another century, however, transport by sea made many food products available not just to the wealthy but also to the common people. Tea & sugar soon become a daily "necessity" to the European working class, & other products followed suit. Today, scarcely a country exists that isn't involved in international food trade & the fast food market. Today time & money, rather than means of transport, determine what people eat. In developed countries, most people claim to be too busy to cook fresh food & are wealthy enough to buy processed & precooked food. Organizations such as Slow Food have much to give us -- if we are prepared to reject the global food system. Most people would reject Slow Food & many would opt for fast food. If we want better food, however, "food of moderate speeds" is the answer -- good, fresh, healthy food produced locally, for fast access, & prepared & enjoyed at a slow enough pace to suit each of us. References. J. Stanton

"In many economic models, it is assumed that prices adjust instantaneously to changes of economic conditions (e.g., to shocks in demand or production costs). Since the existence of price rigidities has been frequently documented, more realistic models require that infrequent and lumpy price adjustment have to be taken into account. There are still many unresolved issues in this area, both theoretically and empirically. In this paper, we show that the dynamics and dispersion of retail prices can be investigated using price data obtained from the GfK Consumer Panel for 1995. Our results document the importance of psychological pricing points for price setting, confirming results from many earlier studies. A new aspect of our analysis that has not been investigated in the literature is the relevance of psychological prices points for price adjustment and aggregation. We interpret our findings as suggestive evidence for the notion that rigidities are relevant for aggregate dynamics in Germany. However, we also confirm that a structural aggregation theory is necessary for a better understanding of the relevance of micro-level rigidities for aggregate dynamics. In such a more comprehensive model, price data obtained from the GfK Consumer Panel might also prove very helpful in the future. Among the three other areas of empirical research that could potentially be explored with price data from the GfK Consumer Panel, the analysis of the relationship between individual price dynamics, price dispersion and aggregate inflation proves particularly fruitful. Moreover, the very disaggregated, high-frequency data contained in this data-set are almost unique. In other research areas which require that prices changes (and not only distributions of prices) are observed over time, empirical tests unfortunately suffer from the fact that time series of individual prices can be constructed only under additional strong assumptions." (author's abstract)

Innovation means change. In a case of food and agriculture, it can be the application of new proposals for raw material processing technology, packaging of products, new food additives, and new agricultural technologies. Innovation may lead to reducing or preventing adverse changes caused by microorganisms, oxidation of food ingredients, and enzymatic and nonenzymatic reactions, as well as ensuring safety by inhibiting the development of some pathogenic microorganisms. Change can also provide healthier and more nutritious food. The food is tastier because of the prevention of adverse qualitative changes in food composition, including organoleptic changes, and changes in the perception and pleasures from eating food. In addition, crops can be more abundant thanks to reduced exposure to diseases, adapted agricultural treatments, or higher resistance to changing weather conditions.

Food everywhere plays major roles in cultural reproduction. This chapter presents an ethnographic case study of food in the Micronesian island complex of Yap, where the indigenous food system of local cultigens & fish has long been the primary means through which the people express their cultural values. Further, women's preparation of starch foods such as taro & yams, complemented by men's production of fish & other protein foods, has been the core element of the Yapese political economy. Over the last 40 years, however, a growing wage economy has brought both social & economic change. The Yapese diet today includes many imported foods, especially rice, canned meats, & frozen poultry. Not only has the new diet resulted in diabetes, obesity, & hypertension, but cultural customs of almost daily sharing of food between households have diminished. Nonetheless, the Yapese have always used food to build their social world, & though the exchanges may be less frequent, & the foods may now include purchased goods such as rice, beer, & canned fish, the custom of food sharing continues. New to the culture are gatherings of family & friends at parties or picnics at the beach, with barbequed hot dogs & chicken. Thus the Yapese have developed strategies to maintain their cultural values & fulfill their social needs within the new economy. References. J. Stanton

India's total food grain production in 1950-1951 was low at 50.8 million tonnes, with a population of 361 million. Thus, the food grain production in 1950-1951 was 140.7 kg per person per annum or 0.39 kg per day. Thanks to Indian farmers and agricultural scientists who worked hard to increase the food grain production through new crop varieties and production technologies, along with the supportive policies of the governments that paved the way for the Green Revolution in Indian Agriculture. Achievements of the green revolution further led to achievements in other agricultural and allied sectors like the white revolution with substantial gains from milk production, followed by the yellow revolution with a significant increase in edible oilseed production, and the pink revolution with an increase in meat and poultry production to a significant extent. This chapter mainly discusses where does India stand today in terms of its agriculture when compared to its independence in 1947? As the data for 1947 for most of the indicators is not available, 1951 is considered the base year and compared the various indicators for the year 2021.

Consumers are becoming increasingly more informed about food systems and are interested not only in healthy, safe, and tasty food but also sustainable production, animal welfare, climate changes, and food waste. Consumers are also more focused on changing their lifestyle related to improved health knowledge and nutrition education (Timmer 2005). Maxwell and Slater (2004) have proposed criteria to evaluate food systems, including nutrition and health, rights and influence, security, sustainability, equality, and social inclusion. The authors also point out that the primary international institutions in the food value chain are not only the Food and Agriculture Organization and World Health Organization but also United Nations Industrial Development Organization, International Labour Organization, and World Trade Organization. The emerging trends in the food system are features of the {\dq}new economy.{\dq} This term describes the outcome of the transition from production- and manufacturing-based economy to a service-based or post-industrial economy at the end of the twentieth century. The traditional production factors such as cheap labor, land, and raw materials lose their importance in generating profits and competitiveness. The key is understanding of food consumer demand, knowledge of food industry and agriculture employees based on creativity, and flexibility of processes of production.

In Australia, life without the automobile is no longer imaginable. Further, reliance on cars has done much to restructure the social practices & lifestyles of Australians, including their dietary habits. Based on fieldwork in rural New South Wales & the urban centers of Canberra & Sydney, this chapter considers discourses & practices that constitute Australia's fast & slow food car-centered diets. Jakle & Sculle (1997) argued that "fast food, mass produced, was a response to fast cars, mass produced." At first the car simply transported the diners to restaurants, but with the advent of drive-thru windows at McDonald's & other fast food chain outlets, the car, equipped with cup holders, became the dining room. The Slow Food movement has gained a lesser popularity in Australia, primarily in the form of farmers' markets. The authors visited the Good Living Growers' Market in Sydney. Producers drive long distances & fight heavy traffic to bring their wares to the market & then pay high prices for stalls, as do shoppers for parking places, though public transport is available. Then there is intermediate-pace food -- slow-food cuisine delivered, by car or van, to customers' homes or businesses. Thus, different types of foods & special-use vehicles appear to be rapidly co-evolving commodities in Australia. References. J. Stanton