Global Views of Local Food SystemsReflections on the growing worldwide local food movement:Should farmers just say no?

摘要

In a world in which agriculture is increasingly dominated by industrial farming and international trade, there is one crop that is still profitable to small farmers. It is hardy, drought-tolerant, and thrives on marginal lands. Multinational corporations have not yet hijacked its seeds, and its cultivation requires limited capital investment. Marketing poses no real problem, and farm gate prices ar often an order of magnitude higher than those of the next alternative crop. Its production is still concentrated in countries of the South, where it does not benefit from any market-distorting subsidy. And while it can be consumed locally, it is mainly an export crop, bringing in much needed hard currency. It is also a magnet for Northerntourists coming to sample the produce "a la source." The catch? It is illegal.