Should agricultural development in poor countries avoid the western model?
Photo: FAO Shifting risks to poor farmers Without an ecological context, this view of food safety translates into technologies such as food irradiation and heat or chemical treatments, which Waltner-Toews describes as “the agricultural equivalent of using condoms”. By combining an obsession with economies of scale with a dependence on technological solutions, which sooner or later always fail, we increase both the risk of and extent of crises. We have in effect fewer options than if we had based food systems more closely to their ecological setting and closer to home, as is the case with organic farming. There are also subsets of social issues that are isolated, marginalized and largely ignored, such as a consideration of the health and safety of workers on farms and in food processing plants. Indeed, many programs designed to reduce risks for wealthy and powerful consumers do so merely by shifting risks to poor and powerless farmers. In the meantime, agriculture and the food systems c
