Benefit of Vast Movement of Food From One Nation to Another
– When foodstuffs are moved from one geographical region to another, several benefits are enjoyed by both the developing and wealthy nations. For instance, the developing nations are in a position to supplement their food products and the much needed nutritional value (Krissoff, Bohman & Caswel, 2002). It is possible for populations in developing nations to lack crucial nutritional supplements in the available foodstuffs.
However, these nutritional supplements can be obtained from food imported food items. Hence, there are quite several developing nations that have supplemented the nutritional needs of their populations by relying on imported food products. Secondly, developing nations have benefited from the business opportunity created by food importation from other countries. For the economy of any country to flourish, both importation and exportation of goods and services must take place.
Foodstuffs imported from rich nations create additional employment opportunities in developing nations (Krissoff, Bohman & Caswel, 2002). For instance, local producers can create viable contacts with international firms when import trade takes place.
Due to this type of interaction, the foreign firms may also be interested in importing from a developing nation and thereby boosting the overall trade volume and employment opportunities, especially for a poor nation. Also, the local producers within a developing nation may lack the right expertise to produce goods that are of high quality. Therefore, the importation of foodstuffs from developed nations may also guarantee high quality.
In the case of wealthy nations, exporting foodstuffs to developing nations expands the trade volume and improves their balance of trade. Wealthy nations can also reap the benefits associated with the competition. When they export high-quality foodstuffs, they end up capturing a larger market share in the developing foreign nations.
“Eat Local” Initiative in the US and Europe
There are both benefits and drawbacks when consumers are encouraged to use local products only. In terms of benefits, it is imperative to note that the local market is boosted when consumers buy local products. Hence, the local industries also experience expedited growth due to a large number of local consumers. The ‘eat local’ initiative can eventually boost the GDP growth of an economy.
Secondly, the initiative also leads to the creation of employment opportunities at a local level due to the expanded market opportunities for local products. On the other hand, this initiative may impede the quality of local products due to lack of competition from imported foodstuffs (Krissoff, Bohman & Caswel, 2002). The local industries may also fail to experience innovation since competition is only concentrated within the same country.
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.
It is possible to live without the chosen food substance bearing in mind that there are quite several substitutes of the same product that are locally available. I suppose buying the imported foodstuff is not necessary since there are substitutes of the same product in the market.
One of the demerits of buying imported foodstuffs is the high price. The same product can be bought locally at a lower price. Besides, local products may not require long term preservation on shelves because they have ready consumers. Hence, they have fewer chemicals used for preservation. This explains why they are healthier than imported foodstuffs (Krissoff, Bohman & Caswel, 2002).
Reference
Krissoff, B., Bohman, M., & Caswel, J.A. (eds.). (2002). Global Food Trade and Consumer Demand for Quality. New York: Kluwer Academic Publishers.