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TTIP talks: What’s cooking?
- Perspectives on Food & Farming
Proceedings of the Conference
TTIP: Socioeconomic Impact on Food and Farming
Trade is not evil or wrong,
trade is useful, but we need
trade that makes sense
– TTIP
does not make sense. We need
trade that supports local econ-
omies and climate, this is
possible but we must make
other choices.”
Hanny van Geel, European Coordi-
nation La Via Campesina (ECVC)
Hanny van Geel
, European Coordination La Via Camp-
esina (ECVC) expressed concerns with lowering stand-
ards, lower prices and how this affects farmers ability to
compete and remain on their farms.
Free trade agreements, like in TTIP are a run for the
lowest price and the lowest standards. When price is the
leading factor, standards will follow in a negative way.
There are only a few benefits with free trade agreements
and the benefits are unequally distributed. Farmers and
consumers have developed systems of autonomous
food production, but farmers and citizens will become
dependant on corporate control of food production.
TTIP will drive farmers further out of practice. That is
happening already. It is difficult to understand how TTIP
will provide jobs for farmers, when farmers will have to
leave their farms, when they are unable to earn a decent
income. This is happening in all European countries,
not only in southern Europe but in Northern Europe
and in the US. Farmers cannot compete with each other
worldwide.
What we see is small and medium size farms being
taken over by big farming enterprises. This is often
perceived as being more efficient, but in fact is driven
by the European and global systems of trade. This is a
choice and other choices can be made. Cheap food is
an illusion; food is only cheap when the real costs are
being paid elsewhere. Nowadays, good food produced
in a sustainable way seems expensive, not affordable for
poor people. However most food is being produced and
consumed locally, also in the EU. We should not think
that exports are the solution for our economies. TTIP is
in fact, not facilitating these local economies. Currently
our policies place too much emphasis on the importance
of export markets, we should not see exports as the only
solution for our economies. We should strengthen and
support short food supply chains; this is for the benefit
of everyone.
MEP and vice-chair of ENVI,
Benedek Javor
introduced the next panel and
speakers which will look at the socioeconomic impact of TTIP on food and
farming. Even if we accept that TTIP will bring jobs in some limited specific
sectors, very few studies look at TTIP’s impacts on other important socioeco-
nomic sectors, and who will benefit and who will bear the costs of this impor-
tant trade agreement.
In conclusion,
Hanny van Geel
stressed
that we really need to rethink our food
system. So in the case of TTIP, emphasis
should be placed on creating jobs and
strengthening local economies. TTIP
will only benefit big transnational
corporations operating at international
level.
Food sovereignty offers an
alternative framework
and solution to
current trade and food policies.