Economic and Political

Food Supply ChainFactors Affecting Food Supply and

Production

Think about what you ate for lunch today

Take 5 minutes to list all the steps it took for that food to reach your plate.

A food supply chain is the movement of money and food moving products from producers to consumers.

Food supply chains contain many “push” and “pull” factors through the chain.

Tends to have two way causality.

Example of a Food Supply Chain

Farmer ProcessorDistributo

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Consumer

It is important to understand that the supply chain is consdered to be a domino causality chain.

Hypothetical: What happens to the candy supply chain if a drough effects the availability of sugar cane. How will this effect all factors of the supply chain?

Example of a Food Supply Chain

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Consumer

Hypothetical: New technology has allowed for the more efficient harvesting of wheat. How will this effect the supply chain?

Example of a Food Supply Chain

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Consumer

Hypothetical: A new documentary released about the mistreatment of cattle has lead to a public mass boycott of beef products. How will this effect the supply chain?

Example of a Food Supply Chain

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Food Economics

Economics

When walking down the supermarket aisle, it's impossible to overlook the ever-changing price of food. According to the Food Timeline, in 1970, an 18 oz. box of corn flakes cost 38 cents. By 1990, that same box cost $1.99 on average.

Economics

In the last several decades, the economics of the food system have changed dramatically.  Millions of farms have folded as government policy has encouraged larger, more intensive farm operations, such as the factory farm  G model for producing meat, eggs and dairy.

Economics

A handful of corporations—producers of seeds, processors of meat and milk, and grocery retailers—now dominate most aspects of the food system, giving them enormous power to control markets and pricing, and enabling them to influence food and agricultural regulations.

Economics

Rural Economies

Among the hidden costs of industrial food production are its effects on small family farms and rural communities, which include the loss of nearly four million farms in the North America since the 1930s

Economics

Sustainable farms support local economies by providing jobs for members of the community and purchasing supplies from local businesses.

studies show that small farms with gross incomes of $100,000 or less made almost 95 percent of farm-related expenditures within their local communities

Economics

Factory farms hire as few workers as possible and often purchase equipment, supplies, and animal feed from the same agricultural conglomerates that purchase their products

studies show large farms with gross incomes greater than $900,000 made less than 20 percent of farm related expenditures locall

Economics

The Economic Efficiency Myth

While large-scale, single crop (also called monoculture  G) farms produce a large output per worker, diversified sustainable farms produce more food per acre of land.

In other words, sustainable farms require more workers and create more jobs, while also doing a better job of feeding people on smaller plots of land than industrial farms.

Economics

Market Concentration

Meat production today is marked by intense market concentration in which a very small number of corporate packers accounts for the majority of meat that ends up in your grocery store. In 2007, four corporations slaughtered 83.5 percent of the nation’s beef, 66 percent of the pork and 58.5 percent of the poultry.

Economics

However, fast production does not always mean better process

The cost to maintain farms is significant, and the cost of upkeep and technology and research can add to food costs.

Economics

Consumer Demand

The tastes of people around the world change from era to era, particularly when exposed

Economics

Examples:

In the 1980’s North American began embracing Asian inspired foods, led to shusho restraints quadrupling between 1988-1998..

Economics

After watching “The Dark Side of Chocolate”

What does the effect of child trafficking have on the chocolate supply chain?

Example of a Food Supply Chain

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Consumer

Political Factors

Political

1) International Influences

Last topics raised in 2012 at international conference

Zero Hunger

Zero Land Degradation

Political

2) National and Provincial

Example of a Provincial undertaking:

Eat Right Ontario: New School Food and Beverage Undertaking

Political

3) Food Market Boards

“Union” for food disputes

Deal with labour, quality, pay