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International Economic Law And The Right To Food, Carmen G. Gonzalez
International Economic Law And The Right To Food, Carmen G. Gonzalez
Carmen G. Gonzalez
This chapter examines the historic and current policies and practices that have contributed to food insecurity in the global South. It analyzes the impact of international economic law on the patterns of trade and production that perpetuate food insecurity, and recommends concrete measures that the international community might take through law and regulation to promote the fundamental human right to food. Part I provides a short introduction to the right to food framework and its implications for international trade, investment, and finance. Part II places the current food crisis in historical perspective by discussing the trade and aid policies that …
China And Sustainable Development In Latin America, Carmen G. Gonzalez
China And Sustainable Development In Latin America, Carmen G. Gonzalez
Carmen G. Gonzalez
China’s growing economic engagement with Latin America has sparked both popular and scholarly debate. Some scholars contend that China is a rising imperial power scouring the globe for natural resources, exploiting less powerful nations, and rejecting international environmental agreements that would curb its profligate consumption of the world’s natural resources. Others applaud China’s unorthodox development strategies and portray China as a model worthy of emulation. This article interrogates both narratives and examines the environmental and developmental implications of China’s rise for Latin America. The article discusses China's bilateral trade and investment agreements with Latin American nations and China's potential contributions …
China's Engagement With Latin America: Partnership Or Plunder?, Carmen G. Gonzalez
China's Engagement With Latin America: Partnership Or Plunder?, Carmen G. Gonzalez
Carmen G. Gonzalez
The emergence of China as a significant economic force in Latin America has sparked both optimism and alarm. With titles such as 'The Coming China Wars' and 'The Dragon in the Backyard,' recent books and articles depict China as a rising imperial power scouring the globe for natural resources and as a competitive threat to Latin America. Other studies applaud China’s pragmatic, unorthodox development strategies and portray China as a successful model for developing countries. The competing narratives about China’s rise do agree on one thing: China has become a formidable force in the developing world whose influence merits careful …
The Global Food System, Environmental Protection, And Human Rights, Carmen G. Gonzalez
The Global Food System, Environmental Protection, And Human Rights, Carmen G. Gonzalez
Carmen G. Gonzalez
The global food system is exceeding ecological limits while failing to meet the nutritional needs of a large segment of the world’s population. While law could play an important role in facilitating the transition to a more just and ecologically sustainable food system, the current legal framework fails to regulate food and agriculture in an integrated manner. The international legal framework governing food and agriculture is fragmented into three self-contained regimes that have historically operated in isolation from one another: international human rights law, international environmental law, and international trade law. International trade law has taken precedence over human rights …
The Global Politics Of Food: Introduction To The Theoretical Perspectives Cluster, Carmen G. Gonzalez
The Global Politics Of Food: Introduction To The Theoretical Perspectives Cluster, Carmen G. Gonzalez
Carmen G. Gonzalez
The corporate-dominated, fossil-fuel dependent model of agricultural production has produced chronic undernourishment, an epidemic of obesity and diet-related diseases, and unprecedented ecological devastation. In May 2010, the Universidad Interamericana in Mexico City hosted an international conference on The Global Politics of Food: Sustainability and Subordination. Sponsored by Latina and Latino Critical Legal Theory, Inc. and by Seattle University School of Law, the conference took place under the auspices of the South-North Exchange on Theory, Culture and Law (SNX), a yearly gathering of scholars in the Americas that seeks to foster transnational, cross-disciplinary and inter-cultural dialogue on current issues in law, …
Climate Change, Food Security, And Agrobiodiversity: Toward A Just, Resilient, And Sustainable Food System, Carmen G. Gonzalez
Climate Change, Food Security, And Agrobiodiversity: Toward A Just, Resilient, And Sustainable Food System, Carmen G. Gonzalez
Carmen G. Gonzalez
The global food system is in a state of profound crisis. Decades of misguided aid, trade and production policies have resulted in an unprecedented erosion of agrobiodiversity that renders the world’s food supply vulnerable to catastrophic crop failure in the event of drought, heavy rains, and outbreaks of pests and disease. Climate change threatens to wreak additional havoc on food production by increasing the frequency and severity of extreme weather events, depressing agricultural yields, reducing the productivity of the world’s fisheries, and placing pressure on scarce water resources. Furthermore, the climate crisis and the biodiversity crisis are occurring at a …
China En América Latina: Derecho, Economía Y Desarrollo Sostenible, Carmen G. Gonzalez
China En América Latina: Derecho, Economía Y Desarrollo Sostenible, Carmen G. Gonzalez
Carmen G. Gonzalez
Los crecientes vínculos económicos y políticos entre China y América Latina han desatado controversias entre académicos, eruditos en la materia, y personas encargadas de elaborar políticas. Algunos académicos afirman que China es una potencia imperial emergente, comprometida en la lucha por obtener los recursos del mundo en desarrollo, y una amenaza competitiva para América Latina. Otros aplauden las estrategias de desarrollo chinas, pragmáticas y poco ortodoxas, y las describen como un modelo exitoso para los países en desarrollo. El presente artículo pone en duda las narratives predominantes sobre la cresciente influencia de China en América Latina, e interroga las implicaciones …
The Global Food Crisis: Law, Policy, And The Elusive Quest For Justice, Carmen G. Gonzalez
The Global Food Crisis: Law, Policy, And The Elusive Quest For Justice, Carmen G. Gonzalez
Carmen G. Gonzalez
The food crisis of 2008, the subsequent financial crisis, and the ongoing climate crisis have created new challenges to the attainment of global food security. This essay examines the historic and current practices that have contributed to food insecurity in developing countries, and recommends several steps that the international community might take to promote the fundamental human right to food. The essay begins by outlining the trade and aid policies that laid the foundation for food insecurity in the global South from colonialism until the early twenty-first century. It then examines the impact of the financial crisis and the climate …
China In Latin America: Law, Economics, And Sustainable Development, Carmen G. Gonzalez
China In Latin America: Law, Economics, And Sustainable Development, Carmen G. Gonzalez
Carmen G. Gonzalez
The growing economic and political ties between China and Latin America have sparked controversy among scholars, pundits, and policy-makers. Some scholars contend that China is a rising imperial power scouring the globe for natural resources, exploiting less powerful nations, and rejecting international environmental agreements that would curb its profligate consumption of the world’s natural resources. Others applaud China’s unorthodox development strategies and portray China as a successful model for developing countries and as a welcome counterweight to U.S. economic and political hegemony. This paper interrogates the competing narratives about China’s growing influence in Latin America and examines the implications of …
Genetically Modified Organisms And Justice: The International Environmental Justice Implications Of Biotechnology, Carmen G. Gonzalez
Genetically Modified Organisms And Justice: The International Environmental Justice Implications Of Biotechnology, Carmen G. Gonzalez
Carmen G. Gonzalez
In September 2006, a WTO dispute settlement panel issued its long-awaited decision in favor of the United States in the dispute between the U.S. and the European Union over genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The ruling was based on narrow procedural grounds, and did not resolve the controversy over the safety of GMOs, over the right of countries to regulate GMOs more stringently than conventional products, or over the consistency of the EU's GMO regulatory regime with WTO requirements. The debate over GMOs continues unabated. Unfortunately, the high profile dispute between the U.S. and the EU has eclipsed the important debate …
Markets, Monocultures, And Malnurition: Agricultural Trade Policy Through An Environmental Justice Lens, Carmen G. Gonzalez
Markets, Monocultures, And Malnurition: Agricultural Trade Policy Through An Environmental Justice Lens, Carmen G. Gonzalez
Carmen G. Gonzalez
Much of the literature on environmental justice struggles in the United States and in the Global South has highlighted the disproportionate concentration of environmental hazards in poor communities and communities of color. However, it is equally important to evaluate how human societies distribute access to environmental necessities , such as food and water. Food is a quintessential environmental necessity that is critical human survival, and the right to food is recognized under under a vareity of international human rights law instruments. This article examines the complex ways in which the rules governing international trade in agricultural products affect the fundamental …
Deconstructing The Mythology Of Free Trade: Critical Reflections On Comparative Advantage, Carmen G. Gonzalez
Deconstructing The Mythology Of Free Trade: Critical Reflections On Comparative Advantage, Carmen G. Gonzalez
Carmen G. Gonzalez
The theory of comparative advantage serves as the theoretical justification for the neoliberal economic reforms promoted by the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and multilateral and regional free trade agreements. This article employs insights from both neoclassical and heterodox economics in order to critique the theory of comparative advantage as applied to the agricultural sector. In particular, the article takes aim at the illusory notion that eliminating distortions in international agricultural trade caused by the lavish agricultural subsidies of wealthy nations will be sufficient to “level the playing field” and promote prosperity in both developed and developing countries. The …
Trade Liberalization, Food Security, And The Environment: The Neoliberal Threat To Sustainable Rural Development, Carmen G. Gonzalez
Trade Liberalization, Food Security, And The Environment: The Neoliberal Threat To Sustainable Rural Development, Carmen G. Gonzalez
Carmen G. Gonzalez
Even though food production has exceeded population growth in recent decades, world hunger continues to be a daunting problem. Progress in hunger reduction has slowed in recent years, and the number of undernourished people is growing in most of the developing world. Rampant hunger and malnutrition impair the economic performance of individuals, households, and entire nations, and can lead to political instability and social conflict. Food insecurity is often exacerbated by environmentally destructive farming practices that ultimately depress agricultural productivity. Environmental degradation is increasingly recognized as a major factor contributing to both food insecurity and civil strife. This article examines …
Institutionalizing Inequality: The Wto Agreement On Agriculture, Food Security, And Developing Countries, Carmen G. Gonzalez
Institutionalizing Inequality: The Wto Agreement On Agriculture, Food Security, And Developing Countries, Carmen G. Gonzalez
Carmen G. Gonzalez
The article examines the food security implications of the WTO Agreement on Agriculture. It places the Agreement in historical context, examines its key provisions, and argues that the Agreement systematically favors industrialized country agricultural producers at the expense of farmers in developing countries. The Agreement enables industrialized countries to continue to subsidize agricultural production and to protect domestic producers from foreign competition while requiring market openness in developing countries. The article evaluates the effect of this imbalance on food security in developing countries, and proposes reforms to provide developing countries with the tools to promote access by all people at …
Beyond Eco-Imperialism: An Environmental Justice Critique Of Free Trade, Carmen G. Gonzalez
Beyond Eco-Imperialism: An Environmental Justice Critique Of Free Trade, Carmen G. Gonzalez
Carmen G. Gonzalez
The article contributes to the trade and environment literature by assessing the claim that industrialized country proposals to integrate environmental protection into the WTO trade regime constitute environmental imperialism - the imposition of industrialized country values and preferences on less powerful nations. This claim is usually based on two distinct premises. The first is that environmental protection is a luxury that poor countries can ill afford. The second is that wealthy countries have played a leadership role in the protection of the global environment. The article questions these assumptions. It argues that environmental protection is essential to well-being of the …