Globalization
Politicians argue that export-led growth and the free market are the best way for poorer nations to develop. However while international trade has skyrocketed, the gap between the rich and poor has also grown.
Free trade allows corporations to produce where workers are cheapest, union campaigns are met with fierce repression, and environmental laws are weak or unenforced. Corporations are closing factories in the U.S., firing their workers and reopening in cheaper locations. The new rules of the global economy (which are being written by politicians for corporations) now allow corporations (or foreign governments) to sue governments demanding that they repeal environmental regulations by claiming that such regulations are barriers to free trade! For instance, the European Union was forced to end an 11-year ban on US and Canadian beef containing artificial growth hormones; and the US was forced to import dirty petroleum. Over 130 countries belong to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and are subject to these rules. As of the fall of 1999, the WTO is considering removing tariffs on the exporting of forest products. Their removal would cause an estimated 3-4% increase in global logging! In the future the WTO might require the privatization of health care, education, and other governmental services.
Safe Food — Genetic Engineering
Multinational corporations are altering our food so they can increase production and increase their profit. Currently 60-70% of our grocery food is genetically engineered (GE). The danger is that we do not know what could happen as GE plants cross-pollinate, what their properties will be, whether new allergies or toxins will be produced and how susceptible they will be to pests, diseases and natural disasters. As plants can easily spread, once genetic engineered ones are introduced into the environment the impact can be irreversible. One of the worst biotechnology corporations, Monsanto, is producing Roundup-Ready soybeans, which allow farmers to spray more pesticides on a field without harming the soybeans (but ruining the local ecosystem). Monsanto has also produced a potato that is a pesticide (called ‘BT’). It kills bugs, but supposedly is safe for humans and has not been thoroughly tested.
As a response to consumer concern, 24 of the 30 biggest United Kingdom food producers are moving to GE-free food (Friends of the Earth, 1999). Students can investigate whether their university participates in GE research, get their dining services to go GE free or pressure their suppliers, educate and lobby politicians to support the labeling of GE products.