Will the American farmers survive in a flat world?

By Susan Allen Will the American farmers survive in a flat world? One of the few history lessons that I vividly recall from grade school is Christopher Columbus' discovery that the earth was round. I was always able to visualize how ecstatic the crew must have felt when they came to the realization that there was no edge to fall off, that the horizon just kept moving them forward. For American Agriculture the horizon is moving at a fast clip as well, on a globe that according to New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman is once again, perceived to be "flat." In his new book on global economics, The World is Flat, I found a metaphor not only for Columbus who opened Europe's eyes to a global economy, but for today's agriculturists who have watched barriers to technology and commerce flattened due in part to outsourcing, telecommunications and education. No longer "developing countries", baby behemoths like Brazil and China sit poised to be crowned the new agricultural power brokers. Industry seminars with titles like "Succeeding in Latin America's Powerhouse" or "How to be part of the Wall- Martization of China" leave me with the unsettling feeling that I am witnessing the gold rush of the millennium. Opportunities are "ripe" for big corporations, like John Deere who plans to capitalize on the need for combines and harvesters in South America by constructing a multi-million dollar factory in Brazil. In this rush to find "gold" beyond our borders, I fear those with the original rights to the mine, American farmers and ranchers will be left in the dust. In the guise of sounding like a nationalist, I fail to see how the apples growers in my home state of Washington will compete with the onslaught of Chinese apples forecasted to arrive within ten years. I would like to be confident that my friend, a third generation rancher will always have a market for his calves, but I have my doubts, given the fact that Brazilian cattle baron Antonio Russo now exports beef to over 50 countries and has vowed to meet any consumer demand with low cost Brazilian meat. An economist for the Wall Street journal forecasted that Brazil, whose beef exports have exploded since 1998 will soon surpass Australia as the worlds largest beef exporter, a nice jewel in a crown to compliment Brazil's new status as the worlds largest citrus producer. Fareed Zakaria, the editor of Newsweek International, recently cautioned that while the U.S. is quick to globalize the world, we might forget to globalize ourselves! Free trade has become the new mantra. While it is commendable that Starbucks now peddles "free-trade" coffee to aide poor substance farmers in Africa, where is corporate America's "free trade" fervor for U.S. citrus growers and asparagus farmers who have lost their market to Brazil and Peru? Markets they have lost not due to an inferior product, but because of an inability to compete with countries that lack the stringent labor and production laws of the United States. It breaks my heart to see foreign agriculture take the best of American ingenuity then marry it with low cost labor and soft environmental/production laws to undercut our farmers. I am thrilled that capitalism is alive and well in places like China and Brazil because Americans know how to compete in a capitalistic society, but only if the playing field is equally level. There is no way to slow the tide of agricultural globalization. Those of us who care about the sanctity of American Agriculture would do well to become more "Columbus-like" in our thinking, always looking towards the horizon for new opportunities to create brand loyalty and premium labels while working to establish equivalent governmental standards for our imports (whether that be ethical labor practices or pesticide residue). It is critical that we begin to export more than just our ideas and technology to insure the American farmer does not topple off the edge of this new flat earth.