COURSE SYLLABUS

IGA-422
GLOBAL FOOD POLITICS AND POLICY
Fall 2013
(September 30)

Faculty: Robert Paarlberg Faculty Assistant: Tamara Tiska

Robert_Paarlberg@hks.harvard.edu tamara_tiska@hks.harvard.edu
Belfer L-2D 617-495-8021
617-384-5899
Office Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays 2-5 pm

Class Meetings: Tu/Th 11:40 am – 1 pm

L130

Course Description:

This course will review the political landscape of both food and farming, in both
rich and poor countries. This is a highly contentious landscape, where scientists,
economists, commercial farmers, agribusiness and food companies, environmentalists,
consumer organizations, and social justice advocates often hold sharply different views –
and exercise differing degrees of influence over policy. Policy actions by national
governments frequently operate alongside or in conflict with international organizations,
private companies, NGOs, social entrepreneurs, and humanitarian relief agencies.
Food and farming systems around the world are highly diverse in nature, yet all
are strongly shaped by government actions. Persistent under-nutrition remains a deadly
challenge in many tropical countries, but in a growing number of post-industrial societies
– led by the United States – the new challenge is poor health linked to excessive food
consumption. The agricultural circumstances of states also differ dramatically, as poor
countries tend to operate farming systems that are starved for resources and not well
supported by public policy, while most rich countries now have highly capitalized and
highly productive agricultural sectors that enjoy generous subsidies from governments.
Course requirements will include analytic in-class briefs on assigned topics,
exams on course materials to be submitted in the form of op-ed style essays, plus a
structured memo to a decision maker, presenting an informed policy recommendation.

Book to Purchase:
Robert Paarlberg, Food Politics: What Everyone Needs to Know.
New York: Oxford University Press, Second Edition, September 2013

All course readings will either be drawn from this book or linked in this syllabus or
posted on the course page. There will be an optional packet of online course readings for

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sale at the Course Materials Office, for anyone who wants a hard copy of the material
posted on the course page.

Brief Summary of Graded Course Requirements

1. Oral in-class briefs and debates: Each student will participate in either a 10-
minute in-class brief or a 16 minute in-class debate. These will be team
assignments, with details provided after we know the enrollment for the
class. The in-class presentations will be individually graded and will count
15 percent of the final course grade.

2. Decision memo: Each student will research a defined food/agricultural

policy problem and compose a 7 page single-spaced memo proposing the
best solution, to a specified decision-maker. A list of suggested food and
agricultural policy problems (and relevant decision-makers) will be
circulated in the second week of the class, but students may also select their
own policy problem (and identify their own decision-maker) with permission
of the instructor. The completed memo will consist of a 2-page segment
framing the problem for the decision-maker, a 2-page segment reviewing
policy options, a final 2-page segment recommending the best policy choice,
plus a 1-page cover memo summarizing the problem, the options, and the
solution. This decision memo is due by electronic submission to the
instructor no later than 11:59 PM on December 14. Late submissions will be
penalized ½ grade. The memo will count 30 percent of the final grade.
Students are encouraged to discuss their memos with the instructor at any
time, and to submit outlines or rough drafts by November 27, to receive
written feedback.

3. “Op-Ed” Take Home Exams: Students will be given three “Op-Ed” take home
exams over the course of the semester. The exams will list several topics
covered in recent class readings and discussions, and students will be given
72 hours to compose an “Op-Ed essay” (850 words in length) that makes an
informed policy argument about one of the topics. The three Op-Ed Exams
will be given out electronically on September 23, October 15, and November
12. Students may work together on these assignments, but each exam must
be individually authored. Exams will be due at a specified time by electronic
submission to the instructor, and late exams will be penalized ½ grade. Each
Op-Ed essay will count 15 percent of final grade (45 percent total).

4. Class Attendance and Participation: 10 percent of final grade.

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Class Meetings and Reading Assignments

Class 1: September 3
Shopping

Class 2: September 5
The Current State of Food and Agriculture
Links between agriculture and nutrition
Historical progress
Policy challenges

Readings:

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), The State of
Food and Agriculture 2013, pages 1-25. Download PDF at:
http://www.fao.org/publications/sofa/en/

Robert Paarlberg, Food Politics, Chapter 1 (book)

Class 3: September 10
The Role of Governments
Governments, versus MNCs, versus NGOs
The dietary transition
Links between agriculture and nutrition

Readings:

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), The State of
Food and Agriculture 2013, pages 26-69. Download PDF at:
http://www.fao.org/publications/sofa/en/

Robert Paarlberg, “Governing the Dietary Transition: Linking Agriculture,

Nutrition, and Health,” IFPRI, February 2011
http://www.ifpri.org/sites/default/files/publications/2020anhconfpaper08.pdf
(posted on course page)

Classes 4 and 5: September 12, 17

Malthusian Concerns
Demographic projections and realities
Numbers of people versus the diets of people
The role of innovation and technology change

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 Readings:

Paarlberg, R., Food Politics, Chapter 2 (book)

Jason Bremner, “Population and Food Security: Africa’s Challenge,” Population

Reference Bureau, Policy Brief, February 2012. Download from:
http://www.prb.org/Publications/PolicyBriefs/population-food-security-africa-
part1.aspx

Nick Schulz, “Agricultural Abundance: An American innovation story.”

Download PDF at: http://www.aei.org/article/society-and-
culture/agricultural-abundance-an-american-innovation-story/

“Meat,” A Lecture by Joel E. Cohen. Listen at:

http://www.ebmcdn.net/prb/html/prb-malthus-0310a/index.html (posted
on course page)

Useful Background: R.A. Fischer, Derek Byerlee, and G. O. Edmeades, “Can

Technology Deliver on the Yield Challenge to 2050?” Available at this pdf:
ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/012/ak977e/ak977e00.pdf (posted on course page)

Classes 6 and 7: September 19, 24

The 2008 World Food Crisis

Readings:

Paarlberg, Food Politics, Chapter 3

Per Pinstrup-Andersen, Food Price Policy in an era of Market Instability,

Chapters 1-5 (Posted on course page ONLY)

IFPRI, “Foreign Direct Investment in Land in West Africa,” 2012, download at:
http://www.ifpri.org/publication/foreign-direct-investment-land-west-africa

Classes 8 and 9: September 26, October 1

The Green Revolution
Implications for food production, poverty, hunger, and the environment

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 Impacts in Asia versus Latin America, prospects for Africa

Readings:

Paarlberg, Food Politics, Chapter 6 (book)

Evenson, R.E., and D. Gollin. 2003. “Assessing the Impact of the Green
Revolution, 1960 to 2000,” Science Vol. 300, no. 5620, pp. 758-762 (posted on
course page)

Hazell, Peter. 2009. The Asian Green Revolution. IFPRI Discussion Paper.
Available at http://www.ifpri.org/publication/asian-green-revolution (posted on
course page)

Hans Binswanger-Mkhize, et al., “The Growing Opportunities for African

Agricultural Development,” Download at
http://www.ifpri.org/publication/growing-opportunities-african-agricultural-
development?print

S. Mahendra Dev and Suneetha Kadiyala, “Pro-Nutrition Agriculture in India,”

Indian Health Beat, vol. 5, no. 1 (June 2011).
http://www.phfi.org/images/pdf/Policy_Note_Vol5_8.pdf

Peter Rosset, “Do We Need New Technology to End Hunger?”

http://www.foodfirst.org/media/opeds/2000/4-greenrev.html (posted on
course page)

Good Background: Ruttan, Vernon W., "Controversy about Agricultural

Technology: Lessons from the Green Revolution", International Journal of
Biotechnology, 6(1), 2004, pp. 43-54. (posted on course page)

Good Background: IAASTD, Executive Summary

http://www.sdi.com.my/IAASTD/IAASTD_ExecSummary.pdf
(posted on course page)

Classes 10 and 11: October 3, 8

Environmental Damage from Farming
Environmental damage from low input farming
Environmental damage from high input farming
Precision farming and an Environmental Kuznets Curve?

Readings:

Bridget Huber, “As Factory Farms Spread, Government Efforts to Curb Threat
From Livestock Waste Bog Down,”

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 http://www.fairwarning.org/2013/05/as-factory-farms-spread-
government-efforts-to-curb-threat-from-livestock-waste-bog-down/

S. D. Williams and Heidi Fritschel, “Farming Smarter,” Insights, Vol. 2 no. 2,

2012. Available at:
http://ebrary.ifpri.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/p15738coll2/id/126967/rec/9

Paarlberg, Food Politics, Chapters 9,10 (book)

UNEP, Strengthening the Ecological Foundation of Food Security through

Sustainable Food Systems: A UNEP Synthesis Report,
http://www.unep.org/publications/ebooks/avoidingfamines/portals/19/UNEP_Foo
d_Security_Report.pdf

Good Background: OECD, 2008. Environmental Performance of Agriculture in

OECD Countries since 1990. www.oecd.org/tad/env/indicators (Read section on
United States.), (posted on course page)

Good Background: Keystone, Field To Market,

http://www.fieldtomarket.org/report/national-
2/PNT_SummaryReport_A11.pdf

Good Background: Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring and the Beginning of the
Environmental Movement,
http://classwebs.spea.indiana.edu/bakerr/v600/rachel_carson_and_silent_s
pring.htm

Good Background: FAO, 2006. Livestock’s Long Shadow, Parts III, IV, V (which
are equal to chapters 2, 3, and 4)
http://www.fao.org/docrep/010/a0701e/a0701e00.HTM (posted on course
page only)

Class 12: October 10

Constraints on Food and Farming from Climate and Water
Climate Change (temperature, moisture, and atmospheric carbon effects)
Water for irrigation
Fisheries and aquaculture

Readings:

Mark Howden, et al, “Adapting agriculture to climate change,” Proceedings of

the National Academy of Sciences, http://www.pnas.org/content/104/50/19691

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 Anamarija Frankic and Carl Hershner, “Sustainable aquaculture,”
http://faculty.wwu.edu/~shulld/ESCI%20432/FrankicandHershner2003.pdf

Class 13: October 15

Who Controls Food and Agriculture?
National governments?
International agribusiness?
IGOs and NGOs?

Readings:

Paarlberg, Food Politics, Chapter 14 (book)

Listen to lecture by Jennifer Clapp, “Over 1 Billion NOT Served: The Global
Economic Crisis and Food Governance,” http://www.cigionline.org/videos/over-
1-billion-not-served-global-economic-crisis-and-food-governance-jennifer-clapp

Listen to lecture by Vandana Shiva, “The Future of Food and Seed,”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYwOTLopWIw

Class 14: October 17

The Politics of Urban Bias
Why have governments in developing countries taxed farmers and
subsidized consumers?

Readings:

Derek Headey, Dirk Bezemer, and Peter Hazell, “Agricultural Employment

Trends in Asia and Africa: Too Fast or Too Slow? Available on JSTOR.

Steven Radelet, Emerging Africa, Center for Global Development, 2010,

Introduction. Available at:
http://www.cgdev.org/doc/books/Emerging_Africa/CGD_EmergAFrica_FM_intr
o-FINAL.pdf

“A Growing Opportunity: Measuring Investments in African Agriculture,” One

Data Report, http://one-org.s3.amazonaws.com/us/wp-
content/uploads/2013/03/Ag-fullreport-single-130326-small.pdf

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 Good Background: Fan, S., et al. 2010. “China’s Agricultural and Rural
Development: Implications for Africa,” IFPRI.
http://www.slideshare.net/shenggenfan/chinas-agricultural-and-rural-
development-implications-for-africa (posted on course page)

Class 15: October 22

The Politics of Farm Subsidies:
Why do farm subsidies persist?
How have farm subsidy policies changed?
Who is helped by farm subsidies, and who is hurt?

Readings:

Paarlberg, Robert. Food Politics, Chapter 8.

Alston, Sumner, and Brunke, “Impacts of Reductions in U.S. Cotton Subsidies on

West African Cotton Producers,” Oxfam, http://omiusajpic.org/wp-
content/uploads/2008/02/paying_the_price.pdf (posted on course page)

Chris Edwards, “The GOP, the Farm Bill, and Cognitive Dissonance,”
http://www.cato.org/blog/gop-farm-bill-cognitive-
dissonance?gclid=CIyPzp-q1bgCFVLxOgod4xMAVw

Good Added Reference: “Agricultural Policies in OECD Countries: At a

Glance,” OECD, 2010. PDF can be found at
http://www.oecd.org/tad/agricultural-
policies/agriculturalpoliciesinoecdcountriesataglance.htm

Class 16: October 24

Food for Fuel
Links between food prices and energy prices.
The political economy of biofuels subsidies

Readings:

“Biofuels and Food Security,” report by United Nations High Level Panel of
Experts, June 2013,
http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/user_upload/hlpe/hlpe_documents/HLPE_Reports/
HLPE-Report-5_Biofuels_and_food_security.pdf

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 C. Ford Runge, “The Browning of Biofuels: The Political Economy of Policy
Failure,” World Politics Review, February 2010.
http://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/features/show/33 (posted on course
page)

Classes 17 and 18: October 29,31

International Policy Responses to Hunger
Modern famine prevention
Food aid versus agricultural development assistance.
Bilateral ODA versus IFIs
Philanthropy, PPPs, advocacy NGOs, and social entrepreneurs

Readings:

Paarlberg, Food Politics, Chapter 5 (book)

http://feedthefuture.gov/sites/default/files/resource/files/feed_the_future_progress
_report_2013.pdf

“Enabling Small-Scale Farmers: How U.S. Development Assistance Influences

Local Capacity for Climate Change Adaptation: Lessons from Senegal,” Oxfam,
June 2013, http://www.oxfamamerica.org/publications/enabling-small-scale-
farmers-to-adapt-to-climate-change-lessons-from-senegal

World Food Programme, Horn-of-Africa Crisis website, watch videos 1, 2, 4 and

6, at http://www.wfp.org/crisis/horn-of-africa

Classes 19 and 20: November 5, 7

Government Policy and Obesity
What has created the modern obesity crisis?
Is this an issue of public health or personal responsibility?
What have governments done to address the crisis?

Readings:

Paarlberg, Food Politics, Chapter 7 (book)

Let’s Move! Accomplishments, http://www.letsmove.gov/accomplishments

“Kid’s Meals: Obesity on the Menu,” Center for Science and the Public Interest,
http://cspinet.org/new/pdf/cspi-kids-meals-2013.pdf

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 Marc Ambinder, “Beating Obesity,” The Atlantic, May 2010
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2010/05/beating-obesity/8017/1/
(posted on course page)

David Kessler, “The End of Overeating,” Lecture to Commonwealth Club,

http://fora.tv/2009/05/08/The_End_of_Overeating_Dr_David_A_Kessler
(posted on course page only)

Good Background: White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity, Report to

the President, “Solving the Problem of Childhood Obesity Within a
Generation,” download PDF at:
http://www.letsmove.gov/white-house-task-force-childhood-obesity-report-
president

Class 21: November 12

Genetically Engineered Foods

Readings:

Just Label It campaign, “The Debate,” http://justlabelit.org/about-ge-foods/safety/

European Academies Science Advisory Council, “Planting the Future,”

http://www.easac.eu/fileadmin/Reports/Planting_the_Future/EASAC_Planting_th
e_Future_FULL_REPORT.pdf (pages 9-23)

Mark Lynas, Lecture to Oxford Farming Conference, January 2013,

http://vimeo.com/56745320

Good Background: IFPRI, 2008. “Bt Cotton and Farmer Suicides in India”,
http://www.ifpri.org/publication/bt-cotton-and-farmer-suicides-india

Classes 22 and 23: November 14,19

Agribusiness, Food Companies, and Supermarkets
Do agribusiness companies control seed supplies, and farmers?
Do food companies control food policy?
Why are supermarkets spreading in poor countries?

Readings:

Paarlberg, Food Politics, Chapter 11 (book)

David Stuckler, et al., “Manufacturing Epidemics,”

http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1
001235

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 Marion Nestle, “Food Marketing and Childhood Obesity – A Matter of Policy.
2006. New England Journal of Medicine.
http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp068014

Tom Reardon, et al, “The Rise of Supermarkets in Africa, Asia, and Latin
America,
http://ip.cals.cornell.edu/courses/intag402/documents/RiseofSupermarket
sinAfricaAsiaandLatAm.pdf (posted on course page)

Class 24: November 21

Food Safety
The role of policy, corporate power, and technology in food safety
When, where, and how should food be regulated for consumer safety?

Readings:

Paarlberg, Food Politics, Chapter 13 (book)

Renee Johnson, The Federal Food Safety System: A Primer. Congressional

Research Service, 2011. Download under Food Safety at
http://www.nationalaglawcenter.org/crs/index.phtml#foodsafety

Tsunehiro Otsuki, John Wilson, Mirvat Sewadeh, “Saving two in a billion: A

case study to quantify the trade effects of European food safety standards on
African Exports,” World Bank, DECRG, 2001.
http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTRANETTRADE/Resources/Topics/aflatoxi
ns.pdf

Class 25: November 26

Fast Food
How is fast food taxed and regulated in the United States and Europe?
What role is fast food playing in East Asia?

Readings:

Lisa Young and Marion Nestle, 2007. “Portion Sizes and Obesity: Responses of
Fast-Food Companies,” Journal of Public Health Policy. Available on JSTOR

James Watson, 2000. “China’s Big Mac Attack,” Foreign Affairs. Available on
JSTOR

Class 26: December 3

Organic and Local Food:
What drives current preferences for organic, local, and slow food?

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 Should government policies promote organic, local, and slow food?

Readings:

Paarlberg, Food Politics, Chapter 12

Speech by HRH the Prince of Wales, Georgetown University, May 2011.

http://www.princeofwales.gov.uk/speechesandarticles/a_speech_by_hrh_the_prin
ce_of_wales_to_the_future_for_food_c_848967946.html

Ari Levaux, “The War Between Conventional and Organic Misses the Point,”
Atlantic.com, http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/05/the-war-
between-organic-and-conventional-farming-misses-the-point/257140/ For
complete article: Verena Seufert, Navin Ramankutty & Jonathan A. Foley,
“Comparing the yields of organic and conventional agriculture,” Nature 485, 229–
232 (10 May 2012).

USDA, “Local Food Systems: Concepts, Impacts, and Issues,” ERS Report 97,
May 2010.

Background: UNEP and UNCTAD, Organic Agriculture and Food Security in

Africa, http://unctad.org/en/docs/ditcted200715_en.pdf

Class 27: December 5

Conclusion

Paarlberg, Food Politics, Chapter 15

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