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The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), designed to establish and enforce food-safety standards for foods from domestic and foreign origins, focuses federal regulation on the prevention of food contamination. Many concerns have been expressed about how FSMA-compliance costs will affect the economic viability of very small and small farms, which have higher average compliance costs than do larger farms, thus marginalizing their ability to compete in the marketplace. The purpose of this study is to estimate how FSMA will affect differently sized US and international tomato producers in the fresh-tomato industry. A simulation approach is applied for changes of quantities demanded, revenues, and profits for differently sized farms based on elasticities estimated using a differential approach. Our findings indicate that both domestic and foreign tomato producers with both very small and small farms are expected to see significant losses in profit after the adoption of FSMA. The practical implications of these findings are that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) should be aware of, be concerned about, and take into consideration the adverse consequences of their regulatory decisions on food prices, food-industry costs, the structure of the food industry, and product diversity. In essence, the FDA needs to strike a balance between food safety (the primary objective of FSMA) and market performance.

A similarity index of maximum residue level (MRL) regulations is introduced into a variable elasticity of substitution (VES) model to analyze the impacts of MRL regulation similarity on trade flows and social welfare. We specially consider the situation where the requirements set by the importing country are stricter than those of the exporting country. We find that the more similar the MRL regulation between trading partners is, the more substitutable their goods are, and for the consumers that have home preferences for domestic goods, they prefer the imported goods that are more similar to the domestic goods. Our results also show that if the developing countries upward harmonized their MRL standards to developed countries, their exports would expand.

The provision of food is a critical starting point from which to understand the articulations between production and consumption locales. In research carried in Northeastern Brazil, we have found that increasingly local spaces of production and distribution of food are under tight control by external (retailer) regulations. From the choosing of plots, to land uses, to labour contracting, to cultural, environmental and packing practices, there is much evidence that food quality is an issue under view. On the other, there are widely known concerns about food safety and food security, which, in the Brazilian case, is shown through Hunger Zero – a governmental project to alleviate poverty. In this chapter, I will argue for the relevance of exploring the dynamics of food by looking at local markets, agricultural and supermarkets units, government and labour strategies, as developed in the Northeastern region. Based on case studies and related literature, the argument is that the distribution of food around the world is very much a combination of transnational corporations actions and local development strategies; and without exploring the possible contradiction here, it would not be possible to understand how packing houses, state distribution units as well as agricultural and retailer distribution units would come into the local development agenda, contributing to the making of quality food to the world's consumers. Several case studies developed by our team of researchers will illuminate the analyses.

While organization theories acknowledge the influence of specific assets on dependence and increasingly represent the latter as a structure of mutual dependence (dependence of A on B and dependence of B on A), there is, to the best of our knowledge, no empirical test concerning the impact of specific assets on a structure of dependence. Our chapter aims to fill this gap. It is all the more original in that it considers a case study where dependence changes sides according to the characteristics of the transaction. We examine the dependence between Chilean exporters and European importers when trading fresh produce. Such dependence originates with the need for just-in-time coordination and compliance with a compelling demand in a context of high price uncertainty.

Using a unique dataset from international trade in fresh produce between Chile and the rest of the world, we justify the use of a concentration sales ratio as a proxy for dependence and test the influence of a variety of specific assets on the side of dependence by using both categorical and dimensional approaches. Original findings show that certain transaction attributes have a strong influence on the side of dependence. In particular, the higher the frequency and the level of specific assets such as volume, niche varieties, and joint sales with other products, in the transaction, the greater the likelihood of a higher ratio of dependence for the importer rather than the exporter. Conversely, in the event of low levels of specific assets and less frequent operations, dependence tends to be greater on the side of the exporter.

The CANAMEX Trade Corridor plays an important role in routing food supplies for fresh fruits, vegetables, fish, and meats in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Over 400,000 trucks per annum travel this north-south corridor. Industries, consumers, and federal agencies cooperate to make sure food safety and food security works for all participants.

This chapter outlines the underlying factors in North American food supply efforts and highlights some of the disputes and settlements that constitute an important part of the North American food safety system.

Along the CANAMEX Trade Corridor cooperative efforts are being made by all three nations to improve the food safety and food security system for North America. Food safety and food security information is provided in three major languages (English, French, and Spanish) and in over 50 Native American languages.

The modal view of trade in the CANAMEX Trade Corridor shows that 75% of goods move by truck, 18% by rail, and 7% by air (United States Department of Transportation. (2001). US international trade and freight transportation trends. Washington, DC: US Department of Transportation). As border security and food safety/security technology issues heighten, CANAMEX becomes increasingly important in NAFTA negotiations.

The chapter identifies key components of the new patterns of farming and rural livelihoods emerging in Latin America in the twenty-first century. By the beginning of the millennium, most rural areas of Latin America had become integrated into global agricultural commodity networks that curtail the opportunities for small-scale, family-based farming and result in two predominant types of production, the corporate large-scale enterprise suited to oils seeds and their derivatives, cattle or vegetables for processing and the smaller commercially oriented farm producing market garden products, fruits and wine. Both types of farms often form part of commodity networks organized by domestic intermediaries, large-scale supermarket chains, such as Wal-Mart and Carrefour, and foreign food marketers. In addition to the multiplication of external commercial linkages, high levels of urbanization have increasingly blurred the distinction between the rural and the urban. Off-farm work, including international labor migration, is now an important source of rural livelihoods. This context means that research needs to address the multiple interfaces that now connect the different types of rural inhabitants with a wide range of external actors.

In The Changing Body (Cambridge University Press and NBER, 2011), we presented a series of estimates showing the number of calories available for human consumption in England and Wales at various points in time between 1700 and 1909/1913. We now seek to correct an error in our original figures and to compare the corrected figures with those published by a range of other authors. We also include new estimates showing the calorific value of meat and grains imported from Ireland. Disagreements with other authors reflect differences over a number of issues, including the amount of land under cultivation, the extraction and wastage rates for cereals and pulses and the number of animals supplying meat and dairy products. We consider recent attempts to achieve a compromise between these estimates and challenge claims that there was a dramatic reduction in either food availability or the average height of birth cohorts in the late-eighteenth century.

Internet + and Electronic Business in China is a comprehensive resource that provides insight and analysis into E-commerce in China and how it has revolutionized and continues to revolutionize business and society. Split into four distinct sections, the book first lays out the theoretical foundations and fundamental concepts of E-Business before moving on to look at internet+ innovation models and their applications in different industries such as agriculture, finance and commerce. The book then provides a comprehensive analysis of E-business platforms and their applications in China before finishing with four comprehensive case studies of major E-business projects, providing readers with successful examples of implementing E-Business entrepreneurship projects.

Internet + and Electronic Business in China is a comprehensive resource that provides insights and analysis into how E-commerce has revolutionized and continues to revolutionize business and society in China.

One of the most heated discussions regarding Brexit is over the nature of any future trade deal the UK is going to sign with the EU. There have been endless discussions since the referendum result about this crucial aspect question and nothing has been so far agreed. Some analysts, however, have already pointed to a series of issues that anything different from the status quo could cause. The case analysed in the following pages serves as a cautionary tale, and there is an important reason for that. It is a good illustration of the issues that can emerge when countries are members of some forms of regional associations but not of others and whose consequences can produce spill-overs from pure trade matters to more serious security concerns.

It is not very often that something as common as the import and export of agricultural products – especially non-exotic fruits and vegetables – becomes the object of such a dispute across multiple states. This is what happened in the now infamous case of Chinese garlic exports, which have seen several instances of smuggling, conviction, and fraud all over Europe in the last 20 years. Most incidents have taken place in Northern Europe, particularly Sweden, Norway, the UK and Ireland. There's a reason for that, which will be explained below.