Search results

While genetically modified (GM) crops have provided tremendous agricultural productivity gains, many consumers oppose GM products and maintain they are unsafe. We use the case of GM sugar beets and their adoption by the US producers to examine the implications of GM technology on food security. A partial equilibrium framework is used to examine the implications of GM technology on food security. This analysis provides a unique opportunity to examine the impact of GM adoption in one product (sugar beets) relative to non-GM adoption in a substitute product (sugarcane). This analysis examines the potential gains to food security through the adoption of biotechnology versus consumer fear of GM technology. Research and development (R&D) has potential implications not only through its impact on supply, but also on demand as well. This study shows that demand impacts can negate the supply-induced food security gains of R&D. Regulations such as mandatory labeling requirements can impact this outcome.

The importance of high value products as a component of United States agricultural output has increased significantly in recent years. Moreover, high value products as a percentage of U.S. agricultural exports have also risen (Burfisher and Missiaen, 1990). Given these trends, it is not surprising that agribusiness competitiveness has become a topic of much discussion in both the popular press and in academic literature. Its importance is also evidenced by initiatives set forth by the Western Regional Coordinating Committee on Agribusiness Research Emphasizing Competitiveness and the International Agricultural Trade Research Consortium symposium Competitiveness in International Food Markets. More recently, the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges' Board on Agriculture endorsed the Agricultural Competitiveness Initiative (ACI). This initiative calls on land‐grant universities to consider new paradigms for conducting research, extension, and teaching on the issue of U.S. agricultural competitiveness.

The purpose of this analysis is to determine the impact of various factors, including population growth, income growth, and research and development on food security. This chapter also seeks to better understand the role of relative food prices in consumers’ selection of foods to meet their nutritional needs.

We utilize a welfare economic framework to provide a theoretical examination of the impact of various factors (including income growth, population growth, and research and development) on food security among the poor. A minimum nutritional diet is specified as a baseline for the evaluation of these scenarios.

Scenarios show the impacts that income, population growth, and research and development have on food security through their price and quantity impacts. Also, we highlight the difficulty in formulating an optimal diet that meets the recommended dietary requirements for only calories and protein, as different foods contain calories, proteins, and micronutrients in differing proportions. This indicates that changes in relative food prices will often alter consumers’ nutrient intake with respect to the minimum nutritional diet.

Research and development is critical in guaranteeing food availability. Trade-based, production-based, and own-labor entitlements are key factors in determining food security. Consumption subsidies and income supplements can be used to assist those who do not have entitlements sufficient to meet their minimum nutritional diet.

We discuss food security within the context of welfare economics. We review models of commodity price stabilization brought about by government storage, and/or the private sector. We use data on the stocks of major commodities to discuss the implications of storage models on food security.

The impact of storage on food security is discussed within the context of welfare economics.

Storage is not necessarily a solution to solving long-term world food problems. Also, at times in history, countries such as the United States have accumulated large stocks of commodities such as wheat, which turned out to be a costly policy.

While food insecurity is a major issue worldwide, the solution does not entirely lie in governments being heavily involved in managing and owning food stocks. The private sector manages stocks as a part of commercial transactions. The government’s role is to provide food from stockholdings in times of emergency situations.

In this chapter the development of new sugarcane varieties in Florida and Louisiana is examined, along with the accompanying advancement in mechanization technology through the widespread adoption of sugarcane harvesters. An econometric analysis is carried out to determine the impact of the price of raw sugar on raw-sugar yields in Louisiana and Florida. This study found that in the case of Louisiana, the 3-year lagged US raw-sugar price had a positive and significant impact on sugar yields. The change in raw-sugar prices did not have a significant impact on sugar yields for the Florida industry. Sugar production has increased over time, in part, due to the development of new sugarcane varieties accompanied by modern sugarcane harvesters. Given the relationship between price and yield, particularly in Louisiana, policy makers and producers must be mindful of the potential impact of policy-induced research and development (R&D) on the competitiveness of their industry.

No matter what the organization's activity, or country, the better the decisions of its managers and leaders, the more likely that the organization will thrive.