[P2P-F] political control via enclosure : "food"

Sat Mar 26 17:38:53 CET 2011

I would be interested in reading some article comparing food related

"land enclosure" vs "gene enclosure"
( + "monetised market" enclosure on food ? )

who in my current view ,
in addition to the direct monetary gains made by capitalists,
both have deep potential economic and political impact in favor of the
capitalist mode of "control" on populations,
by taking control on food production;

Directly and indirectly :

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Goliath_and_David:_Monsanto's_Legal_Battles_against_Farmers

http://www.truth-out.org/farmers-sue-usda-over-monsanto-alfalfa-again68656

As far as I remember reading,
capitalist "land enclosure" has had dramatic impact on various societies.

such as
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highland_Clearances

Sometimes ( usually ? ) forced movement of people into cities,
where capitalists needed populations to work in industries,
industries on which such labor became dependent for survival - as it lost
the potential to grow its food on its own land.

How is the ownership of current arable land distributed ?
In the United States ? In Europe ? On other continents ?

And of the arable land that is owned by small producers,
how much do they produce and of what :
- what part of it is organic food ?
- is it more expensive , and if so, how much more ?
- bought by whom ?

What is the current "measurable" risk of monopoly on food production ?
And of this measurable monopoly risk on food access safety,
what are the risks inherent to :

- ( dependency on ) *finance *
( as seen when sudden increase of price of crops due to financial
speculation - link -  <goog_1229533413>Goldman Sachs makes $1 billion profit
on food price speculation<http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_round_up/542538/goldman_sachs_makes_1_billion_profit_on_food_price_speculation.html>)
- gene ownership
- land ownership

// What legal propositions could be made to support and empower further
"food safety" ?

// What tools could be used to visualize ( economic, political, ecological,
social , ... )
impact of consumer choices on food related ecosystems ?

What happens in the case monopolists decide to "create" a - food - crisis,
to gain political control ?
How many people, in the current, and potential near future, could die of
malnutrition due to dependency on monopolist food producing systems ?

How many people are dying in this present moment, due to artificially
created famine ? ...due to monetisation / monetised market monopoly on
access to food - or potential food production ?

http://www.wfp.org/hunger/stats

Past example in an area with ample food production :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holodomor
*
*
*was a man-made famine in the Ukrainian
SSR<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukrainian_Soviet_Socialist_Republic>,
part of the Soviet famine of
1932–1933<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_famine_of_1932%E2%80%931933>.
During the famine, which is also known as the "terror-famine in Ukraine" and
"famine-genocide in
Ukraine",[1]<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holodomor#cite_note-0>
[2] <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holodomor#cite_note-1>[3]<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holodomor#cite_note-2>
millions
of Ukrainians died of starvation in a peacetime catastrophe unprecedented in
the history of Ukraine <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Ukraine>.*
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