Icelandic volcano displays our vulnerability related to the World Economy

Over the last few days we have seen displayed the fragility of our modern World Economy. Constantly we are told how small our world has become and how much smaller it will continue to become in the future. We are told that the World is being brought to us and laid at our feet. But, now we can see that we are still in the primitive stages of this modern World economy due to the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull, the Icelandic Volcano that has brought air travel to a standstill along the North Atlantic air route.

Michael Tarm of the Associated Press has written some excellent articles for the Associated Press which tells the tale of the costly effects of this natural event - Volcanic cloud casts long shadow over US travel & Volcano illustrates world's interconnectedness Many in the travel industry on Thursday weren't asking if they would be affected — but how badly. Passengers could be stranded for days.

The fallout from the ash cloud looming over Europe illustrates just how interconnected our world has become. Thousands of planes fly millions of passengers and tons of cargo each day, providing the economic lifeblood of nations and businesses. The flights deliver products for sale or items as small as a specialized tool that lets a factory keep operating. The planes also bring medicines to hospitals and food aid to earthquake or hurricane victims. And they bring war and peace. Soldiers are often transported to and from hot spots by air.
This event is effecting flower shipments to America from the Netherlands, which should be beginning its peak commercial season here and the event is inhibiting Seafood purveyors from being able to obtain Fresh Salmon from Norway, Scotland, the British Shetland Islands and Iceland. This is a very important staple of many American restaurants, which could effect price and availability.
Lately, we have seen many vulnerabilities brought to bare by the World Trade System. How many of you have noticed that many restaurants have cut back on serving tomatoes or the price increase in grocery stores due to the Shortage of Tomatoes being produced in Florida - (WSJ - 3/3/2010). The cold temperatures in January destroyed roughly 70% of the tomato crop in Florida, which is the largest source of U.S.-grown fresh tomatoes this time of year.
Florida growers worry that they will have permanently lost even more market share to Mexican-grown tomatoes. According to the U.S. Agriculture Department, about one-third of fresh vegetables such as tomatoes, bell peppers and sweet corn consumed in the U.S. this time of year come from Florida farms. About two-thirds of this type of produce is imported, and most of that is from Mexico. In recent weeks, weekly vegetable shipments from Mexico to the U.S. have soared by as much as 50% over year-ago levels, according to the USDA.
There is also an agricultural problem related to imports from Chile - (Damage Threatens Chile's Agricultural Exports - Dow Jones Newswire - 3/2/2010). Chile is among the world's larger exporters of commodities such as grapes, seafood and forestry products. It is the top supplier of table grapes to the U.S., the world's second-largest exporter of avocados and salmon, and the biggest producer of blueberries in South America. Chile's wine sector has been affected as the earthquake hit the center-south region of the country the hardest--the heart of the wine-making region. As for fresh fruit, grapes hold the largest export value to Chile and the earthquake comes at the peak of the harvest.
Over the last decade, we have been moving from a system of ancillary cultural food based demand to a system where we are heading towards relying on foreign nations to supply us with many of our staple food needs. Here is an article about the U.S. possibly allowing beef imports from Brazil. The beef was originally banned because of Foot and Mouth disease that was present in Brazilian cattle , along with a host of other problems. McDonald's is already importing beef from South America.
Here is an article, from February 2008, that shows the amount of United States Food that is imported. The latest stats from the article show that 15% 0f our food volume came from imports, but it was only 6% of the total food value. An interesting statistic from the article shows that 79% of our fish and shellfish are imported. I believe the relationship between volume and value obviously shows that we import food because it is cheap, even if we are importing many foods that are indigenous to specific parts of the world.
The following article from the Chicago Sun Times from July 2008 entitled It's from where? Food imports growing goes into full detail about food importation. The main thrust of the article involves food safety. The article states that the food importation trend could be worrisome for consumers, given recent scares over tainted toothpaste, lead-paint toys and adulterated drugs from China. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which regulates all food imports, except meat (that's handled by the U.S. Department of Agriculture), inspects less than 1 percent of the food coming into the United States, said Michael Herndon, a spokesman for the agency. The agency mainly tracks where the food is coming from and where's it's headed, he said.
What the Hound is getting at: The World "Free For All" trading system is leaving us vulnerable in many ways. I know that it was great when this system offered us availability of food commodities that we would otherwise not have had access to. Think kiwi fruit from New Zealand, Coconuts and Pineapples, Exotic Seafood, etc. There are many food items that are available now that weren't available when I was a child in the 1970s.

What we are seeing is that the importation of perishable, consumable commodities like food leave us vulnerable due to many combinations of variables including weather, natural disasters, transportation costs, sanitation concerns, tariffs, currency exchange rates, and foreign relations. These factors that affect the price and availability of commodities will not go away. We must make sure that we never allow ourselves to become too dependent on other nations for these necessities of life.

In my opinion, the closer our food supply resides to where we live, the better off we will be. I really believe in buying local when it comes to food. Support local farmers, farmer's markets, and locally owned restaurants. As a community we need to develop these supportive ties that can help our local food industries thrive. We need to move away from corporate processed food. We live in a wonderful climate for agriculture. We have a wonderful growing season. People need to take advantage of the possibilities that are presented to us.

We are interconnected, because of the technology of this modern world, but we cannot afford to take this World as we know it for granted. Doesn't the Icelandic Volcano show how life can change in an instant? And show that this isn't such a small World after all.

Think of the questions that revolve around the variables. What if there are weather or natural disaster events that interrupt availability of commodities? What if there are issues with the costs of petroleum based transportation? What do we do when we see that imported items aren't meeting proper sanitation safety guidelines? How do we deal with countries who are practicing unfair trade policies? What do we do if the dollar tanks causing imported commodities to skyrocket? What do we do if we have foreign relation issues with a country that we have grown heavily dependent on?

Can't you see? There must be a balance between interdependence and independence!