An oil dependent economy - Research Paper Example

An oil dependent economy An oil dependent economy has created a trend toward a new way of living within the United States. As we see the prices of oil and gas rise steadily; we also see a trend toward a new way of living that will have a dominant impact on world food security. Lester Brown, President of the Earth Policy Institute states, “The prospect of peaking oil production has direct consequences for world food security, as modern agriculture depends heavily on the use of fossil fuels.” Modern agriculture depends heavily on fossil fuels to operate the heavy machinery necessary to take the worlds supply of food from a beginning, on the farm, to its end, in the hands of the consumer. Brown points out many aspects in his article to support the fact that the rising cost of fossil energy is driving the American economy back into its local communities. Every product produced that ends up in the hands of the consumer is directly effected by the use of fossil fuels. Past decades of inexpensive oil has created this dependency which in turn has given rise to the way our society lives. There is virtually no limit to the distance that food can travel to the consumer. Many of the products that we consume daily travel from China, an emerging country, also, have seen a growing dependency on fossil fuels. In their effort to become more capitalistic, backward agricultural methods have been replaced with modern machinery dependent on oil. Dependency on oil not only creates higher cost in food; it also creates a constant flow of filthy air back into the environment. Therefore, with these notable factors, should the government make policies that drive the consumer back toward the local economy? It’s a question of individual initiative in most instances, but most of us look to the government for guidance just as a child looks to its parents. Should the government be involved at all in the daily lives of the consumer? Policy is not treated in the same fashion, as are laws. Policies put forth to a society as a whole give suggestions and positive influences that are more readily accepted by the majority. A policy is a more tactful way of achieving an end result without the rigors of law. Consider our food safety! Where do our foods originate? What are the safety factors involved in transporting foods from such long distances? What are the positive factors of focusing more on local grown foods? The Food and Water Watch states, “Our current food system is broken, and it didn’t happen by accident.” The Fair Farm Bill works to bring positive aspects, changes, and upgrades when needed. It also promotes the local food movement, pointing out that locally grown foods are more accessible, healthful, tasty, and help local communities prosper. As local communities prosper, it brings the economic living standards back to an acceptable quality of life. The current food system consists of large monopolies formed primarily to sustain themselves economically due to rising cost of fuels and other expenses. Farmers have been forced to merge with others into large conglomerates, which have not been a positive factor for the consumer in producing quality, healthy, and fresh foods. Foods that are produced in other countries do not have the same health standards supported by the policies of the United States. The merger era also destabilized pricing. Pricing in any industry normally fluctuates by supply and demand. Large conglomerates monopolize the market creating their own pricing structures, but questionable inferior quality foods. Smaller local food entities focus more on quality vs. quantity. Competition is what drives any capitalistic society to improve on what now exists. In order for local small business to exist, there must be a breakdown of the large conglomerates. A competitive atmosphere fuels more business, better quality, and lower pricing; which will be passed to the local communities giving easy access to more quality and affordable foods. China has become a giant in importing products to the United States. An overwhelming percentage of consumer staples are imported from China. The United States has laws that stipulate in detail what can and cannot be done as far as producing any type of product in this country. Other countries do not have the same standards of production and sometimes produce inferior products. Richard Dwyer states, “China’s yuan policy is that Chinese goods are not as good as they could be. The artificial price discount caused by the suppressed, cheapened currency level gives the goods a comparative advantage on price.” Oblivious to the American consumer, we buy Chinese product everyday, everything from food products, electronics, manufactured goods and clothing, unaware of their quality. The typical American family has been forced to consider the pricing first and quality second. If China discontinues “price tampering” as Dwyer calls it; China would be forced to change the way business is conducted with the United States. Inferior products would no longer be accepted; they would be forced to innovate in order to compete with superior products. This is not only true in the US; it would also give a fair advantage to other countries that have products that can be sold at a lower price. They cannot possibly compete on pricing. Who loses? The consumer in many areas, inferior products, limited access to higher quality products due to low demand, and stagnation of technology. A simple change in our foreign business policies would drive consumers to seek out better quality products in their own local markets. The global warming movement constantly promotes a policy of “going green”. In a quote in the article Going Green on Delmarva, “Large-scale chemical agriculture is poisoning our soils and our water, and weakening our communities.” This was quoted within this article from the farm-database web site localharvest.org. “By buying organic produce from your local farmer, you are working to maintain a healthy environment, a vibrant community, and a strong and sustainable local economy for you and your kids to thrive in.” A new concept in community farming is CSA, community supported agriculture. It allows locals to buy shares in a farm or several farms. The local community is encouraged to volunteer at the farms and at the end of the season the community comes together to share the fruits of their labors. Bringing the community and families together for social stimulation, is a rare commodity in this day and time. This concept could totally change the CSA to; agricultural supported communities working hand in hand to support each other. Covering the key points supporting local organic farming is our most precious natural resource, water. The United States tends to be a very wasteful nation. It has become a second nature convenience to turn the faucet and let it run not concerned about the consequences. Will water resources always be available? There are already local policies in place to preserve precious resources when needed. We constantly deal with oil disasters, nuclear power threats that have already or may affect our wildlife and food sources. Water is the only sustainable factor that makes it imperative that local policies be formulated, if not already in place, maintained and observed for the sole preservation of life on this continent. Loyalty plays an important role in how we see our future, our obligations to our environment, our country, our people, and how we will sustain our quality of life for the next generation. Through loyalty to our country, our local communities, our families and government we will obtain the confidence and common sense to hopefully establish policies that will benefit our nation as a whole through the evolving of smaller local entities that cement the values our forefathers gave us. I have covered five key points to support the contention that government should create policies that make buying locally more appealing; these are preventing environmental decline through a dependency on oil, food safety, inferior products, going green with organic farming, and supporting local communities through business and competition. This in turn will lead to better jobs and wages, thriving communities, public benefits for the local economy including government and decision making, and local character and diversity. Entrepreneurs, who have the confidence to share their innovations, by establishing the groundwork for moving low wage earners into a higher class, will compliment diversity. And finally, as the population moves more into smaller communities and towns the environment will be sustained by local more efficient stores, walk accessible town centers, less automobile usage, and a good quality air and water. Entire Website Brown, Lester, “The Oil Intensity of Food.” The Oil Drum. 4 July 2009. Web. 30 April 2011. . Food & Water Watch: “The Farm Bill: Better Food Starts Here.” Web. 30 April 2011. . Dwyer, Richard, “China’s Currency Tampering May Hurt Consumers.” Seeking Alpha. 18 October 2010. Web 30 April 2011. . Going Green on Delmarva. “Community reaping benefits of local CSAs.” Web. 30 April 2011. . The Program of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. “Why Support Locally Owned Businesses?.” Web. 30 April 2011. . Read More