May 2009
55 posts
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Rice: Thailand farmers and globalization
Globalization makes the world smaller and affects people’s lives in many aspects. With the fast development of information technology (IT), our way of life has changed drastically. IT has markedly changed our way of life, economics, society, and policy worldwide. Every country has to prepare itself to cope with this change. Besides IT development, the World Trade Organization (WTO), which aims to...
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Rice & Globalization
Today, for many people in the world, rice is the basic food.
It is known that rice is traditional Chinese food, which first was cultivated in Asian countries. But today, it is considered as an international food, which covers about 81 000 000 hectares around the world. Because of globalization processes, rice became an international product. This product was chosen because it helps to...
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French Chefs “Invent” Food-free Cooking →
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'Israeli oranges' faked in China →
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Rice: Different cooking ways
There are many varieties of rice; for many purposes the main distinction is between long- and medium-grain rice. The grains of long-grain rice (high amylose) tend to remain intact after cooking; medium-grain rice (high amylopectin) becomes more sticky. Medium-grain rice is used for sweet dishes, and for risotto and many Spanish dishes. Rice is cooked by boiling or steaming, and absorbs water...
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Oranges: Introduction
An orange—specifically, the sweet orange—is the citrus Citrus sinensis (syn. Citrus aurantium L. var. dulcis L., or Citrus aurantium Risso) and its fruit. The orange is a hybrid of ancient cultivated origin, possibly between pomelo (Citrus maxima) and tangerine (Citrus reticulata). It is a small flowering tree growing to about 10 m tall with evergreen leaves, which are arranged alternately,...
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WatchSalt Patterns
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“Let there be work, bread, water and salt for all”
– Nelson Mandela
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Independent Lens: King Corn →
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Maize: Environment
While corn has transformed modern agriculture in many ways, its environmental impacts are particularly pressing in two areas, biofuels and plastics.
Biofuel Hype
Corn has been recently touted as a possible saviour to our global environmental woes, but don’t believe the hype. According to recent studies at universities in the US, corn is not a sustainable biofuel.
A study by Cornell...
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Maize: Further Reading
The Story of Corn
Corn and Capitalism: How a Botanical Bastard Grew to Global Dominance
Corn: Origin, History, Technology, Production
Histories of Maize: Multidisciplinary Approaches to the Prehistory, Linguistics, Biogeography, Domestication, and Evolution of Maize
Maize and Grace: Africa’s Encounter with a New World Crop, 1500-2000
Maize Genetics and Breeding in the 20th Century
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Banana: Introduction
Banana is the common name for a type of fruit and also the herbaceous plants of the genus Musa which produce this commonly eaten fruit. They are native to the tropical region of Southeast Asia. Bananas are likely to have been first domesticated in Papua New Guinea. Today, they are cultivated throughout the tropics.
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Salt: Introduction
Salt is found the ground and in the ocean. Evaporation is a key activity of salt mines, which are found in deposits throughout the world.
Salt is of course a key flavoring agent found in every cuisine, and is so ubiquitous, that it has been used as a vehicle for delivering iodine in recommended dosages in North America as well as other regions. While salt has historically been an element in...
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Salt: Health
It was back in the 1960s that physicians first made the connection between salt and high blood pressure, and cutting salt intake has been a staple advisory from family doctors ever since. High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, has been identified as a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke.
Today, more than 65 million Americans are at risk with high blood pressure and 59 million...
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WatchThe War on Salt as reported by CNN
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Salt: Further Reading
Salt: A World History
The Story of Salt
Salt: Your Way to Health
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Introduction: Potatoes
The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuverosum of the Solanaceae family. The world potato may refer to the plant itself as well. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species. Potatoes are the world’s fourth largest food crop, following rice, wheat and maize.
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Maize: Introduction
Maize, called corn in the US and Canada, is one of the most widely produced crops in the world, with the US Department of Agriculture reporting 332 million metric tons produced annually in the United States alone. Originally found in Mexico, maize has proven incredibly versatile and hardy in spreading across North America and the world. According to the Global Crop Diversity Trust, maize is now...
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Rice: History of domestication & cultivation
Asia
Rice has been cultivated in Asia likely over 10,000 years.
Main article: Oryza sativa#History of domestication & cultivation
Africa
African rice has been cultivated for 3500 years. Between 1500 and 800 BC, O. glaberrima propagated from its original centre, the Niger River delta, and extended to Senegal. However, it never developed far from its original region. Its cultivation even...
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Rice introduction
Rice is the seed of the monocot plant Oryza sativa, of the grass family (Poaceae). As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world’s human population, especially in tropical Latin America, the West Indies, East, South and Southeast Asia. It is the grain with the second highest worldwide production, after maize (“corn”). Since a large portion...
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Coffee: Introduction
One of the most popular beverages globally, coffee is drunk in practically every corner of the world. It is a brewed beverage prepared from roasted seeds, and coffee bushes are cultivated in Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Africa.
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Coffee: History
The history of coffee provides us with evidence that the flows of goods, tastes, money, and ideas that we think of as globalization is not a recent phenomenon. First discovered in the ninth century in Ethiopia, coffee gradually spread to the rest of the world, first to Egypt and Yemen, and by the 15th century, to Azerbaijan, Persia, Turkey, and northern Africa. From the Muslim world, coffee spread...
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Coffee: Markets
Despite its status as a leading export crop, coffee production has faced many challenges under recent economic structures, and is a case study for understanding how incorporating globalization into the economic picture has complicated our understanding of traditional markets. According to a recent anthology of studies of the global coffee economy, economic analyses of coffee can no longer be...
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Coffee: Local Influence
A study of farmer participation in coffee exporting countries finds that there are many degrees of private sector participation in coffee regulatory bodies across coffee exporting countries. In Colombia, farmers are completely in charge of the regulatory process. But this is not the case in most countries. The Indian Coffee Board is composed of roughly one-third government representatives and...
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Coffee: Further Reading
Uncommon Grounds The History Of Coffee And How It Transformed Our World
Coffee: A Dark History
The Coffee Paradox: Global Markets, Commodity Trade and the Elusive Promise of Development
Grounds for Agreement: The Political Economy of the Coffee Commodity Chain
Fair Trade: The Challenges of Transforming Globalization
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Tuna: Introduction
Tuna make up several species of ocean-dwelling cold water fish and live in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, migrating to other areas throughour the year. Tunas vary in size but are generally a large species. Common sizes for Bluefin tunas range from 15 inches to roughly 6.5 feet, while Yellowfin and Bigeye tunas reach a maximum length of about six feet. Albacore generally grow no longer than...
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Tuna: Consumption
In 2005, Japan consumed 78% of the fresh tuna. In 2004, the European Union led canned tuna consumption with 734,444 tons, followed by the U.S. with 445,847 tons. Combined, their consumption accounts for over 80% of the total global consumption of canned tuna.
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Tuna: Bycatch
Bycatch refers to the other species of fish and sea life that are caught unintentionally while fishing for a specific species. Fishing boats throw bycatch back into the sea, but often the turtles, dolphins, seabirds, and other fish are dead or dying when thrown back in. According to the BBC, on average, 27 million tons of unwanted fish is thrown back every year, and a quarter of all fish pulled...
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Tuna: Economy
In the Pacific region, the 14 independent countries and the eight dependent territories have very small populations and relatively large exclusive economic zones (EEZs) that encompass a huge swathe of the Pacific Ocean. Tuna fisheries are particularly important to many of these regions. A study on tuna fisheries published in The Journal of Economic Development states that in the Federated States...