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EDITORIAL: The tip of
the iceberg
Localized food scares that wind up having international implications have been
around for a while. The melamine scare in powdered milk, the various bovine
spongiform encephalopathy (commonly known as mad cow disease) scares and
numerous outbreaks of pathogens like E. coli in anything from peanut butter to
spinach have invariably started out locally ˇX in the US, China, UK or other
countries ˇX and then went global if those countries exported their tainted
goods. Taiwan now finds itself in the grips of a new scare owing to some
companiesˇ¦ illegal use of the chemical di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) in food
additives.
These scares, however serious they might be, distract public attention from a
bigger, more important and ultimately much more dire problem ˇX the complete
disappearance of food from the bowls and tables of millions of people worldwide.
In the midst of this latest food fiasco, the Taiwanese public was barely aware
of a recent report by the US charity Oxfam warning that the global food system
was stumbling toward a catastrophic breakdown. Taiwan might feel safely removed
from any potential lack of food with its numerous traditional wet markets,
supermarkets, hypermarts and its rice bowl agricultural zones, but it is just as
likely to feel the effect of the coming global food pinch as any other country.
Oxfam warned that in 20 years, global food prices would double because of food
price inflation, oil price hikes, misuse of land and water and creeping climate
change. As climate change picks up after 20 years, food prices are expected to
double again. At the same time, with rising populations around the world, demand
for food is expected to be 70 percent higher in 2050.
Taiwan is not safe from these global changes. Although Taiwan has traditionally
grown almost all the rice needed to meet domestic demand, that portion has been
decreasing since Taiwan joined the WTO in 2002, with WTO ascension depending on
Taiwan importing less expensive rice.
In the meantime, many Taiwanese have made the switch from rice to wheat, relying
on the imported grain for most of their caloric needs, even prompting the
administration of President Ma Ying-jeou (°¨^¤E) to initiate a campaign urging
people to go back to locally grown rice.
Plummeting self-sufficiency and rising food imports are not the only issues that
make Taiwan vulnerable to global food shocks. With the Ma administrationˇ¦s
outright emphasis on Asian Tiger-era industrial economic growth, farms that
could be used to shore up Taiwanˇ¦s food banks are either being polluted or
expropriated for large construction projects. Land that could be used to grow
rice is being used for more buildings to be sold as cookie-cutter real estate.
Water is another problem. Although Taiwan has dodged the bullet year after year
as typhoons replenished dangerously low reservoirs, leaky pipes and the
resulting huge amounts of wasted water make it likely that some day, fields will
dry up and precious food will be lost, especially because the electronics
industry is prioritized in water use.
The list goes on. As Taiwanˇ¦s population declines, there will be less people to
till the nationˇ¦s fields.
Taiwan is facing the perfect storm, despite its seeming smorgasbord of food.
Decreasing -self---reliance, misuse of land, waste of water and an aging
population all threaten Taiwanˇ¦s food supply. And as imported food becomes
increasingly expensive, who is to stop unscrupulous companies from saving money
by using illegal additives in manufactured food products?
Unless all these problems are addressed, Taiwanˇ¦s food scares will become a food
nightmare.
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