The U.S. Interfaith Trade Justice Campaign believes that trade agreements must promote the right to food, sustainable agriculture, and greater self-reliance in developing countries to achieve not only food security but food sovereignty.

We have observed that large numbers of the world’s people mired in poverty, hunger, and disease. In the midst of growing disparities and injustices between and within countries, governments and international economic institutions have increasingly sought market-driven policies, particularly the expansion of international trade and investment. However, existing rules often contribute to more hunger in the world while favoring the interests of developed countries, especially the United States and its largest corporations.

Problems with the Current System:

Subsidies: In bilateral and regional trade agreements with the U.S. and at the WTO, impoverished countries are forced to cut subsidies for local producers, while the U.S. and other countries with large economies continue to subsidize grain production. Many countries no longer have the flexibility to support small farmers since they were forced to get rid of subsidies through World Bank and IMF structural adjustment programs and these support subsidies are now capped by the WTO. More than half the world's extremely poor people depend on farming or farm labor for their livelihoods, and millions of smallholder farmers are struggling to survive on less than $2 a day. Small farmers are being asked to compete with highly subsidized U.S. agribusinesses that over produce and sell grain at prices lower than the cost of production. When subsidized U.S. agricultural products are sold in impoverished countries, small farmers cannot compete with U.S. producers. Production slows and jobs are lost and in this way, countries with smaller economies lose their ability to guarantee access to safe and nutritious food to impoverished communities.

Import Duties: During the 1980s and 1990s, World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) structural adjustment programs required many countries to drastically cut duties on imported food. Consequently, imported products increased and poor farmers lost their markets at home. At the same time poor farmers in countries with small economies face many barriers (including infrastructure and tariffs) when they try to export their products to countries like the U.S. Slowed production and the resulting job loss contribute to countries’ inability to guarantee access to safe and nutritious food to poor communities.

Patents: The WTO Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights Agreement (TRIPs) allows international companies to secure patents on seeds. Small farmers that have developed and shared seeds for generations are threatened by this practice because patents promote private ownership as opposed to traditional and indigenous systems of sharing seeds and farming techniques on a community level. If seeds are successfully patented, small farmers could be prohibited from saving and exchanging seeds and may eventually be forced to buy seeds from companies and/or pay royalties for using particular seed varieties. Monopolies created by seed patenting play a role in reducing bio-diversity which can have a detrimental impact on the food security of farming communities when weather patterns change. Also, with the introduction of genetically modified crops, farmers in developing countries can become dependent on purchasing accompanying inputs such as fertilizers and pesticides.

We envision: Trade and investment relationships that ensure the development and well-being of people in all nations, and secure the earth’s natural environment in all its bounty and diversity for present and future generations. Trade and investment systems should safeguard the global commons, natural resources and place a high premium on sustainability.