Whose rules rule?

Think global

Act local, national regional and global

Plan inter-generationalGeoff Tansey

www.tansey.org.uk

FDIN, 16 Apr 08

Beyond Terror - the truth about the real threats to our world

• Climate change

• Competition over resources

• Marginalisation of the majority world

• Global militarisation

Abbott, Rogers and Sloboda, Oxford Research Group,Rider / Random House, 2007

Lang’s fundamentals

• Commodity prices• Climate change• Fuel / oil/ energy• Water• Land use / biofuels• Labour• Demographics / affluence• Health/Nutrition transition

Pingali: core points

• PROBLEMS• Rapid urbanisation• Globalisation• Information /

communication technologies

• Rising food and energy prices

• Climate change

• SOLUTIONS• Empower communities• Empower local

governments• Transparency and

accountability• Democracy at all levels• Protect from climate

change

Global rules and

See: www.tansey. org.uk

1990s - global food rules change

• Convention on Biological Diversity (UN)– conserve, sustain, share benefits

• International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (UN)– Farmers’ Rights, IPRs, sharing benefits

• World Trade Organisation– Trade liberalisation, agriculture, TRIPS, SPS

Thanks: Food Ethics Council

Global rules, local needs

• Democratic deficit

• Complexity and coercion

• Which and whose future is enhanced?– Collapse, techno-dominance, ecological balance,

bifurcation

• Power

• Control

• Risk

• Benefits

Food System actors

• Input suppliers• Farmers• Traders• Workers• Processors / manufacturers• Wholesalers / retailers• Caterers• Consumers / citizens

Food system basics

• Biological - ecological

• History

• Human needs– physiological– psychological– social– cultural

Limited demand

• Increased competition

• Technology

• Increased productivity

• Diversification

Key trends

• Economic Concentration

• Global markets

• Control

Tools for control

• Science

• Technology

• Information

• Management

• Laws, rules, regulations

Changing dynamics

• New country groupings - G-20

• Expanding IP regime - TRIPS-plus

• Greater concern and interest

• Global NGO networks

• Media interest

• Health and equity concerns

Legal fictions - meeting whose needs?

• Conservative, protectionist response to new knowledge and technical change

• Going which way?– Open access, distributed innovation, ecologically supportive or

the pharma model

• Inhibits necessary local / institutional / social / economic innovation