Scott Whiteford - Harvest of Want: Hunger and Food Security in Central America and Mexico

Conflict and Social Change Series

Series Editors
Scott Whiteford and William Derman
Michigan State University

Harvest of Want: Hunger and Food Security in Central America and Mexico, edited by Scott Whiteford and Anne E. Ferguson

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Hunger and Food Security in Central America and Mexico

Edited By
Scott Whiteford and
Anne E. Ferguson

First published 1991 by Westview Press, Inc.

Published 2018 by Routledge
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Harvest of want: hunger and food security in Central America and
Mexico / edited by Scott Whiteford and Anne E. Ferguson.
p. cm. (Conflict and social change series)
Includes index.
ISBN 0-8133-7986-5
1. Food supplyCentral America. 2. Food supplyMexico.
3. Nutrition policyCentral America. 4. Nutrition policyMexico.
I. Whiteford, Scott, 1942 II. Ferguson, Anne E.
III. Series.
HD9014.C462H37 1991
363.8'09728dc20 91-10878
CIP

ISBN 13: 978-0-367-01564-0 (hbk)

Scott Whiteford and Anne E. Ferguson

Wars, revolts, and revolutions have been fought in Central America and Mexico over access to land. This is not surprising given the richness of the land and the overwhelming importance of agriculture for export earnings, employment, and food availability in the region. Despite abundant arable land, skilled farmers, and a conducive climate, however, malnutrition is a major problem. Current estimates are that three out of four children in Central America are malnourished and that the percentage of these children is growing faster than is the population as a whole (Barry 1987, xiv). In Mexico by 1980 it was reported that "ninety percent of the rural population suffers from a severe deficiency of calories and protein; a quarter of the entire Mexican population subsists on farms 25 percent to 40 percent below recommended minimal levels" (Esteva 1983, 13), even though the country is a major producer of agricultural products.

The chapters in this book explore the broad range of social factors that play a role in creating this scale of hunger and malnutrition. These factors stem from national social and economic structures and power relationships, many of which originated during the colonial period. The concentration of power in the hands of a small number of elite families, in part a colonial legacy, has been challenged repeatedly in the region, but only in Mexico and Nicaragua have revolutions led to significant restructuring and broad-based land reforms.

The internal social and economic structures of countries in the region link these countries to the broader world system. As a result of the expansion of industrial capitalism in Europe and the United States, Central America and to a lesser degree, Mexico, were incorporated into the world system as primary producers of agricultural products. As we shall see, this legacy has been difficult to escape, even in countries such as Mexico and Nicaragua, which have undergone profound social and economic transformations during this century.

Conventional definitions of food security stress that enough food must be available to meet market demands without severe shortages or price fluctuations occurring. The issue of distributionwhether all groups in a society have access to sufficient foodis often side-stepped in discussions of food security. As Barraclough and Utting (1987, 3) contend, however, the capacity to make food available to the whole population is an important component in the food-security equation. Other traits of a secure food system include autonomy, reliability, and sustainability. Such a system should have the autonomy necessary to reduce vulnerability to market fluctuations and external political pressures. It should also be reliable in the sense that it is able to buffer fluctuations in food production, imports, storage, and distribution caused by weather, changes in pricing structures, import capacity, and the like. Finally, a secure food system should be sustainable in that soils and other aspects of the natural ecosystem are preserved rather than depleted (Barraclough and Scott 1987). As we shall see, food systems in most Central American countries are profoundly lacking in these elements.

Two points concerning food security deserve initial consideration. First, although declines in per capita food production in the Central American and Caribbean region have occurred in the past decade, generally speaking sufficient food could be produced, or acquired, to meet the nutritional needs of the population. The contributors to this volume demonstrate how hunger and malnutrition may exist simultaneously with growth in agricultural production, especially if this output is destined for the export market. Thus, the key issue is not a technical one related to agricultural production practices but rather a more fundamental one involving the allocation of resources and the political will to provide for all groups in the society. In this sense, the degree of food security achieved reflects the broad distribution of power and resources. Where these are highly skewed, as they are in much of Central America, many families experience food insecuritythey are excluded from access to the resources necessary to produce sufficient food and lack the purchasing power to acquire it.