Ana Mendoza / The Collegian
“Eco-Friendly Farming” was a topic discussed Thursday as part of the Build a Culture of Peace Week at Fresno State. However, all was not peaceful with the audience.
The focus of the event was to show how sustainable agriculture contributes to healthy, stable communities in the San Joaquin Valley. Disagreement began when an audience member talked about the negative effect of subsidized, mass-produced food reaching other countries such as Mexico and Haiti.
“It’s so ironic that Mexico has so much diversity of corn and yet we are exporting cheap, modified corn,” said an unidentified man in the audience.
“A million [Mexican] workers lost their jobs and they have to cross the border. They risk their lives and then they don’t want us here.”
Cheaper American corn being exported to Mexico began in 1994 after the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was established. This caused the price to dramatically decrease and a loss of jobs in Mexico’s corn industry.
Some members of the audience applauded the comment while others left in disagreement.
In 2003 Oxfam uncovered the effects caused by cheap, imported and subsidized US corn entering the Mexican market. Like in many other countries where the United States imports their subsidized goods, poor farmers cannot compete with U.S. farmers who receive $10 billion or more every year in subsidies.
“The mass production of agriculture needs to end,” said the same unidentified man in the audience shortly before leaving.
Kim Anderson also left shortly after these comments were made.
“It was getting kind of silly,” said Anderson, who said she grew up on a family-owned farm. “If we don’t have mass agriculture, then we have no political power and no jobs.”
According to Farm Subsidy Database, $9.12 billion in subsidies was given to farmers in California from 1995 to 2009. In 2009, $611 million was given to farmers in California. Ninety-one percent of farmers did not collect subsidies, while ten percent of these farmers received 73 percent of all subsidies.
Anderson said there should be more restrictions on subsidies to prevent farmer’s greed, but that the subsidies themselves are still needed.
Tom Willey, owner of T&D Willey Farms in Madera, and Paul Buxman, a sustainable agriculture farmer and owner of Sweet Home Ranch, were invited to share their experience during the event.
“Just because something is legal, does not mean that it is right, and it’s wrong what we do,” said Buxman. “When we subsidize corn, [we are turning that into] a weapon to put other countries out of business.”
Buxman also said America should get out of the “global food wars” that NAFTA has fueled.
The North American Free Trade Agreement between the United States, Canada and Mexico removed most barriers of trade between all three countries. To many, NAFTA has been the cause for the current immigration situation in the United States.
“When we have this immigration problem, we shouldn’t say the problem is ‘they are coming across the border, let’s build a wall.’ Why don’t we ask the bigger question: Why are they coming?” said Buxman.
According to California Employment Development Department, Fresno is one of five counties in the Central Valley that is heavily dependant on agriculture employment.
“Today we are celebrating Ghandi, we have to think what this man did, say to the environmentalists: Should we be angry and rail against the evil empire? Yes, but then how did he bring around change? You be the change that you want to see in the world,” said Paul Buxman.
A slogan used during the event to promote sustainable agriculture was, “Live simply, so that others can simply live,” a famous quote from Mohandas K. Gandhi.
Build a Culture of Peace Week will conclude on Saturday, Oct. 2 at 8:30 at the Peace Garden. The event will be held to celebrate Gandhi’s 141 birthday.