Posts Tagged ‘farm policy’
“Papa, I’m hungry”
How US policy intensifies Haitian starvation
Saint Louis Meriska’s children ate two spoonfuls of rice apiece as their only meal recently and then went without any food the following day. His eyes downcast, his own stomach empty, the unemployed father said forlornly, “They look at me and say, ‘Papa, I’m hungry,’ and I have to look away. It’s humiliating and it makes you angry.” –the New York Times
Thirty years ago, Haiti was an agricultural nation. It imported “almost no rice” and was an exporter of sugar. Today, almost all of Haiti’s rice is shipped in. So when imported rice prices soar—as they have recently—the poorest Haitians have little to eat. What happened? Read the rest of this entry »
Written by Monte
April 25, 2008 at 4:22 pm
Posted in Environment, Politics, Poverty, Social change
Tagged with agriculture, crop subsidies, farm policy, food, free trade, Haiti, hunger, IMF, rice, World Bank