NAFTA Is Starving Mexico

[polly7]

NAFTA Is Starving Mexico
By Laura Carlsen, October 20, 2011

http://www.fpif.org/articles/nafta_is_starving_mexico

"Since the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) became the law of the land, millions of Mexicans have joined the ranks of the hungry. Malnutrition is highest among the country’s farm families, who used to produce enough food to feed the nation.

As the blood-spattered violence of the drug war takes over the headlines, many Mexican men, women, and children confront the slow and silent violence of starvation. The latest reports show that the number of people living in “food poverty” (the inability to purchase the basic food basket) rose from 18 million in 2008 to 20 million by late 2010.

About one-fifth of Mexican children currently suffer from malnutrition. An innovative measurement applied by the National Institute for Nutrition registers a daily count of 728,909 malnourished children under five for October 18, 2011. Government statistics report that 25 percent of the population does not have access to basic food."

[SpiralHawk]

1. Doubleplusungood

Genetically Mutant Organisms (GMO) crops are a frikking plug-ugly factor in this...

[SammyWinstonJack]

2. rec. nt

[libinnyandia]

3. NAFTA in Mexico

The sad truth is we have tended to look at how NAFTA has affected us, ignoring what it does to other countries. It is our responsiblity to work to correct the situation. After all, they are our neighbors. In the past we took their land, now we are causing starvation. Who would want neighbors like that?

[DebJ]

4. OMG this makes me sick. All because of those same 2 words:

"corporate control"

[Rene Descartes]

5. A cute name fools 'em every time--North American Free Trade Agreement

Although NAFTA was promoted as a "free trade" agreement, it has much more to do with economic integration than it does with actual free trade.

FREE TRADE defined by 1,700 pages of bureaucratese is an oxymoron of the highest order.

[FarCenter]

6. If NAFTA equalized corn prices, then ethanol production is probably part of the problem

Biofuels generally will cause more starvation in the years ahead.

[catabryna]

7. According to a local radio spot...

everything is just peachy in Mexico. Vicente Fox is a hero who has brought tons of manufacturing jobs to the country and he's such an expert that his appearance in Oregon is being sponsored by a local credit union. God help us all.

Just another reason to boycott Clear Channel and to choose your credit union carefully.

eta: This is our local Progressive station.

[Hydra]

8. This is yet another reason to get out of NAFTA

I've been telling people for years that this hurt Mexico as much as it hurt us, but no...this 99% realization has only come to us recently.