"Mexico Seminar" Archives
This page provides a list of web resources categorized by the weekly discussion topics in the "Mexico Seminar," which was the course that Dr. Wattiaux taught to focus specifically on the Mexican (dairy) agriculture and the relationship between Mexico and the USA.
Additional Resources: Course Introduction
- Food Prices Worldwide Hit Record Levels, Fueled by Uncertainty, U.N. Says (Neil MacFarquhari, Febr. 3, 2011).
- Behind the Rising Cost of Food (Kim Severson, April, 23, 2011).
- A Warming Planet Struggles to Feed Itself (Justin Gillis, June 5, 2011) | Response&Comments.
- Highly recommended Video: From "poor & sick" to "rich & healthy" nations: 200 countries-200 years (Hans Rosling).
- See the World Bank's statisitics on Poverty in the world. In 2013, roughly 1.2 billion people live on less than $ 1.25 a day (extreme poverty) and roughly another 1.2 billion people were in the 1.25 to 2.0 dollar a day category.
- According to the World Health Organization, in 1990, more than 12 million children died before the age of 5. Huge progress has been made. In 2012 the under-five-year-old mortality was down to 6.6 million.
- See here for a Pew Research Center on statistics of what the U.S. public most want to cut in the face of budget cuts. You guessed it ! Aids the the world's needy.
- Our Coming Food Crisis was written as a New York Times opinion (Gary P. Nabhan, July 21, 2013) discussing the additional stress climate change will put on n our food production systems..
Additional Resources — Wk 02 — World Population, Migration, Food and Environment
- In 1959, world population was 3 billions, but today it has reached 7 billion. Can humanity handle the unprecedented rise in population? (Joel Cohen, New York TImes, October 24, 2011).
- Population statistics for the United States and any other country in the world is available from the International Database (IDB) of the U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division. The site includes a U.S. population clock and a world population clock. The database of the United Nation Population Division will allow you to search for change in world (and country) population since 1950 and look at current projections to 2050.
- In spite of the fact that people live longer, child mortality in the world remains a huge problem. Did you know that: Each minute 21 children under the age of five die every day (i.e., 11 million per year), mainly from preventable causes. (see more the UNICEF web site).
- Despite its status as a developed country, the United States does not rank high on the child mortality scale. The United States ranked 28th in the world in infant mortality in 1998 but 37th today (see country ranking here). This "poor" ranking is due in large part to disparities which continue to exist among various racial and ethnic groups in this country, particularly African Americans. (see more at the Center for Disease control (CDC) web site.
- For changes in infant mortality from 1960 to 2002 across countries, see this UNICEF link or this alternate UNICEF link.
Additional Resources — Wk 03 — Environmental Impacts of Human Consumption and Populations
- Food Production, Consumption and Trade Worldwide: Time series data for a long list of food products, natural resources, labor, level of mechanization, crop, fertilizer use and so forth are available by country, regions of the world and the whole world at the FAO STAT Database
- For production statistics: crops, live animals, value of agricultural production and more, click here
- For trade of crops and livestock products, click here
- For consumption of crops products, click here and for livestock products, click here
- And there is a lot more, so don't be afraid to explore on your own.
- Here is a good article on the U.S. Agricultural Exports, Imports, and the Trade Balance between 1998 and 2008 (Article from the Encyclopedia of Earth).
- Sustainability of Farming Systems:
The Myth of Sustainable Meat is by New York Time OP-ED contributor James. E. McWilliams. The author argues that industrial farms are bad, but small local farms are no solution.
Additional Resources — Wk 04 — Changing Global Food Demands — "The Livestock Revolution"
- Livestock Agriculture: The impact of the livestock industry on the environment at a global scale has been the subject of a recent FAO publication: Livestock’s Long Shadow. The publication (which was the subject of a New Times Editorial) makes clear that our health and the health of the planet depend on pushing livestock production in more sustainable directions. You can download a pdf of the Executive Summary. If you read the editorial, notice how for the sake of brevity, over-generalization becomes a danger!
- Read this interesting article from the Wall Street Journal (September 18, 2009) highlithign the imprecision of the current methods to estimate Carbon Foot Print of any consumer product. This article focuses on the carbon foot print of a gallon of milk: Hate Calculus? Try Counting Cow Carbon.
- Could climate change be fixed by planting more trees? The December 19, 2009 New York Times Op-Ed contribution of Emertius Professor Bernd Heinrich (university of Vermont) titled: Clear-Cutting the Truth About Trees raises interesting questions about tree farms versus forest ecosystems.
- Ranganathan, J. and G. Hanson. 2011. A New Approach to Feeding the World. Solutions for a Sustainable and desirable Future. 2(5):26-30. With population expected to reach 9 billion by 2050 and widespread degradation of agricultural lands, we need a new approach to food production—one that feeds more people with less ecological impact. The authors outline three ways we can reform our food system, and feed more with less.
- If you're interested in food insecurity globally, you might be interested in checking out some materials about a conference entitle "Food Security under a Changing Climate" that took place in London, in March 2012. Of particular interest might be the schedule, the summary report, or the final report.
- The Amerian Society of Animal Sciences (ASAS) has produce a series on the contribution of Animal Sciences to support global food security See Part I: The Coming Food Crisis, Part II: Feed Efficiency and Utilization of Resources, Part III: Increase Livestock Production Through Animal Breeding and Technology, Part IV: How the study of disease that affect food animals may contribute to global food production
Additional Resources — Wk 05 — Additional Resources: Livestock Around the World: Livestock Revolution "at the ground level"
- Food and Hunger:The Food Chain is a series of articles from the New York Times examining growing demands and changes in the world food production, processing and marketing. Here is an article in the series: Hoarding Nations Drive Food Costs Ever Higher (June 30, 2008).
- What do U.S. agricultural trade organizations, such as the U.S. Grain Councils, say about feeding a "hungry world"? See this news release titled U.S. Farmers Help Curb Global Hunger (July 22, 2009).
- Beyond news papers articles, here is a series of Food Price Studies from the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
- What is like to work as a professor involved in "international" agriculture? Click here to Listen to the perspective of an agricultural economist, Tim Dalton, from Kansas State who has been working on issues of food production in Africa.
- You may wonder about Hunger in the United States:
- Click here to learn about it from the Food Research Action Center (FRAC). The site includes statistics on hunger in the U.S. and federal programs to address hunger (Food stamp, National School Lunch Program, Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, infants and Children (WIC)).
- You may also download this mp3 file file of a 15 min. segment of the Jim Lehrer News Hour brodcasted on Thanksgiving day 2008. After a report on how food banks are faring this holiday season amid the economic downturn, analysts discuss a new rise in the number of Americans relying on food stamps.
- Formerly named America’s Second Harvest, Feeding America (National Association of Food Bank) is the nation's leading domestic hunger-relief charity. Each year, the Feeding America network provides food assistance to more than 25 million low-income people facing hunger in the United States, including more than 9 million children and nearly 3 million seniors.
- Did the U.S. and European policy makers understand the consequences of their decision to use corn for Ethanol Production? The Food Crisis: What Happened and What Should Be Done? is a 2 hour long seminar organized by the International Monetary Fund (IMF)-World Bank (WB) Program of Seminars (webcast of Friday, October 10, 2008). The discussion panel includes guest speakers from Latin America (Brazil), Asia and Africa as well as the Chairman of Nestlé, the largest international food company in the world; This revealing seminar is moderated by Joachim von Braun, Director General, International Food Policy Research Institute, United States.
- Do you know that the ancestor of modern corn, called "teocintle" in Náhuatl (the language of the Aztecs) has been grown since more that 2500 years before Christ? (Click here for a related newspaper article in Spanish).
Additional Resources — Wk 06 — The Global Trade Game
- Global Trade After the Failure of the Doha Round is a New York Times editorial of January 1, 2016. It argues that national leaders of developed and developing nations have failed to come together to creates rules and policies that are helpful for all nations. Thus instead of a "global" trading systems regimented by the WTO, we are moving towards "regional" trade agreements that may have intended consequences.
- The Trans-Pacific Partnership is poised to become the largest regional trade accord in history. The Trans-Pacific Partnership would set new terms for trade and business investment among the United States and 11 other Pacific Rim nations. Read The Trans-Pacific Partnership Trade Accord Explained, which is a New York Times article written by Kevin Granville and published October 6, 2015.
- Global Trade (The "Rigged Game of Global Commodity Trade" and a Case study: The Jamaican Dairy Industry and its impact on the livelihood of farmers in developing countries. A European web site "Life Online" provides information about the impact of globalization of poverty and and social development. They happen to have a story on the Jamaican Dairy Dairy Industry: When the Cows Come Home. -- At some point of its past, there was a real Jamaica Hope for its dairy industry. Thanks Darby for those links!
- The Trans-Pacific Partnership is poised to become the largest regional trade accord in history. The Trans-Pacific Partnership would set new terms for trade and business investment among the United States and 11 other Pacific Rim nations. Read The Trans-Pacific Partnership Trade Accord Explained, which is a New York Times article written by Kevin Granville and published October 6, 2015.
- Global Trade (The "Rigged Game of Global Commodity Trade" and a Case study: The Jamaican Dairy Industry and its impact on the livelihood of farmers in developing countries. A European web site "Life Online" provides information about the impact of globalization of poverty and and social development. They happen to have a story on the Jamaican Dairy Dairy Industry: When the Cows Come Home. -- At some point of its past, there was a real Jamaica Hope for its dairy industry. Thanks Darby for those links!
- Agricultural Subsidies: Please read "Where the Trough Is Overflowing" a Opinion article from Robert Semple Jr. (June 2, 2012).
- Agricultural Subsidies: Please read "Don’t End Agricultural Subsidies, Fix Them" a Opinion article from Mark Bittman (March 2, 2011).
- Agricultural Subsidies and Trade:The Great Corn Con (Steven Rattner, June 25, 2011).
Additional Resources — Wk 09 — U.S. - Mexico Trade: The Corn Stories
Canada - U.S. - Mexico Basic Statisitics:
- Please visit the following pages for Population, GDP, Trade Balance and other economic indicators for Canada, México and the United States. -- A interactive web site full of economics related statistics; Make sure to pay attention to the indicators listed on the right hand side module (column) of links.
- Follow the following links to learn about the México U.S. relation, how the great depression of 2009 has highlighted our "interdependence" with each other, and how the press presents our relations with México.
- A NPR story by Deborah Amos (Oct. 24, 2009): Mexico Looks To U.S. To Fuel Economic Recovery
- The full story of Deborah Amos (Oct., 2009) on America Abroad Media (AAM): From NAFTA to Narcotics; The Cross Border Economy, and the discussion of Andrew Selle, Director of the Mexico Institute at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars on the U.S.-Mexico Ties 15 years after the implementation of NAFTA.
- Here is another example of ties between Mexico and the U.S. Watch this PBS News hour segment (Dec. 28, 2009) titled: Retirees Flock to Mexico for the Sun and the Health Care. The video describes how thousands of Americans are increasingly traveling to resort towns like Puerto Vallarta, in Mexico, not for vacation, but for the cheap health care. In many cases, reports Ray Suarez, for care they couldn't afford in the United States.
Additional Resources — Wk 10 — Additional Resources: Introduction to Immigration Issues
- Immigration:
Mexico’s Forceful Resistance is a an op-ed by Jorge Castañeda published by the New York Times on (January 27, 2017). Professor Castañeda argues that Mexico should resist the new Administration on immigration as both country have much to lose in an "immigration war" between the two countries.
How Donald Trump's Squeeze on Immigrants Will Backfire is a an op-ed by Will Olney published by the New York Times on (April 6, 2016). Professor Olney explains why Trumps' pledged to block remittances to force Mexico to pay for the wall could actually hurt the U.S.
The Supreme Court, the Nativists and Immigrants is a an editorial of the New York Times published (January 19, 2016). The editorial argues that the presidential executive actions taken by president Obama in 2014 to protect millions of undocumented immigrants from deportation is well within the power of the executive branch.
Should Immigration Require Assimilation is a an article by Tom Gjelten published in The Atlantic (October 3, 2015). Every year, unique people—each with their own cultural history, become new citizens of the United States. Must they leave their own heritage behind?
Iowans Question G.O.P. Talk on Illegal Immigration is a an article by Julie Bosman published in the New York Times (September 5, 2015). This article focuses on Iowa, the first battle ground state for presidential candidates and immigration is a hot issue that makes top News stories these days (Thanks to Mr. D. Trump). This articles help us see how farms and factories in eastern Iowa have long been a draw for immigrants, and many argue that a one-size-fits-all approach to immigration reform might not work.
Listen to PBS' Jim Lehrer "Mexico's President goes North of the Border" Broadcasted Friday Feb 15, 2008.
PBS NewsHour with Jim Lehrer has a lesson Plan for Immigration reform: Understanding the Issue from Different Points of View. Scroll down the page to "Related Link" where you can view a series of videos and other document related to the recent immigration debate.
The United Nation, Department of Economic Affairs, Population Division has a World Migrant Database where you can find out the number of persons born in a country other than that in which they live (referred to as "international migrants"). The data is available for individual countries and regions of the world between 1960 and 2005.
The Migration Policy Institute is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit think tank in Washington, DC dedicated to analysis of the movement of people worldwide. Founded in 2001, MPI grew out of the International Migration Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. The MPI data hub provides a wealth of statistics. See for example:- 2005 American Community Survey and Census Data on the Foreign Born by State
- One in Seven Mexican Workers Are in the United States
- Top ten countries with the largest number of international migrants or the highest percentage of of its population which is international migrants.
- More on Immigration On the light side, watch this "YouTube" interesting parody JobMarket2009
- How Immigrants Saved Social Security. What's the connection between immigration and social security? (Editorial, April 2, 2008).
- immigration issues end a Pennsylvania Grower's season. The article features a Pennsylvania tomato grower who is concern about the crack down on illegal immigrant and what it means for his business (Paul Vitello, April 2, 2008).
- Principal Sees Injustice, and Picks a Fight With It. Social security ID was used to identify illegals. The article illustrates the response of a phoenix Arizona principal who resisted the anti-immigrant sentiment (Samuel Freedman, March 12, 2008).
- A Crackdown on Employing Illegal Workers: Obama administration officials are sharpening their crackdown on the hiring of illegal immigrants by focusing increasingly tough criminal charges on employers while moving away from criminal arrests of the workers themselves (Julia Preston, May 30, 2011).
- How a Democracy works. This editorial proposed a series of action that President Obama could pursue using his executive power to address the real human toll of a broken immigration system (Editorial, June 4, 2011).
- Immigration and Migrant in the Dairy Industry
- Read a 2009 Report from Texas A&M of The Economic Impacts of Immigration on U.S. Dairy Farms (2MB pdf).
Read these New York Times editorial or articles to learn about:
Additional Resources — Wk 11 — Stories of Mexican Immigrant Workers on Dairy farms
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Here is a series of immigration-related press articles (from The New York Times primarily):
- Wisconsin dairy farmers worry about losing Latino workers. Some Wisconsin dairy farmers are worried about having enough workers to milk their cows. Without immigrants, mostly from Mexico, some farmers say they would be forced to quit milking. (Rick Barrett of the Journal Sentinel, February 19, 2016).
- Protect Female Farmworkers. Across the country, some 400,000 women, mostly immigrants, work in agriculture, toiling in fields, nurseries and packing plants. Such work is backbreaking and low-paying. But for many of these women, it is also a nightmare of sexual violence (José R. Padilla and David Bacon, January 19, 2016).
- Global Migration: A World on the Move. An estimated 214 million migrants can be found worldwide. Pick almost any headline in the news, and between the lines, there is a chapter in the story of global migration (Jason DeParle, June 26, 2010).
- Farms and Immigrants (Editorial, May 16, 2009).
- Immigration Raid at Customs Officer’s Home Leads to Suit (Solomon Moore, June 27, 2010).
- Secretary Seeks Review of Immigration Raid (The New York Times, Feb. 26, 2009).
- The New York Times (May 13, 2008): Hundreds Are Arrested in U.S. Sweep of Meat Plant (Susan Saulny, May 13, 2008) | The Shame of Postville, Iowa (Editorial, July 13, 2008) | Iowa Rally Protests Raid and Conditions at Plant (Julia Preston, July 28, 2008).
- Nearly 600 Were Arrested in Factory Raid, Officials Say. (Adam Nossiter, Aug. 26, 2008).
Additional Resources — Wk 12 — Mexico's Dairy Industry — U.S. Perspectives
- North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) or "Trado de Libre Commercio de América del Norte" (TLCAN in Spanish) or "Accord de libre-échange nord-américain" (ALENA in French). A good place to learn more about NAFTA is at Wikipedia. I recommend you read section 4.3 (Effect on Agriculture).
Implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) began on January 1, 1994. This agreement has removed most barriers to trade and investment among the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Under the NAFTA, all non-tariff barriers to agricultural trade between the United States and Mexico were eliminated. The web site of the United State Department of Agriculture, Foreign Agricultural Services (USDA, FAS) provides ample NAFTA-related documentation.
Here is a series of NAFTA-related articles form the popular press:- The New York TImes (Feb. 11, 2008): Nafta Is a Sweet Deal, So Why Are They So Sour?
- The New York Times (Feb. 01, 2008): Mexican Farmers Protest End of Corn-Import Taxes.
- BBC Mundo (Feb. 01, 2008; Español): México: miles marchan contra TLCAN (Have a look at the videos).
- BBC Mundo (Jan. 03, 2008; Español): México: protestas contra el TLCAN (Have a look at the videos).
- Beyond the popular press, the following article authored by a professor of the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (Mexico City) provides an analysis of the impact of NAFTA on the Mexican Agriculture. The article is in Spanish: El TLCAN y la Agricultura Mexicana.
- Check the "Index Mundi" Web site for national statistics from many countries for production, import and export of many agricultural commodities as annual times series going back to the 1980s. The following pages show Mexico's importation of Milk Powder and Mexcio's importation of Cheese
Additional Resources — Wk 13 — Mexico's Dairy Industry — Dairy as an Opportunity for Small-holders
- U.S. Dairy and Meat Export To Mexico To get some reference points and real numbers, the U.S. Dairy Export Council provides data on U.S. dairy export to Mexico (download and read the 2007 annual report of gain an idea of the changes in our dairy export to Mexico in the last few years). Also, look at this press release from the U.S. Meat Export Federation for some statistics on U.S. meat export to Mexico. If you wish, you can view a video presentation on the World's Changing Views of U.S. Animal Agriculture as per the U.S. Meat Export Federation.
Additional Resources — Wk 14 — Mexico's Dairy Industry — Trends, Challenges and Sustainability
- In March 2008-Officials from the United States, Canada and Mexico concluded a series of meetings that provided all three countries an opportunity to discuss issues of mutual concern affecting agriculture, food and trade. Officials from the three countries announced protocols, effective March 28, 2008, to harmonize standards for the export of U.S. and Canadian breeding cattle to Mexico consistent with international standards. Click here for more details.
Additional Resources — Wk 15 — Last Day of Class Review and Wrap-Up
Mexico: The Country and its Cultures: Study Tour Preparation
The U.S. Department of State is an excellent source of background information about Mexico (people, history, government, political situation, economy, relation with the U.S.). In addition, the site provides links to the U.S. Embassy in Mexico, the State Department travel registration and a list of contact information of consular offices in Mexico. Click here to access this web site.
The Wikipedia Encyclopedia provides a series of articles on the toponymy, geography, history, economy, culture, demography, education, science and technology, and other topics. In addition, the site includes links to each state and major cities in each state. The web site is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexico
The Public Broadcast Service (PBS) has an interactive site on the U.S. - Mexican war of 1846-1848. The interactive web site is really worth a look — Very well done!
The Library of Congress Mexico: A Country Study by Tim L. Merrill and Ramón Miró, editors. provide a scholarly source of information on a very wide array of topics.