FTAA will accelerate the race to the bottom in public health and safety standards and open that race to the rest of the Western Hemisphere. Similarly, cash strapped governments in the Americas are unlikely to spend much money on food safety and agricultural inspection. Increased produce trade with under-regulated countries in particular exposes consumers to a greater risk of eating contaminated or spoiled food. In 1998, Minnesota State health officials attributed a shigellosis outbreak that sickened 150 people in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area to parsley imported from Mexico.
Shigellosis is caused by fecal contamination and is contagious.
Imported Mexican parsley was also linked to outbreaks in three other states and two Canadian provinces. Contamination of food is directly related to the health, hygiene and livings standards of agricultural workers. The safety of our food is also being compromised because pesticides and agricultural chemicals banned in the U.S. are often marketed and sold to countries in the global south. Not only is it unethical to expose other countries' ecosystems and agricultural workers to these poisons, but to expand trade without food safety protections means that families end up eating imported food covered in toxic chemical residues. Community Supported Agriculture One key alternative to free trade-based agriculture is Community Supported Agriculture, a system that develops a strong local economy and regional food supply by connecting local farmers with local consumers.