Fair Trade is abolishing the CAP. Free Trade is accepting the consequences of an open market in food products from all over the world. Are we prepared to do this?

I for one am definitly a card-carrying neo-Social_dem-Liberial. The CAP has to go as a production subside. Maybe remain as a rural development grant but entirely decupiled. There are many complex issues when it comes to Food markets. Its not simply economics. Food production, supply and quality are all issues of security in the long run. Europe and the US has not had to worry about the issue of food supply since the mid 20th century with the arrival of fully industrialised food production.

Today, the 3rd world is alot more productive than it used to be and many times relatively cheaper than before. The western world is faced with a situation that is new and globalised. If Agri-Sibsides and good quality standards were abolished it would be cheaper to buy food that was produced the other side of the world and shipped here than buy from a local producer(organic or otherwise).
While I feel that the we(the EU and US) need to give the least developed and developing countries a better deal, conditions should be attached.

1. Good Quality Food
Food standards should be maintained or increased. The food that is imported into the EU and food from domestic EU producers should be fully labelled and have all the details of production(GM, Cloning, Chemical, Hormone Treatment, Place of Origin, Manufacturer, feed used etc etc). The EU should be allowed and expected to reject any food stuffs that do not meet regerus food safety standards. The US should not be allowed to claim unfair trade practices to the WTO, when in fact the EU is simply protecting the general health and environment of its citizens.

2. Food Security
The Defence industry isn't in the free market as it is considered too important to worry about the market system and states like to know that they own or control their armament suppliers. The food industry is also vitally important. While it is important that free-trade is promoted and OECD markets are opened to the 3rd world we must also find a way to balance this with Food security. A simply mechanism would be a small(but viable) percentage of food is produced in the EU market. The EU could set a limit on the amount of food that is to be produced. It would not be viable for the market but would act as an emergency producer of vital crops or food stuffs in the event of a collapse in global trade due to war or unforseen circumstances.

During the period of peace the food would be sold at the market rate(as established by non-subsided producers). The EU would then subsides the emergency producer for the loss made by selling at the market rate. To avoid intrenched inefficency, competition for a 2 year contract to be the provider of various emergency stocks can be bidded for. Contracts could be lost for complacent producers.

The emergency stock would be supplemented by the promotion of a mixed basket of food importors from nearand far. A dynamic programme to secure the supply of food is required to meet the changes of the food economy(the single largest market in the world and Ireland's most important contribution to GDP)

3. Promotion of Industrialisation
The OECD countries need to promote the movement away from agricultural export economies to a more long-term economically sustainible mechanism. Countries that rely on raw food stuffs for export led growth in the long-run suffer from the disproportionite growth of more value-added products from industry vs the raw food stuffs. If we do not promote the economic development of the 3rd world once free-trade is a reality for food markets. They will relapse back into a poverty trap that will be even harder to leave as the subsides will already have disappeared.

4. Carbon Taxation
EU firms will soon face the full consequences of the negative externalities of their production practices. Carbon taxes will result in more sustainible practices becoming common place. Firms fromt he 3rd world or outside the EU will not face the Carbon tax ragime. If they are signed up to the Kyoto protocol they may have a significant leeway on CO2 immissions as 3rd world producers. Any exporter to the EU should face the EU Carbon Tax for the process of the exporting(i.e. shipping, transport and handling). THis would mean that the firm would face some of the Carbon tax for the exporting section of the produciton process and would pay carbon duties(or not as the case may be) for the remainder of the production process in their country of origin.
This would be fair and avoid double taxation. It would also result in exporters and domestic producers being put on an equal footing. The Environment would also benefit and any overly environmentally damaging export practices (e.g. spuds from latin america) may be uneconomic.