Should the neoliberal “free market” govern food production and distribution? Or can we learn from the efforts of Venezuela, under Hugo Chavez, to address food insecurity? Christina Schiavoni describes the transformation of that nation’s food and agriculture system. David Pimentel points out the colossal energy demands of the US system and proposes ways to reduce fossil fuel inputs.
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Christina Schiavoni is co-director of the Global Movements Program at World Hunger Year, a New York City-based NGO, where she specializes in food and agriculture issues. Schiavoni is a co-author (with William Camacaro) of “The Venezuelan Effort to Build a New Food and Agriculture System” (Monthly Review 61.3, July-August 2009). David Pimentel is a professor of ecology and agricultural sciences at Cornell University. His article “Reducing Energy Inputs in the Agricultural Production System” also appears in the July-August 2009 issue of Monthly Review. This interview, conducted for the Against the Grain program, was broadcast on Pacifica Radio on 5 August 2009.