Linda Fulponi

Potential Implications of Animal Welfare Concerns and Public Policies in Industrialized Countries for International Trade

The intensification of systems of agricultural production has generated increasing concern in some countries about the treatment of farm animals. Perhaps nowhere are these concerns more apparent than in Europe. Wide-ranging legislation governing the treatment of farm animals exists in many European countries and at the multinational level through the European Union (EU). Private initiatives on the development of standards for the production and marketing of food products have emerged in some countries in response to public concerns over animal welfare. The EU accounts for roughly 50 percent of the trade in live animals, meat, and livestock products by the members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).1 Private and public actions relating to animal welfare have potentially broad-reaching implications for agricultural practices in the countries concerned, and beyond their borders through effects on international competition and trade.

Nontrade Concerns: Reconciling Domestic Policy Objectives with Freer Trade in Agricultural Products

Since the conclusion of the Uruguay Round of trade negotiations in 1994, there has been increasing debate about the implications of freer trade for domestic or “nontrade” objectives in agriculture. These range from traditional concerns, such as food security and rural development, to more recent issues such as the relationship between agriculture and the environment, and the effects of agricultural practices on human health and animal welfare. For countries reluctant to reduce agricultural protection, a key issue is the extent to which domestic policy objectives would need to be sacrificed under freer trade. For countries espousing trade liberalization, the issue is whether domestic policy objectives will be used as a guise to undermine freer trade in agricultural products. In this paper, we focus on two areas of concern that are stressed by rich, developed countries—the linkage between agriculture and the environment, and animal welfare. Environmental issues are prominent in Asia, Europe and, increasingly in North America, while animal welfare is a major issue in Europe. It is generally acknowledged that agricultural support, provided through implicit consumer taxes and direct subsidies in developed countries, generates much of the distortion in global agricultural trade. The more than

Policy Initiatives Concerning Diet, Health and Nutrition

300 billion of agricultural support that is provided annually by OECD countries, disadvantages developing country exporters and causes distortions in importers. Ensuring that there are effective disciplines on trade-distorting forms of support will be vital to the suc

Emerging public concerns in agriculture: domestic policies and international trade commitments

The main findings of the paper are based on the OECD survey of policy initiatives in diet, health and nutrition and a review of the relevant literature. Overall survey responses indicate that most efforts focus on two main types of activities: first, increasing information on diet and health to consumers to enable them to make informed food choices and, second, promoting increased consumption of fruit and vegetables, particularly amongst children. The survey results provide information on policy experiences and programmes in OECD countries.