Heather McKay

11/22/2017

ECON 2010

Food Industry

I definitely think the U.S. food industry can become like the food industry in the

Netherlands. It was brought out in the article that here in the U.S. we have a land mass

that is 270 times larger. You could somewhat say we have been blessed with the perfect

opportunity to do and improve more with the example of the Netherlands.

Even now we are still in the continuing process of learning and gaining knowledge

from the Netherlands. For example, the people who have traveled there from their home

lands like Portugal, Africa, Nigeria, Colombia, Norway, Indonesia, Pakistan, and the USA.

Not only do I think The U.S. could benefit from such knowledge but even the world. It was

stated in the texted that by 2050, the Earth will be home to as many as 10 billion people,

up from todays 7.5 billion. If massive increases in agricultural yield are not achieved,

matched by massive decreases in the use of water and fossil fuels, a billion or more people

may face starvation. (Frank and Luca, 2017).

To be frank, it is not hard for someone to realize this. Our numbers are increasing

daily and it is no wonder that there will be more people to support and feed. Though with

the different kinds of issues that get in the way of the American food industry that are not

present in the Netherlands are some things such as people being trying to get certified and
licensed to do bring the different techniques and knowledge to their home lands, getting

already grown crops into green houses, and climate/hurricane damage. The Netherlands do

not have hurricanes but I do acknowledge that they can have some pretty ferocious

storms and climate changes.

My point is that because these guys are so far ahead and well organized, it takes time

and effort to fix and re-improve what we already have here in the U.S. This could also be

another reason as to why they are so far ahead of the world in research and production of

food because their community is not very large in land mass and it is easier for them to come

together and organize themselves as a team. I definitely think that their ability to work in

unity with each other is also a key ingredient of their success.

The Netherlands government type is Constitutional Monarchy. Which is a form of

government in which a monarch acts as head of state within the parameters of a written,

unwritten or blended constitution. The Netherlands do not have a constitutional court and

they dont have the authority to review laws on their constitutionality. While on the other

hand the United States Constitution is based Federal Republic; strong Democratic Tradition.

Being that the United States is a Federal Republic in which the president, Congress, and

Federal courts share powers reserved to the national government according to its

Constitution. At the same time, the Federal Government shares sovereignty with the

state governments.

I definitely think that a political system does affect how things are done internally or

externally by a nation. Our political system controls what and how thing work. So of course

it going to have an effect on what will happen internally and externally to our nation. To put
it simply, its kind of like cause and effect, whenever the system changes or something

happens there will always be an effect.

Furthermore, one of the insights I had is that the Netherlands go the extra mile. They

look for ways to improve and better their process because if there are mistakes and accidents

theyll end up spending more time and money trying to fix it. There objectives are clear and

they produce more goods by using less resources. They realize their position and the

challenges that will be faced in the long run. Over all, I think that the organization and

efficiency that Netherlands have is something that can truly benefit us here in the U.S.
 References

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2017/09/holland-agriculture-sustainable-

farming/

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/06/15/world/europe/climate-change-

rotterdam.html

http://www.sustainabletable.org/491/food-economics