LaRouche: State of the Union Address, 2003

The U.S. Must Be Food Self-Sufficient
page 44

The U.S. Must Be Food Self-Sufficient

Question: We have a question submitted by one of the national farm organizations that's based here, that has a representative here in Washington. He says:

"Mr. LaRouche, you've talked a lot about the move from a producer to a consumer economy. One of the things that comes up repeatedly is the question of agriculture and food production in America. As you know, for a very long time, America was not only food self-sufficient, but we were a major exporter of food. Today, more than half of what we consume comes from outside the United States. The argument that many make, is that the United States should not be a food producer, but that this should be left to the less-developed countries. Do you agree, or do you believe that America should maintain its position as one of the greater food producers on the planet?"

LaRouche: Absolutely, the United States must be a great food producer. You see, you have a question of national sovereignty here, also involved. If you cannot meet your own requirements in food production, you're not sovereign. If you're holding other people slave to supply your food, and they decide not to be slaves anymore, where are you?

Same thing with garments and so forth. People tell me, from their trips to stores and so forth, you can't get anything worth wearing or eating anymore. Garbage. From these malls, it's garbage. You've got poor people standing around on sub-minimal salaries, probably weighing 300 pounds just from standing there all the time, not knowing how to direct you where to get what you won't find, and if you found it, you wouldn't want it. I get these reports from people: “I've been shopping.” “Oh, what's the disaster?” “Well, there was nothing in the store today, or too much of this, nothing I'd want to be seen wearing in that store.” And so, the whole thing is a racket.

Look at it from the other side: The problem of the world is largely a lack of industrialization, that is, the ratio of farmers is too high to maintain a modern society. They don't have sovereignty, either. So therefore, the problem here is that we have created an imbalance. We say, we will accept food from poor people in poor countries who aren't paid very much, and we'll keep them in poverty. Look at what happens on the Mexican border. That's no great shakes. It's not the way to treat human beings.

We should have a high-technology agriculture which is actually technology-intensive, and have an adequate supply of our own. Then you get certain specialties which you get from other countries, which you cannot produce here, fine. You swap 'em. But we should high-technology agriculture in other parts of the world.

Take the case of northern Mexico--for example, Sonora. Sonora has tremendous agricultural potential, as we've demonstrated in California, in a similar territory--if the water is there! In the case of Mexico, doing a project which has been established for a long time, this water project of moving water from the south along coastal canals up to the north, and using it for both canal traffic, and also as a way of getting fresh water up there, will change the whole area. Mexico has no trunk line from the U.S. border to Mexico City, rail line. Similar things. So therefore, the internal development of Mexico, a population which is very highly mixed with ours in Texas, in southern California and so forth--essentially, our relationship with Mexico is based largely on these family relations, of Mexican families which are divided, some in Mexico and some in the United States. And therefore, the primary concern to us is that the Mexican population be a happy and prosperous one. And therefore, we should encourage things which are good for Mexico, and they will be good for us.

At the same time, we should keep our agricultural position. This idea of being an imperial power, living by parasitizing on the rest of the world by virtue of a swindle called a monetary/financial system, this has got to come to an end. You want peace? You want security? Security for future generations? You want American-style relations with the other nations of the world? Treat them right, and that's part of it.

Next Page

|| - page index - || - chapter index - || - download - || - Exit - ||