Recently promoted from postdoctoral research associate to associate scientist this past November, Lyubov Kurkalova (or Luba as her colleagues, friends, and family call her) is busy with collaborative efforts as well as her individual research program within the Resource and Environmental Policy Division of CARD.

Demands on corporations to focus their objectives on more than the financial bottom line have never been as forceful and effective as they are now. These demands come from groups such as PETA and Greenpeace, which have a long and confrontational history, as well as more mainstream groups, such as the trustees of California’s Public Employee Retirement Program (CalPERS). What the groups have in common is their belief that they can force corporations to adopt business practices that further their particular social agendas. Currently, PETA is pressuring Burger King to force its suppliers to adopt animal welfare standards. PETA praised McDonald’s after it adopted minimum- welfare standards for the hens that produce McDonald’s eggs. Greenpeace continues to pressure countries and corporations on a range of issues, and the group has extended its target to food companies that use ingredients derived from genetically modified crops. CalPERS has pressured corporations in which it is a major shareholder to adopt guidelines that guard against use of child labor and that enhance environmental quality.

The 1996 FAIR Act contains two vehicles to deliver financial support to farmers. Loan deficiency payments (LDPs) pay farmers the difference between loan rates and market prices when market prices fall below the loan rates. LDPs are paid on a perbushel- produced basis, so they are directly tied to production amounts of each eligible crop. The other vehicle is AMTA (Agricultural Market Transition Assistance) payments. These payments arrive regardless of which crop, if any, is planted. The lack of planting requirements is why the ’96 FAIR Act is also know as Freedom to Farm. (Of course, under the old programs, farmers also had complete freedom to plant what they wanted if they were willing to forego government aid.)

The StarLink controversy and the spread of Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or Mad Cow Disease, in the European Union have resulted in shocks to demand that are affecting our exports, one negatively and the other positively. Let’s examine these incidents to better understand why and how events like these potentially can impact trade.