"In an ideal world, countries would not restrict the flow of food"

If one word could describe the profound changes of globalisation it would be complexity. Many different elements are involved and interact in the global production and distribution of goods. In the case of food, this goes from the intricate genetics of seeds to the enormous differences in legal frameworks and regulations that the food goes through before it arrives at its destination. Occasionally, an outbreak, like swine flu, highlights blind spots in this system, but most of the time they remain hidden to most people. The experienced William H. Meyers works at the Food and Agriculture Policy Research Institute (FAPRI) in Missouri, USA, to bring this tangled network to light. Meyers is a member of the International Academic Advisory Committee to the UOC’s new Food Systems, Culture and Society Area and author of the UOC course Agri-food Policy, Food Safety and International Trade.

If one word could describe the profound changes of globalisation it would be complexity. Many different elements are involved and interact in the global production and distribution of goods. In the case of food, this goes from the intricate genetics of seeds to the enormous differences in legal frameworks and regulations that the food goes through before it arrives at its destination. Occasionally, an outbreak, like swine flu, highlights blind spots in this system, but most of the time they remain hidden to most people. The experienced William H. Meyers works at the Food and Agriculture Policy Research Institute (FAPRI) in Missouri, USA, to bring this tangled network to light. Meyers is a member of the International Academic Advisory Committee to the UOC’s new Food Systems, Culture and Society Area and author of the UOC course Agri-food Policy, Food Safety and International Trade.