What The ‘Lentil King of Saskatchewan’ Knows About World Trade
My college major was International Affairs with a focus on International Trade, so the sudden global interest in the actual mechanics of trade lately (thanks to the new US administration) has been so fascinating. A lot of the news will grow old and dated, but this recent episode from Bloomberg’s Odd Lots podcast is an excellent evergreen reminder on how global trade is a very good, very human practice.
The short version is that –
- Canada has a lot of arable land and a short growing season
- For decades, farmers stripped the land of nutrients by speed-growing wheat and precariously letting land go fallow and muddle its way to fertility
- India & the Middle East have a lot of vegetarians who need a lot of non-animal sources of protein
- India & the Middle East does not have a lot of arable land to grow unlimited food
- Enter lentils & legumes – the amazing class of plants that is protein-dense and can restore fertility to the soil while growing
- Canada is able to grow lentils & legumes during their off-season for wheat
- Canada ships lentils & legumes during the off-season for Indian & Middle Eastern farmers, so farmers in India, Middle East & Canada can all earn a good living
Summary: International Trade between Canada & India allows billions of humans to access cheap protein; restores existing farmland (reducing deforestation elsewhere); increases income for farmers in all countries
Now, obviously trade can be complicated and doesn’t always have such a clear win-win-win. But overall, trade is something we should always push to increase. It created the abundant, prosperous world that we’re living in.
