--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The issue here really is not whether…" description: "\"The issue here really is not whether international trade shall be free but whether or not it makes any sense for a country - or, for that matter, a reg..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/316/wendell-berry-236_ability_the-issue-here-really-is-not-whether-int_2005653.jpg" --- # The issue here really is not whether international trade… ![“The issue here really is not whether international trade shall be free but whether or not it makes any sense for a country - or, for that matter, a region - to destroy its own capacity to produce its own food. How can a government, entrusted with the safety and health of its people…” quote by Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/316/wendell-berry-236_ability_the-issue-here-really-is-not-whether-int_2005653.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/316/wendell-berry-236_ability_the-issue-here-really-is-not-whether-int_2005653.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/316/wendell-berry-236_ability_the-issue-here-really-is-not-whether-int_2005653.jpg) > “The issue here really is not whether international trade shall be free but whether or not it makes any sense for a country - or, for that matter, a region - to destroy its own capacity to produce its own food. How can a government, entrusted with the safety and health of its people, conscientiously barter away in the name of an economic idea that people's ability to feed itself? And if people lose their ability to feed themselves, how can they be said to be free?” [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote argues that true freedom cannot exist if a nation cannot feed itself; economic policies must protect food sovereignty. **In simple terms:** Freedom requires food security. Key Takeaway Prioritize local food production. Themes freedom food security economics sovereignty policy Mood serious urgent Type political ethical When to use this quote - government policy - community farming - economic planning Key Concepts agriculture self-sufficiency trade ethics Questions to Reflect On - What policies ensure food self‑reliance? - How does trade affect national food security? A Different Perspective Trade alone cannot guarantee freedom if food is insecure. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ability/) [Barter Away](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/barter-away-1185674/) [Capacity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capacity/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Economic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economic/) [Economic Idea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economic-idea-3553891/) [Food Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/food-government-966325/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [International](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/international/) [International trade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/international-trade/) [Issues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/issues/) [Loses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loses/) [Matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matter/) [Names](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/names/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Produce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/produce/) [Regions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regions/) [Safety](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/safety/) [Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said/) [Trade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trade/) [Trade Shall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trade-shall-3553892/) ## Related quotes > [When we feed people, we should only feed them healthy food. 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Rather, trade wars begin when one country decides to violate international trade…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-wyden/trade-wars-aren-t-started-by-countries-appealing-to-respected/) [Ron Wyden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-wyden/) > [At least half of the popular fallacies about economics come from assuming that economic activity is a zero-sum game, in which what is gained…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/at-least-half-of-the-popular-fallacies-about-economics-come-from/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [GLHR... has used Greenpeace-style media antics to draw more public attention to the plight of sweatshop workers than the multimillion - dollar international trade…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-klein/glhr-has-used-greenpeace-style-media-antics-to-draw-more-public/) [Naomi Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-klein/) > [“The German economic historian Fanz Oertel in the 1950s points to another drastic consequence of a slave economy. A slave economy initially allowed an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-f-cantor/the-german-economic-historian-fanz-oertel-in-the-1950s-points-to/) [Norman F. Cantor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-f-cantor/) > [Ahead now, I think you'll see the big nations shrink back into their own corners of the world. I'm not saying we'll see no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-howard-kunstler/ahead-now-i-think-you-ll-see-the-big-nations-shrink-back-into-their/) [James Howard Kunstler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howard-kunstler/) > [Iowans do understand the importance of breaking down barriers and increasing international trade.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-branstad/iowans-do-understand-the-importance-of-breaking-down-barriers-and/) [Terry Branstad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-branstad/) ## More by Wendell Berry > [During the last 17 years... I have been working at the restoration of a once exhausted hillside. Its scars are now healed over, though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/during-the-last-17-years-i-have-been-working-at-the-restoration-of-a/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Like the water of a deep stream, love is always too much. We did not make it. Though we drink till we burst, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/like-the-water-of-a-deep-stream-love-is-always-too-much-we-did-not/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [To husband is to use with care, to keep, to save, to make last, to conserve. Old usage tells us that there is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/to-husband-is-to-use-with-care-to-keep-to-save-to-make-last-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“The two families, sundered in the ruin of a friendship, were united again first in new friendship and then in mariage. 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He was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/i-knew-a-man-who-in-the-age-of-chain-saws-went-right-on-cutting-his/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“The concept of country, homeland, dwelling place becomes simplified as "the environment" -- that is, what surrounds us, we have already made a profound…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-concept-of-country-homeland-dwelling-place-becomes-simplified-as/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [A community is the mental and spiritual condition of knowing that the place is shared, and that the people who share the place define…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/a-community-is-the-mental-and-spiritual-condition-of-knowing-that-the/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“That we can prescribe the terms of our own success, that we can live outside or in ignorance of the Great Economy are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/that-we-can-prescribe-the-terms-of-our-own-success-that-we-can-live/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“The mind that comes to rest is tended In ways that it cannot intend: Is borne, preserved, and comprehended By what it cannot comprehend.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-mind-that-comes-to-rest-is-tended-in-ways-that-it-cannot-intend/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The mercy of the world is time. Time does not stop for love, but it does not stop for death and grief, either.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-mercy-of-the-world-is-time-time-does-not-stop-for-love-but-it/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The soil is the great connector of our lives, the source and destination of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-soil-is-the-great-connector-of-our-lives-the-source-and/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [I dislike the thought that some animal has been made miserable to feed me. If I am going to eat meat, I want it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/i-dislike-the-thought-that-some-animal-has-been-made-miserable-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/laughter-is-immeasurable-be-joyful/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [These are people who are capable of devotion, public devotion, to justice. They meant what they said and every day that passes, they mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/these-are-people-who-are-capable-of-devotion-public-devotion-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) [Explore all 847 Wendell Berry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) ## More Ability quotes > [I don't think there's a direct correlation between my sexuality and my skiing ability. But I think because I was so concerned about it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gus-kenworthy/i-don-t-think-there-s-a-direct-correlation-between-my-sexuality-and/) [Gus Kenworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gus-kenworthy/) > [“the importance of ability. 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Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-holland/) > [Maybe law enforcement would like the ability to turn on the camera on your Mac.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cook/maybe-law-enforcement-would-like-the-ability-to-turn-on-the-camera-on/) [Tim Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cook/) > [I've seen guys come along with more ability - they've been faster or bigger or stronger - but they never worked hard to develop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-largent/i-ve-seen-guys-come-along-with-more-ability-they-ve-been-faster-or/) [Steve Largent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-largent/) > [The youth of India has the strength to move the entire World with a click of a mouse, we have generated that ability!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/the-youth-of-india-has-the-strength-to-move-the-entire-world-with-a/) [Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/) > [Time hath not yet so dried this blood of mine, Nor age so eat up my invention, Nor fortune made such havoc of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/time-hath-not-yet-so-dried-this-blood-of-mine-nor-age-so-eat-up-my/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [An absolutely necessary part of a writer's equipment, almost as necessary as talent, is the ability to stand up under punishment, both the punishment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irwin-shaw/an-absolutely-necessary-part-of-a-writer-s-equipment-almost-as/) [Irwin Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irwin-shaw/) > [I'd be more frightened by not using whatever abilities I'd been given. I'd be more frightened by procrastination and laziness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denzel-washington/i-d-be-more-frightened-by-not-using-whatever-abilities-i-d-been-given/) [Denzel Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denzel-washington/) > [Bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. Take what I cannot give: my heart, body, thoughts, time, abilities, money, health, strength,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-prentiss/bring-into-captivity-every-thought-to-the-obedience-of-christ-take/) [Elizabeth Prentiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-prentiss/) > [You can only do the work to the very best of your ability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-baranski/you-can-only-do-the-work-to-the-very-best-of-your-ability/) [Christine Baranski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-baranski/) > [Judge a person not by his ability to make money but by his ability to retain it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/judge-a-person-not-by-his-ability-to-make-money-but-by-his-ability-to/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [Balance is the ability to be happy in the midst of the most chaotic or even boring or transient circumstance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/balance-is-the-ability-to-be-happy-in-the-midst-of-the-most-chaotic/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Bobby had faith in my ability as a singer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-london/bobby-had-faith-in-my-ability-as-a-singer/) [Julie London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-london/) [Browse all 9,990 Ability quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ability/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The issue here really is not whether international trade shall be free but whether or not it makes any sense for a country - or, for that matter, a region - to destroy its own capacity to produce its own food. 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