Please kindly review my essay

Countries should try to produce all the foods for the population and import as little as possible. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Some people argue that countries should try to be self-sufficient in terms of foods and import as little as possible. From my perspective, I completely disagree with this opinion because I believe that by importing, consumers would have a greater selection for foods with higher standards and lower prices.

Seemingly, importing allows a country to take advantage of national differences in the costs and quality of foods. Some countries can produce some specific types of foods with incomparable quantity and quality, whereas others are unable to produce those products. Alternatively, they may be produced, but at such low volumes that unit costs and prices are considerably higher. This is due to the fact that climate and natural resource endowment are different in every country. By this I mean, some countries have favorable conditions to produce some specific kinds of foods, while others do not. Therefore, by importing foreign foods, a country can not only expand the variety of food products available to consumers but also reduce the cost of food production.

Additionally, for countries that are densely populated, providing all the citizens with enough foods is challenging, and this might lead to various problems. Since the demand for foods in these countries is extremely high, farmers and agricultural companies are forced to produce foods as quickly as possible. As a consequence, when the demand outstrips supply, farmers could use harmful chemicals to stimulate the growth of plants and other food products, which probably have negative effects on people’s health. As an example, many Vietnamese farmers use toxin chemicals to increase their crops yield quickly so that they can sell their produce in markets. This might be the main factor that has made many Vietnamese people suffer from food poisoning or even cancer.

In conclusion, I totally disagree with the opinion that countries should be food independent and importing should be curbed. This is because I believe importing allows a country to provide consumers with greater choices for foods with lower prices and higher quality.