ABSTRACT
This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on the key concepts discussed in the preceding chapters of this book. The book argues that the question of security of supply must be taken into account when considering the positions different countries that will take on agricultural questions. It summarizes the varying policy configurations in Canadian agriculture, each of which is characterized by its own constellation of interest-group politics, both with respect to the interaction among the agricultural groups, and in terms of the dynamics of their relationships with government. The book highlights the importance of political factors for understanding US agriculture and provides the background for the evolution of trade policy in Western Europe and the US The domestic determinant of agricultural decision-making aie among the most crucial variables that must be taken into account in order to make sense of the European Community’s Common Agricultural Policy and its apparent irrationality in economic terms.
