Introduction

References to the world as a "global village" are more and more frequent. Former barriers such as distance and language are being removed. Voice and data communications from one side of the earth to other are now instantaneous, and visual communications are just around the corner. Traveling is more affordable and faster than in the past and the large number of immigrants, especially in developed countries, is facilitating the discovery and appreciation of world-wide cultural diversity. This new opening of the world implies a new consciousness of the whole globe as a single entity and is commonly referred to as "globalization." However, the most common usage for the term globalization relates to the economic world, with most references defining it as the process which leads to the creation of a single, international financial market. Over the last thirty years, manufacturers and producers have faced an increasing pressure to build and sell in more than one country. To be successful, companies cannot think about their market in local or national terms, but must do so in global terms. Agriculture is also part of this economic globalization process. It is now common to eat food that was grown on the other side of the earth. In our grand-parents' time, receiving an orange at Christmas was an exceptional gift; fresh salad was a summertime treat; kiwis and emu burgers were exotic foods from fairytales. Today, however, eating oranges, fresh salads and kiwis is part of the daily diet. In fact, supermarket shelves are crammed with food from all around the world. Efficient and cheap transportation, as well as improved methods of preservation are mainly responsible for the increased worldwide trading of agricultural produce. The removal of regulations and trade agreements between countries have also facilitated the globalization of agriculture.