US Trade Policy Power and Sustainable Consumption: Beef and Cars in North East Asia

This paper describes the historical development of the traditionally marked contrast in regional consumption patterns between the Americas and North East Asia, and discusses the impact of these consumption patterns on the environment. Using the literature on consumption of beef and cars as indicators of consumption patterns and sustainability, the paper shows that the consumption style of the Americas is less sustainable than the traditional consumption patterns in North East Asia. However, it is also demonstrated that a change in consumption patterns in North East Asia has taken place throughout the 1990s, resulting in a move toward greater unsustainability. The reasons for this change are discussed, and it is argued that US trade policy power has played a significant role. © 2003, Kluwer Academic Publishers.