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Globalising Food: Agrarian Questions and Global Restructuring
David Goodman
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The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals
ASIN: 041516253X |
Book Description
Big Macs, chickens and cut flowers are commodities beginning to dominate the global agro-food system. Using case studies from the US, Britain, India, South Africa, New Zealand and Latin America,
Globalising Food addresses the key themes that are transforming the character of the traditional agricultural communities, ranging from multinational food corporations and World Bank policies, to regulation of pollution and labor relations.
Book Description
Comprehensive coverage of both the micro and macro facets of agricultural economics and agribusiness. This book includes the most current data available on such topics as the description of the food and fiber system, the effects of the North American Trade Alliance on Agribusiness, and GATT.
Customer Reviews:
A great book of Agribusiness.......2000-05-18
Some time ago, I had in my hands this book. And never forgot it. This book is the most comprehensive work about agri-markets. In fact, in a wide range of topics we can learn macro and micro economics that rules this special market. I remember, in special, the chapter that describes the price determinations. The clarity of concepts with a easily assimilation, with a lot of cases that get to readers a simply notion of his contents. In brief I believe this book is a powerfull tool for students, farmers, economist, and all those people interesten in behavoir of Agri Markets.
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Worlds of Food: Place, Power, and Provenance in the Food Chain (Oxford Geographical and Environmental Studies Series)
Kevin Morgan ,
Terry Marsden , and
Jonathan Murdoch
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
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Fair Trade: The Challenges of Transforming Globalization
ASIN: 0199271585 |
Book Description
From farm to fork, the conventional food chain is under enormous pressure to respond to a whole series of new challenges - food scares in rich countries, food security concerns in poor countries, and a burgeoning problem of obesity in all countries. As more and more people demand to know where their food comes from, and how it is produced, issues of place, power, and provenance assume increasing significance for producers, consumers, and regulators, challenging the corporate forces that shape the 'placeless foodscape'. Far from being confined to niche products, questions about the origins of food are also surfacing in the conventional sector, where labelling has become a major political issue. Drawing on theories of multi-level governance, three leading scholars in the field explore the geo-politics of the food chain in different spatial arenas: the World Trade Organization, where free trade principles clash with fair trade concerns in the debate about agricultural reform; the European Union, where producers are under pressure from environmentalists for a more traceable and sustainable food system; and the US, where there is a striking contradiction between the rhetoric of free markets and the reality of a heavily subsidised farming sector. To understand the local impact of these global trends, the authors explore three different regional worlds of food: the traditional world of localised quality in Tuscany, the peripheral world of commodity production in Wales, and the frontier world of agri-business in California.
Book Description
Agricultural employment is plagued with one of the highest levels of mortality among occupational groups in the United States, making the health and safety of farmers, farm workers, and farm residents a leading priority for epidemiologists, occupational health and safety professionals, rural health providers, public health practitioners, and extension agents and educators.Satisfying a growing need for a textbook on this significant aspect of public health, Agricultural Medicine is the first comprehensive textbook and reference for students of public health and health professionals in the field of rural medicine. Agricultural health and safety engages a multidisciplinary team of medical professionals, engineers, sociologists, epidemiologists, and psychologists for whom this book is an overdue yet essential reference.The authors bring a combined 60 years of practice, research, teaching, and scholarship in agricultural medicine to the design and content of this book. Their farm background and ownership add practicality and relevancy to their presentation. An overview of the industry and workforce -agricultural production in the global economy, demographics of the workforce, regulations, statistics, and organizations targeting agricultural health and safety -provides context for the broad but thorough coverage of diseases, infectious and toxic agents, and potential injuries to which agricultural populations are exposed daily.
Book Description
Most Africans live in rural areas and derive their incomes from farming; but because African governments follow policies that are adverse to most farmers' interests, these countries fail to produce enough food to feed their populations. Markets and States in Tropical Africa analyzes these and other paradoxical features of development in modern Africa and explores how governments have intervened and diverted resources from farmers to other sectors of society. A classic of the field since its publication in 1981, this edition includes a new preface by the author.
Customer Reviews:
Straightforward, seminal - - if perhaps too simple.......2007-08-07
This book examines a simple and important puzzle: why do African governments choose such terrible economic policies? These policies are especially bad for agriculture, even though most Africans are farmers.
The answer is simple: African governments systematically favor urban interests. That means that they provide cheap food for urban workers, which means cheap labor for urban businesses (capital). These groups are outnumbered, but they live in the cities. This means that labor and capital can mobilize politically against the government in the capital city, while farmers - - who are scattered all over a large countryside with poor transportation links - - find it very difficult to pressure the government.
Bates' basic claim has much to recommend it. It is simple, yet it served as a productive research agenda for other studies - - such as Michael Lofchie's comparison of Kenya and Tanzania, among others. It is no wonder that this book made Bates' reputation, and was a seminal contribution to political economy in its day.
Its simplicity also makes the argument incomplete. Though he does discuss colonial legacies, Bates doesn't consider the wider international context. African countries would find it difficult to pursue pro-farmer policies because the rich world, especially in Europe and Japan, closes its markets to many African food products. Certainly this fact deserves to play an important role when we consider the poor choices that African governments make.
A Testimony to Dependent Development.......2007-04-26
The decolonization of Africa was espoused by two ideals of the African people: political independence and economic development. The African nationalists attributed their economic backwardness to their colonial heritage and believed that `independence' would pave the way to prosperity. Yet facing the dilemmas of economic development and the limitations of the international system, they eventually ended up with inefficient industrial firms, impoverished peasantry, and increased economic inequality.
Robert Bates' Markets and States in Tropical Africa analyzes the reasons for and the mechanism of state intervention in market in African states. Like every other country who has attempted to develop so far, independent African countries too faced the dilemmas of economic development, namely capital accumulation and market creation. The economies of Africa have been overwhelmingly rural in nature and the governing elites in Africa aimed to change this situation by through industrialization. The scarcity of capital led national elites to extract resources from agriculture and channel them into manufacture and industry. What is important here, as Bates emphasize, is that all nations seeking to industrialize have done this: "The African policies are thus notable not as exceptions but as examples of a larger class," (p. 119). The forms of economic manipulation were compatible with the prevailing economic doctrines: industry is the engine of growth, savings come from the profits of industry, rural sector should be squeezed for development, etc. (p. 97).
The African governments had both economic and political incentives to channel resources from the rural agricultural sector to the urban industrial enterprises. On the one side they regarded this as necessary for the industrialization and economic development of their countries; on the other side, "the politicization of the electorate" in the nationalist era pushed the governing elite to follow clientalist policies to maintain their political status. As Bates put is, the resources allocated through governmental programs have been channeled to those "whose support is politically useful or economically rewarding to the state - that is, to members of the elite," (p. 56).
As for the instruments of state intervention in the market, African governments mostly exploited taxes, tariffs, and subsidies to transfer resources from rural areas to urban ones. Government in Africa subsidized fertilizers, seeds, mechanical equipments, land, and credit for commercial farming (p. 50). The taxes collected from the rural areas constituted the bulk of these subsidies given to the urban and rural elites. Also, to promote industrial development, African governments constructed protective barriers between the world and domestic markets which sheltered local industries from foreign competition (p. 66). Apparently, the peasantry has been the victim of both policies.
The history of African economic development in the post-independence era in general and Robert Bates' book in particular demonstrate the inevitability of the sacrifices and burden that at least one class should undertake. Historically speaking, these classes have usually been peasantry and workers. A capitalist economic development necessitates the accumulation of capital in the hands of a capitalist entrepreneur class, which forces the state to intervene in the market and to channel resources from the lower strata to the upper ones. Neither the developed Western countries nor the East Asian NICs escaped this necessity of economic development. Yet what made these countries `overcome' the aforementioned dilemma and eventually become a `success story' were the availability of `external resources and market' at their disposal. While in the Western case the cheap labor, food, and market of what is now called the Third World made possible the redemption of the agonies of the peasantry and the eventual establishment of `welfare states', in the `Asian miracle' case, their privileged access to the Western markets provided the `fuel' to keep their economic growth and to gradually relieve the burden of the peasantry and working class in these countries. It was not the intervention of the state in the market that differed the African case from the `success' stories, rather it was the unavailability of external means that determined the eventual fates of African countries.
Rational Choice Approcah to African Agricultural Crisis.......2006-07-28
In this work, Bates moves away from dependency theory in explaining the financial discrepancies between the Center and Periphery. Rather than concentrating on external catalysts to stalled development, Bates rational-actor model concentrates on the internal problems facing African development, particularly the pursuit of interests on the part of political and urban elites.
Much of Africa is facing an agricultural crisis. Although generally populated by small farmers, many nations in Africa face food shortages. Bates argues that these crises are the result of inefficient policies (which intervene in, and distort markets) implemented by political and economic elites. The question becomes, why are these policies being pursued? Bates explains the implementation of these inefficient agricultural policies through a rational choice model. Bates suggests that these policies are developed and implemented by rational political and economic elites seeking to maximize their own utility - particularly in regards to garnering political support - rather than pursing the collective good. This often occurs at the expense of many small farmers. He writes, "Policies are designed to secure the advantages of particular interests, to appease powerful political forces, and to enhance the capacity of political regimes to remain in power" (5-6).
The political and urban elites work in tandem to harvest economic resources garnered from the agricultural sector to promote industrialization. This is often done through the manipulation of market forces, particularly in keeping food prices low for urban interests. Doing so keeps the urban masses content, and allows industrialists to maintain low wages. In turn, the policy making elites garner political support. Bates spells out the beneficiaries of such policies clearly. "Owners and workers in industrial firms, economic and political elites, privileged farmers and the mangers of public bureaucracies - these constitute the development coalition in contemporary Africa" and hence benefit from the inefficient policies.
In regards to production, such policies skew the incentive structure of smaller agricultural producers. When receiving below world market prices, farmers will lower production, in turn limiting food supply. Or farmers may pursue a policy of "out-migration" and moved to the urban areas in pursuit of jobs. In this regard, the peasants are too acting rationally according to Bates model. Bates also discusses the problems of mass organization in order to oppose these policies. The small farmers are so dispersed and politically weak that the collective action problems ensue. The government expands on these collective action problems by offering preferential disbursements of subsidies, etc. to those who tow the party line. This divide and conquer technique has limited the power of the rural masses to organize a coherent oppostion.
Extracting Rents Away from the Agricultural Sector.......2005-12-05
In this landmark study, Robert Bates offered an interpretation of African economic policies toward the agriculture sector that set the terms of the debate for the years to come. Why do African governments pursue policies that create market distortions, skewed incentives and misallocation of resources, despite their obvious costs for social welfare and long-term development? The core of Robert Bates' argument is that bad economics often makes good politics: governments choose to pursue policies that are clearly irrational from an economic viewpoint because their economic and social costs are more than offset by the political benefits that accrue to them and to the social forces that maintain them in power.
Things did not have to turn that way. Political elites who took power at the time of the independences sincerely believed that they could put their countries on a path to economic modernization and social well-being. What trapped Africa into a low equilibrium of narrow clientelism and entrenched self-interests was a mix of bad institutions, bad advice and bad luck.
African governments inherited from their colonizers institutions that were set to extract rents from the agriculture sector rather than to maximize the welfare of farmers. They chose a mix of development policies that emphasized the role of the state and the importance of a nascent manufacturing sector. And they benefited from a period of high commodity prices that led them to consider cash crops and natural resources as an inexhaustible source of foreign exchange revenue.
The institution that came to symbolize the rent-extracting nature of African agriculture policies is the marketing board, which purchased cash crops from farmers at administratively determined prices and then sold them for a higher price on the world market, thereby accumulating funds that could be used for state-sponsored industrial projects or for social subsidies, if not for outright plundering. Another instrument of redistribution away from the agriculture sector was the local industrial firm that processed raw agricultural products acquired at artificially low prices, or the importation of foreign crops at prices below domestic ones in order to feed urban workers and lower the cost of living.
This complex web of policies and institutions should not be seen solely as a way to transfer resources away from agriculture into the modern urban economy, thereby achieving the "primitive accumulation" that Marxist economists saw as a condition to industrial development. Some policies, such as large irrigation projects, the subsidization of inputs, the channeling of credit or the extension of public services to rural areas, benefit large landowners at the expense of small-scale farmers. Likewise, industrial development projects under protective trade policies give rise to large, capital intensive public enterprises which often operate below capacity and at high costs.
Robert Bates makes heavy use of interest group theory to explain how policies are designed to secure advantage for particular interests, to appease powerful political forces, and to enhance the capacity of political regimes to remain in power. More ground-breaking is his analysis of the market as the setting for the struggle between the peasant and the state, the political arena in which social forces collide or avoid each other. Through intervention in the market, the state seeks to levy resources from the countryside, to appease social unrest in urban areas and to serve the private interests of those in power. For their part, rural producers use the market as a means of defense against the state, thereby evading some of the adverse consequences of government policies. They do so in part by reducing output, shifting crops, migrating out of the countryside, returning to subsistence lifestyles or joining the informal sector. Consequently, policy aberrations on the part of the government are more likely to result in exit patterns than in attempts at reforms.
This book has been vilified in some quarters because it was said to have provided the intellectual blueprint to the policies of structural adjustment that swept African countries soon after its publication. The denunciation of the urban bias and the abolition of the marketing boards certainly provided a rallying cry that was easily picked up by market reformers working from development agencies, with little consideration to the social forces that would be put in motion by such prescriptions. And it is true that Bates is almost entirely silent on the organizational characteristics of his interest group coalitions that underpin policy choices and institutional settings. But this classic work still provides many insights on Africa's internal and external structural problems.
Explains how states affect market operations in Africa.......2000-10-31
This book nicely presents the way that African governments influence markets, why they do so, and the effect of their involvement on citizens, especially the poor. I found it helpful in explaining why some states make the decisions they do, despite the fact that they might not always be the most economically efficient.
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- A Chronicle of a Creative Company Combating the Cold War
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Mission Possible: The Latin American Agribusiness Development Corporation
Robert Ross
Manufacturer: Transaction Publishers
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ASIN: 0765800357 |
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A Chronicle of a Creative Company Combating the Cold War.......2000-10-24
The author documents the inception and extraordinary success of a small company that challenged the Cold War and sprung into becoming an accomplished enterprise. The author also managed to take a snoozing subject destined for insomniacs and transformed it into a charming book for history buffs and students of economic development and international business management. Readers for generations to come will continue to benefit from this company history and this authors wisdom.
Book Description
A sweeping analysis of California's agrarian history from 1850 to the present.
For over a century, California has been the world's most advanced agricultural zone, an agrarian juggernaut that not only outproduces every state in America, but also most countries. California's success, however, has come at significant costs. Never a family-farm region like the Midwest, California's landscape and Mediterranean climate have been manipulated and exploited to serve modern business interests. Home to gargantuan accomplishments such as the world's largest water storage and transfer network, California also relies on an army of Mexican farm laborers who live and work under dismal conditions.
In The Conquest of Bread, acclaimed historian Richard A. Walker offers a wide-angle overview of the agro-industrial system of production in California from farm to table. He lays bare the long evolution of each link in the food chain, showing how a persistent emphasis on productivity and growth allowed California to outpace agriculture elsewhere in the United States. Full of thunder and surprises, The Conquest of Bread allows the reader to weigh the claims of both boosters and critics in the debate over the most extraordinary agricultural profusion in the modern world.
Customer Reviews:
stunningly comprehensive.......2005-06-14
The Conquest of Bread will make compelling reading for anyone interested in California and its history, the history of agriculture, or simply how society works. For Walker, the answers are not to be found in the intersects of supply and demand curves and neo-liberal theory, supposedly applicable to every time and place, but rather in how particular classes, groups, and social forces have come together over the last 150 years to produce California agribusiness, a social phenomenon as staggering in its success and productivity as it is in its levels of human exploitation and environmental degradation.
a strong argument against academic tenure.......2005-01-21
Here is an educated man, isolated from peer review, re-warming ancient, pointless Populist ideas about a subject he knows only by association. Without the bulwark of tenure, he could have been challenged to have written something less formulaic and outdated.
What is more the pity is that he cares about his subject; he is just not used to having to defend his ideas, so he just comes off as a boring, monomoniacal old professor. One without an editor.
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Forest Products and Wood Science: An Introduction
Jim L. Bowyer ,
Rubin Shmulsky , and
John G. Haygreen
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Identifying Wood: Accurate Results with Simple Tools
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ASIN: 0813820367 |
Book Description
Forest Products and Wood Science: An Introduction, Fifth Edition is a revised and updated edition of this classic introductory textbook. The fifth edition discusses key areas in wood science including characteristics and structure of wood, applications and performance capabilities of forest products, and the environmental implications of the use of wood-based materials. In addition, the authors explain basic production processes and explore the use of wood as a source of energy and industrial chemicals.Expanding and updating key data, the new edition of Forest Products and Wood Science provides students, wood scientists, and forest product professionals with a comprehensive overview of the anatomical and physical nature of wood and the relationship of these characteristics to its use as an industrial raw material. The fifth edition also contains a valuable new webliography providing an extensive list of valuable web resources available in the areas of forest products and wood science. With updated research findings and expanded discussions of key areas in wood science that reflect the changing face of the forest products industry, Forest Products and Wood Science: An Introduction, Fifth Edition will continue to be an indispensable text for students and professionals in the field.
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Introduction to Food and Agribusiness Management
Greg A. Baker ,
Orlen Grunewald , and
William D. Gorman
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall
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