The world agri-food system is getting increasingly 'globalized'. As the majority moves into cities, and those who remain in rural areas adopt urbanized lifestyles the consumption of food is changing toward varied yet similar consumption around the world. This book reflects on how these changes are affecting the poor by looking at specific factors that are driving change. The chapters consider different angles to the following questions: How do these changes affect the roles and powers of various actors along the food chain? How relevant are these trends to the economic developments within the global agri-food system, and in particular to the poor segments of society? How is the globalization of foods affecting human health? How can international and national policy address possible adverse direct and indirect effects of globalization of the world's agri-food system while strengthening positive ones? The book attempts to combine both lines of inquiry, focusing more specifically on the globalization of agri-food systems, the actual and potential impacts of these trends on the poor, and the implications for food and nutrition security in developing countries.

Globalization and Agriculture: Redefining Unequal Development focuses on the development of national agriculture of nine countries in Latin America, Africa, and Asia from two different and complementary angles. One angle is the opportunities created by globalization for agricultural production and how the countries have dealt with the expansion of the world, as a consequence of the world market. The other angle is the social and economic consequences of globalization for agricultural and rural development. The case studies included in this book prove that the contradictory meanings referred above are indeed representative of different facets and features of globalization.

The last decade has seen a growing body of research about globalization and climate change in the Caribbean. This collection is a significant addition to the literature on a topic that is of critical importance to the region. It explores research from a number of Caribbean islands dealing with a range of issues related to agriculture and food in the context of globalization and climate change. Using a broad livelihoods perspective, the impacts on rural livelihoods are explored as well as issues related to community level resilience, adaptability and adaptations. The volume is strengthened by gendered analyses of issues and discussions informed by a diverse range of research methods and methodologies. Scholars of Caribbean studies and studies pertaining to social, cultural, economic and environmental issues facing Small Island Developing States (SIDS) will greatly benefit from this book.

This Handbook provides insights to the ways in which globalisation is affecting the whole agri-food system from farms to the consumer. It covers themes including the physical basis of agriculture, the influence of trade policies, the nature of globalis

This examination of the role of agriculture and food in the new international division of labor argues that the globalized economy creates new winners and losers.

Food security and sustainability are arguably the most important issues facing the agri-food sector at the beginning of a new millennium. In an era of globalization, where nation states appear to have a diminishing role in governing these matters, the existing and emerging power relations underpinning agri-food regulation demand renewed scholarly attention. Drawing upon the expertise of some of the most prominent writers in rural sociology, geography and anthropology, this book shows how globalization processes open up a new regulatory politics in which ‘non-political’ forms of governing play an increasingly influential role in shaping agricultural production and consumption. The first of its kind to critically and comprehensively examine new forms of governing and regulation, this important text explores the relationship between globalization and new sites, spaces and agents of agricultural regulation, using detailed case studies in developed nations to illustrate points made. Demonstrating the political significance of regulatory mechanisms extending beyond the state, the book also discusses the consequences for the governing of the agri-food sector.

Agricultural Geography has changed dramatically in recent decades, reflecting the transformation of the farming industry itself. Geographies of Agriculture embraces these changes, applying ideas and methods from contemporary social science, as it moves beyond farm-based production to address current issues affecting the production and consumption of food and fibre throughout the world. The book places special emphasis on topics that reflect globalisation processes, integration of agriculture into the wider agri-food system, concern with attaining sustainable production systems, and the importance of both government and supra-government policies. Examples are drawn from North America, Western Europe and the developing world. Geographies of Agriculture will appeal especially to Geography students, but should also be of interest to a broader range of students in Sociology, Economics and Development Studies, and anyone interested in agriculture, food production and consumption, and rural development.

Sustainable agriculture is based on the sustainable use of natural resources land, water and agricultural biodiversity, including that of plants and animals. The sustainable use of these, in turn, requires that their ownership and control lie with decentralised agricultural communities to generate livelihoods, provide food and conserve natural resources. These three dimensions of ecological security, livelihood security and food security are the essential elements of an agriculture policy which is sustainable and equitable. This book shows how the processes of globalization threaten to undermine all three dimensions, and calls for immediate action.

Explores capital mobility under globalization by studying some of its salient consequences in agriculture and food in North and South America. This title probes the manner in which capital mobility alters the organization of the temporal and spatial dimensions that characterize the reproduction of capital.