Food and agribusiness is one of the fastest changing global markets; change that is driven by technology, developments in manufacturing and supply, and a growing consumer engagement. The success of the agri-food industry and many of our household brand names will depend on how much you understand about these changes and the extent to which you can deliver secure and competitive products in the face of growing expectations about food safety and quality, as well as changing attitudes about the environment, human diet and nutrition, and animal welfare. The Crisis of Food Brands offers perspectives on many key aspects of these changes including the role of business, policy-makers, and the media in communicating with and engaging stakeholders about: o relevant and dynamic models of risk and crisis management; o the value of innovative and, sometimes controversial, food systems; o their buying behaviour and attitudes to movements such as organic and fair trade; o how and where we source and buy our food now (and in the future). The quality of the original research that underpins this book and the imagination and practicality with which the authors address its applications for the industry is first rate. Anyone with responsibility for marketing food, communicating about the food industry, or engaging with consumers will find this an important source of ideas and inspiration.

Lays out a picture of impending planetary crisis - a global food shortage that threatens to hit by mid-century - that would dwarf any in our previous experience. This book describes a dangerous confluence of shortages - of water, land, energy, technology, and knowledge - combined with the increased demand created by population and economic growth

Few titles could be timelier than the second edition of Crisis Management in the Food and Drinks Industry – A Practical Approach. The world is worrying about a human pandemic arising from the avian flu epidemic that is spreading from the Far East, the implications of which could be as great for the food industry as were the outbreaks of foot and mouth disease and BSE. This practical and greatly expanded edition by media and public relations veteran Colin Doeg focuses on the communications aspects of dealing with a crisis. It is global in its coverage of the subject, reviewing practices and requirements in countries ranging from the USA and the UK to Australia and New Zealand. Doeg offers advice ranging from preparing for the unthinkable to the dramatic expansion of the Internet, avoiding being caught off-guard by a situation, the ramifications of product tampering and managing an actual crisis. Advice is also offered on dealing with extremist organizations and terrorist threats as well as bioterrorism – "a clear and present danger" – and a number of problems facing the food industry, including the practice of selling meat unfit for human consumption and the threat posed by the increasing toxicity of fish due to the rising pollution of the world’s oceans. In a special late chapter – written only three months before publication – the author looks ahead to events which he believes will shape the world of crisis management in the future, including the empowering influence of the Internet during the 2004 Asian Tsunami, the discovery of the illegal dye Sudan 1 (Red) in millions of food products and the fears of a pandemic arising from the spreading outbreak of avian flu. Examples of typical documents like a crisis plan for a business, a crisis checklist, a press release announcing a product recall, an announcement to employees and a checklist for anyone dealing with a threatening phone call are provided. Also included is a list of sources of information and assistance in the event of a product crisis. Crisis Management in the Food and Drinks Industry is the only title dealing specifically with this crucial subject in relation to the food industry. As such, it is relevant not only to those in the food industry, but also to marketing and senior management in general in the fields of agriculture, public health and law enforcement.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the author of Salt Sugar Fat comes a “gripping” (The Wall Street Journal) exposé of how the processed food industry exploits our evolutionary instincts, the emotions we associate with food, and legal loopholes in their pursuit of profit over public health. “The processed food industry has managed to avoid being lumped in with Big Tobacco—which is why Michael Moss’s new book is so important.”—Charles Duhigg, author of The Power of Habit Everyone knows how hard it can be to maintain a healthy diet. But what if some of the decisions we make about what to eat are beyond our control? Is it possible that food is addictive, like drugs or alcohol? And to what extent does the food industry know, or care, about these vulnerabilities? In Hooked, Pulitzer Prize–winning investigative reporter Michael Moss sets out to answer these questions—and to find the true peril in our food. Moss uses the latest research on addiction to uncover what the scientific and medical communities—as well as food manufacturers—already know: that food, in some cases, is even more addictive than alcohol, cigarettes, and drugs. Our bodies are hardwired for sweets, so food giants have developed fifty-six types of sugar to add to their products, creating in us the expectation that everything should be cloying; we’ve evolved to prefer fast, convenient meals, hence our modern-day preference for ready-to-eat foods. Moss goes on to show how the processed food industry—including major companies like Nestlé, Mars, and Kellogg’s—has tried not only to evade this troubling discovery about the addictiveness of food but to actually exploit it. For instance, in response to recent dieting trends, food manufacturers have simply turned junk food into junk diets, filling grocery stores with “diet” foods that are hardly distinguishable from the products that got us into trouble in the first place. As obesity rates continue to climb, manufacturers are now claiming to add ingredients that can effortlessly cure our compulsive eating habits. A gripping account of the legal battles, insidious marketing campaigns, and cutting-edge food science that have brought us to our current public health crisis, Hooked lays out all that the food industry is doing to exploit and deepen our addictions, and shows us why what we eat has never mattered more.

Today there are over a billion hungry people on the planet, more than ever before in history. While the global food crisis dropped out of the news in 2008, it returned in 2011 (and is threatening us again in 2012) and remains a painful reality for the world's poor and underserved. Why, in a time of record harvests, are a record number of people going hungry? And why are a handful of corporations making record profits? In Food Rebellions! Crisis and the Hunger for Justice, authors Eric Holt-Giménez and Raj Patel with Annie Shattuck offer us the real story behind the global food crisis and document the growing trend of grassroots solutions to hunger spreading around the world. Food Rebellions! contains up to date information about the current political and economic realities of our food systems. Anchored in political economy and an historical perspective, it is a valuable academic resource for understanding the root causes of hunger, growing inequality, the industrial agri-foods complex, and political unrest. Using a multidisciplinary approach, Holt-Giménez and Patel give a detailed historical analysis of the events that led to the global food crisis and document the grassroots initiatives of social movements working to forge food sovereignty around the world. These social movements and this inspiring book compel readers to confront the crucial question: Who is hungry, why, and what can we do about it?

Discover the history, causes, impacts, and potential future of global food shortages-a problem for all of humanity, not just the developing world. This important reference work takes an in-depth look at the geographic nature of the problem of global food shortages, helping readers to understand that while this is not a problem that exists everywhere, it is a problem that touches everyone. The book begins with an introduction to the basics of global food shortages, moves through the history of the issue, and then explains the current state of affairs. From there, it examines root causes, proposes solutions, and takes a speculative look into the future. This organization moves readers through the problem in a systematic and easy-to-follow manner, while also allowing them to explore each aspect of the issue individually. A curated selection of further readings at the end of each chapter points readers toward resources for additional research and discovery. The book concludes with a selection of perspective essays written by expert contributors. Each explores a different facet of the topic, from the potential of GMO crops to the impact of food waste. Food Shortage Crisis illustrates that the problems of food scarcity and insecurity are neither new nor confined to the developing world. They are the result of a complex interplay of issues at every stage of the process of feeding humanity, from food production to sale and distribution to consumption. Age-old factors such as poverty and inequality are compounded by new realities such as climate change. Global food shortages affect more than human health; they have the potential to cause economic devastation, trigger civil unrest and international conflicts, and change how we as humans interact with the planet and each other.

Once we could fill our grocery carts with cheap and plentiful food, but not anymore. Cheap food has gone the way of cheap oil. Climate change is already reducing crop yields worldwide. The cost of flying in food from far away and shipping it across the country in refrigerated trucks is rapidly becoming unviable. Cars and cows increasingly devour grain harvests, sending prices skyrocketing. More Americans than ever before require food stamps and food pantries just to get by, and a worldwide food crisis is unfolding, overseas and in our kitchens. We can keep hunger from stalking our families, but doing so will require a fundamental shift in our approach to field and table. A Nation of Farmers examines the limits and dangers of the globalized food system and how returning to basics is our best hope. The book includes in-depth guidelines for: Creating resilient local food systems Growing, cooking and eating sustainably and naturally Becoming part of the solution to the food crisis. The book argues that we need to make self-provisioning, once the most ordinary of human activities, central to our lives. The results will be better food, better health, better security and freedom from corporations that don't have our interests at heart. Critical reading for anyone who eats and cares about high-quality food and food sources.

Given the central role of the food and agriculture system in driving so many of the connected ecological, social and economic threats and challenges we currently face, Rethinking Food and Agriculture reviews, reassesses and reimagines the current food and agriculture system and the narrow paradigm in which it operates. Rethinking Food and Agriculture explores and uncovers some of the key historical, ethical, economic, social, cultural, political, and structural drivers and root causes of unsustainability, degradation of the agricultural environment, destruction of nature, short-comings in science and knowledge systems, inequality, hunger and food insecurity, and disharmony. It reviews efforts towards 'sustainable development', and reassesses whether these efforts have been implemented with adequate responsibility, acceptable societal and environmental costs and optimal engagement to secure sustainability, equity and justice. The book highlights the many ways that farmers and their communities, civil society groups, social movements, development experts, scientists and others have been raising awareness of these issues, implementing solutions and forging 'new ways forward', for example towards paradigms of agriculture, natural resource management and human nutrition which are more sustainable and just. Rethinking Food and Agriculture proposes ways to move beyond the current limited view of agro-ecological sustainability towards overall sustainability of the food and agriculture system based on the principle of 'inclusive responsibility'. Inclusive responsibility encourages ecosystem sustainability based on agro-ecological and planetary limits to sustainable resource use for production and livelihoods. Inclusive responsibility also places importance on quality of life, pluralism, equity and justice for all and emphasises the health, well-being, sovereignty, dignity and rights of producers, consumers and other stakeholders, as well as of nonhuman animals and the natural world. - Explores some of the key drivers and root causes of unsustainability , degradation of the agricultural environment and destruction of nature - Highlights the many ways that different stakeholders have been forging 'new ways forward' towards alternative paradigms of agriculture, human nutrition and political economy, which are more sustainable and just - Proposes ways to move beyong the current unsustainable exploitation of natural resources towards agroecological sustainability and overall sustainability of the food and agriculture system based on 'inclusive responsibility'

From a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter at The New York Times comes the troubling story of the rise of the processed food industry -- and how it used salt, sugar, and fat to addict us. Salt Sugar Fat is a journey into the highly secretive world of the processed food giants, and the story of how they have deployed these three essential ingredients, over the past five decades, to dominate the North American diet. This is an eye-opening book that demonstrates how the makers of these foods have chosen, time and again, to double down on their efforts to increase consumption and profits, gambling that consumers and regulators would never figure them out. With meticulous original reporting, access to confidential files and memos, and numerous sources from deep inside the industry, it shows how these companies have pushed ahead, despite their own misgivings (never aired publicly). Salt Sugar Fat is the story of how we got here, and it will hold the food giants accountable for the social costs that keep climbing even as some of the industry's own say, "Enough already."