Beyond The Amber Waves Of Grain

This book explores the large-scale impacts of economic restructuring in the Midwest in response to the 1980s farm crisis. Drawing upon detailed surveys from twelve north-central states, the authors offer a comprehensive view of farm restructuring and its social, economic, and political consequences. The study goes beyond the farm gate to look at the broader implications of those changes for agriculture policy, related industries, and areas still dependent upon farming, contributing to the literature on economic restructuring. Like the factory closings in the Rust Belt, the dramatic failure of agricultural industries in the Farm Belt has caused fundamental changes in the organization and control of production. The impact of job losses and economic depression and the shattering of a way of life have shaken public complacency about the stability of many fundamental American myths. Beyond the Amber Waves of Grain looks at the farm crisis not as a purely agricultural, nonurban issue but as one that adds to our understanding of the overall social impacts of economic change. The book takes up the story of Midwestern farm enterprises in the wake of the farm crisis of the 1980s. Using data drawn from detailed surveys of 3,940 farm households in twelve north-central states, the authors offer a comprehensive view of the social and economic restructuring of agriculture and explore the consequences for farm enterprises, farm households, and farming communities. The study goes beyond the farm gate to look at the broader implications for related industries and communities dependent upon farming, for agricultural and rural policies, and for farm women and men, contributing to the literature on economic restructuring and its outcomes.

An edition of the nineteenth-century poem that was later set to music, illustrated by a noted American artist.

A biography of a staple grain we often take for granted, exploring how wheat went from wild grass to a world-shaping crop. At breakfast tables and bakeries, we take for granted a grain that has made human civilization possible, a cereal whose humble origins belie its world-shaping power: wheat. Amber Waves tells the story of a group of grass species that first grew in scattered stands in the foothills of the Middle East until our ancestors discovered their value as a source of food. Over thousands of years, we moved their seeds to all but the polar regions of Earth, slowly cultivating what we now know as wheat, and in the process creating a world of cuisines that uses wheat seeds as a staple food. Wheat spread across the globe, but as ecologist Catherine Zabinski shows us, a biography of wheat is not only the story of how plants ensure their own success: from the earliest bread to the most mouthwatering pasta, it is also a story of human ingenuity in producing enough food for ourselves and our communities. Since the first harvest of the ancient grain, we have perfected our farming systems to grow massive quantities of food, producing one of our species’ global mega crops—but at a great cost to ecological systems. And despite our vast capacity to grow food, we face problems with undernourishment both close to home and around the world. Weaving together history, evolution, and ecology, Zabinski’s tale explores much more than the wild roots and rise of a now-ubiquitous grain: it illuminates our complex relationship with our crops, both how we have transformed the plant species we use as food, and how our society—our culture—has changed in response to the need to secure food sources. From the origins of agriculture to gluten sensitivities, from our first selection of the largest seeds from wheat’s wild progenitors to the sequencing of the wheat genome and genetic engineering, Amber Waves sheds new light on how we grow the food that sustains so much human life.

This elegant keepsake book, which includes a brief biography of the songs author, Katharine Lee Bates, prints the songs lyrics over stunning images of the American landscape by award-winning National Geographic photographer Michael Melford and other notable photojournalists. A portion of the proceeds go to the Robin Hood Relief Fund to help September 11 survivors and victims families.

In a vast society where environmentally conscious nonfarming voters and consumers have grown to greatly outnumber those directly engaged in agriculture, what happens in agriculture becomes increasingly subject to control by the general society, as policies and laws cater to constituents and consumers. This book provides an overview of how Americans perceive and value farmers and examines public opinion with regard to a number of agricultural issues. Based on analysis of national survey data, the authors offer an empirically based discussion and interpretation of those views and perceptions that help to shape policy and social sustainability. This unique collection illustrates that in addition to its natural, biological, and economic risks, agriculture has social risks that reverberate through all levels of society. As the general population grows and the number of farms and farmers diminishes, the weight of public opinion becomes more important in the policy arena of society as well as in the market demands for food and fiber grown in safe and favorable environmental conditions. Setting the stage with a consideration of the larger society's interests in agricultural issues and of social and agricultural interdependence, the contributors cover a range of topics and issues affecting agriculture at the end of the 20th century. Chapters examine public perceptions of government's role in farming; support for an environmentally friendly agricultural system; views on pesticides and chemicals in foods; consumer attitudes on food safety; threats to clean drinking water, concerns over farm animal welfare; and the basic agrarian ethic of American society. The book concludes with a look to the future of the social risks of agriculture in the 21st century.

Apocalyptic voices grow louder as we enter the new Millennium, promising dire consequences for the fate of humanity, our planet and our civilization. But theirs are not the only voices around. There are voices that are equally strong and full of hope, courage and conviction. Gerard Vanderhaar's voice is not apocalyptic, but prophetic and full of passion. He proposes a new direction, one that will lead to a more workable world - that of the Nonviolent Christ. Vanderhaar shows how figures like Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Dorothy Day and others have taken the example of the Nonviolent Christ as their guide for living and working justly and courageously in the world. He then offers suggestions for incorporating gestures of peace and words of compassion and justice into our daily dealings at home, at work, with difficult people, and as part of the political process. He also shows how our attitudes toward money, time and people can deeply influence our effectiveness in working for a better future.

Issues to do with animal ethics remain at the heart of public debate. In Beyond Animal Rights, Tony Milligan goes beyond standard discussions of animal ethics to explore the ways in which we personally relate to other creatures through our diet, as pet owners and as beneficiaries of experimentation. The book connects with our duty to act and considers why previous discussions have failed to result in a change in the way that we live our lives. The author asks a crucial question: what sort of people do we have to become if we are to sufficiently improve the ways in which we relate to the non-human? Appealing to both consequences and character, he argues that no improvement will be sufficient if it fails to set humans on a path towards a tolerable and sustainable future. Focussing on our direct relations to the animals we connect with the book offers guidance on all the relevant issues, including veganism and vegetarianism, the organic movement, pet ownership, and animal experimentation.