Twenty Lessons In The Sociology Of Food And Agriculture

Twenty Lessons in the Sociology of Food and Agriculture examines food and agriculture from farm to fork using a sociological lens. Following the "Lessons" format, the book presents twenty sociological lessons on food and agriculture from both established and up-and-coming scholars. Each lesson is written in an accessible and engaging format, incorporates historical and contemporary topics and examples, and discusses hot button issues wherever relevant. The book draws primarily on cases and issues in the United States, but given the global character of food and agriculture, it also incorporates relevant examples from other countries.

Thoroughly revised and updated, the third edition of The Sociology of Food and Agriculture provides a cutting-edge, comprehensive introduction to the study of food and society. The book begins by examining the food economy, with chapters focusing on foodscapes, the financialization of food, and a new chapter dedicated to food and nutrition (in)security. In Part II, the book addresses community and culture. While some books only look at the interrelationships between food and culture, this section problematizes the food system from the standpoint of marginalized bodies. It contains chapters focusing on agricultural and food labor and the peasantries, topics which are often overlooked, and gender, ethnicity, and poverty. Part III examines food and the environment, with chapters addressing important topics such as agro-ecosystems, food justice, sustainable food, and agriculture and food sovereignty. The final part focuses on food futures and includes a brand-new chapter on sustainable diets and ethical consumption. The book concludes by showcasing how we can rethink food production and consumption in a way that can help heal social, political, and cultural divisions. All chapters draw on international case studies and include learning objectives, suggested discussion questions, and recommendations for further reading to aid student learning. The Sociology of Food and Agriculture is perfect for students of food studies, including food justice, food and nutrition security, sustainable diets, food sovereignty, environmental sociology, agriculture, and cultural studies.

This book addresses the various forms of deviance and criminality found within the conventional food system. This system—made up of numerous producers, processors, distributors, and retailers of food—has significant, far-reaching consequences bearing upon the environment and society. Food Crime broadly outlines the processes and impacts of this food system most relevant for the academic discipline of criminology, with a focus on the negative health outcomes of the US diet (e.g., obesity and diabetes) and negative outcomes associated with the system itself (e.g., environmental degradation). The author introduces the concept of "food criminology," a new branch of criminology dedicated to the study of deviance in the food industry. Demonstrating the deviance and criminality involved in many parts of the conventional food system, this book is the first to provide exhaustive coverage of the major issues related to what can be considered food crime. Embedded in the context of state-corporate criminality, the concepts and practices exposed in this book bring attention to harms associated with the conventional food system and illustrate the degree of culpability of food companies and government agencies for these harms. This book is of interest to students, scholars, and practitioners seeking a more just and healthy food system and encourages further future research into food crimes in the disciplines of criminology, criminal justice, and sociology.

This reader introduces students to the variety and complexity of Latinxs′ experiences in the U.S., and prepares them for further study in this interdisciplinary field. The opening essay, written by the editors, offers a broad overview of the approximately 59 million people in the U.S. who identify as Hispanic. The rest of the book will consist of contributed essays from Latina(o)/Chicana(o) scholars on a range of subjects including immigration, citizenship, and deportation; racial identities; political participation and power; educational and economic achievement; family; religion; media and popular culture. Although the essays are written for lower-division undergraduates, they reflect many of the leading theoretical and methodological approaches in the field. The essays are unified by an intersectional approach, demonstrating how experiences and life chances of Latinxs are also shaped by gender, social class, sexuality, age, and citizenship status.

In this second edition of The Sociology of Food and Agriculture, students are provided with a substantially revised and updated introductory text to this emergent field. The book begins with the recent development of agriculture under capitalism and neo-liberal regimes, and the transformation of farming and peasant agriculture from a small-scale, family-run way of life to a globalized system. Topics such as the global hunger and obesity challenges, GM foods, and international trade and subsidies are assessed as part of the world food economy. The final section concentrates on themes of sustainability, food security, and food sovereignty. The book concludes on a positive note, examining alternative agri-food movements aimed at changing foodscapes at levels from the local to the global. With increased coverage of the financialization of food, food and culture, gender, ethnicity and justice, food security, and food sovereignty, the book is perfect for students with little or no background in sociology and is also suitable for more advanced courses as a comprehensive primer. All chapters include learning objectives, suggested discussion questions, and recommendations for further reading to aid student learning.

The industrial agrifood system is in crisis regarding its negative ecological, economic, and social externalities: it is unsustainable on all dimensions. This book documents and engages competing visions and contested discourses of agrifood sustainability. Using an incremental/reformist to transformation/radical continuum framework for alternative agrifood movements, this book identifies tensions between competing discourses that stress food sovereignty, social justice, and fair trade and those that emphasize food security, efficiency and free trade. In particular, it highlights the role that governance processes play in sustainability transitions and the ways that power and politics affect sustainability visions and discourses. The book includes chapters that review sustainability discourses at the macro and meso levels, as well as case studies from Africa, Australia, Canada, Europe, South America and the USA.

"Beer Places is both a road map for craft beer and an academic analysis of craft beer's ties to place. Collected into sections that address authenticity and revitalization, politics and economics, and collectivity and collaboration, this volume blends new research with a series of "postcards": informal conversations and first-person dispatches from the field that transport readers to the spots where pints are shared and networks forged"--

As interest has increased in topics such as globalization of the agri-food system, food security and food safety, there are a growing number of courses in disciplines including food studies and agriculture. This book is an introductory textbook aimed at undergraduate students, and is suitable for those no background in sociology.