In Defense of Farmers: The Future of Agriculture in the Shadow of Corporate PowerJane Gibson, Sara Alexander Industrial agriculture is generally characterized as either the salvation of a growing, hungry, global population or as socially and environmentally irresponsible. Despite elements of truth in this polarization, it fails to focus on the particular vulnerabilities and potentials of industrial agriculture. Both representations obscure individual farmers, their families, their communities, and the risks they face from unpredictable local, national, and global conditions: fluctuating and often volatile production costs and crop prices; extreme weather exacerbated by climate change; complicated and changing farm policies; new production technologies and practices; water availability; inflation and debt; and rural community decline. Yet the future of industrial agriculture depends fundamentally on farmers’ decisions. In Defense of Farmers illuminates anew the critical role that farmers play in the future of agriculture and examines the social, economic, and environmental vulnerabilities of industrial agriculture, as well as its adaptations and evolution. Contextualizing the conversations about agriculture and rural societies within the disciplines of sociology, geography, economics, and anthropology, this volume addresses specific challenges farmers face in four countries: Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, and the United States. By concentrating on countries with the most sophisticated production technologies capable of producing the largest quantities of grains, soybeans, and animal proteins in the world, this volume focuses attention on the farmers whose labors, decision-making, and risk-taking throw into relief the implications and limitations of our global industrial food system. The case studies here acknowledge the agency of farmers and offer ways forward in the direction of sustainable agriculture. |
Contents
1 | |
1 Power Food and Agriculture | 13 |
2 Chickenizing American Farmers | 63 |
3 Industrial Chicken Meat and the Good Life in Bolivia | 99 |
4 Automating Agriculture | 135 |
5 Water to Wine | 175 |
6 Forecasting the Challenges of Climate Change for West Texas Wheat Farmers | 205 |
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acres AgBot agri agribusiness agricul agrifood system American Bolivia Brazil Model Brazilian broiler California Cerrado challenges chicken houses chicken meat climate change Cochabamba communities Competition consumers corn costs County crop cultural ecological economic environmental Evo Morales family farms farmers federal feed fertilizer field days food security food sovereignty food system future genetics global Goiás grain groundwater groups growers Hendrickson IHARF illustration stations impacts increased industrial agriculture inputs interviews Kansas Kentucky labor land livestock Mennonites ment nomic operations organic organic foods Paso Robles percent plant poultry practices precision agriculture production profit region relationships response risk robotic rural Saskatchewan scientists SCRDC sector seed social soil soybeans Stull sustainable Swift Current technologies Texas tion transformation Tyson Tyson Foods U.S. Department United USDA values Vivir Bien water district weather wheat wine workers