Category Archives: Economics

Farming Life

      No Comments on Farming Life

  Food is life. Nonetheless, 25% of global food production is traded internationally like any other commodity. This huge movement of food comes with consequences. Trade liberalization can disrupt the economy of a developing country in many ways, but especially by disadvantaging domestic farming by importing cheap food from more developed nations where agriculture is more industrialized. Consider peasant farmers… Read more »

Research Reflections: A Globalized Western Diet, and the Subtle Brilliance of Japan’s School Lunch Program

In conducting research for my Food Solutions Essay, A Globalized Western Diet, and the Subtle Brilliance of Japan’s School Lunch Program, I found myself amazed by the uniqueness of the Japanese school lunch program and deeply inspired by its success in affecting diet-related health outcomes. I want to share a brief excerpt from my paper, which outlines the program in… Read more »

Rainwater Harvesting for Food Security

      No Comments on Rainwater Harvesting for Food Security

Agriculture is generally recognized as the precursor to the world’s first civilizations. The development of irrigation and other farming methods boosted food production and allowed for population expansion and permanent human settlements. Irrigated land expanded at a steady pace until the last century with the advent of modern farming techniques. Modern farming tripled acreage of irrigated land between 1950 and… Read more »

What’s the tally?

      No Comments on What’s the tally?

The American food system has been restructured by trade liberalization, which threatens our food culture and our health. If we are to wait for the market forces to respond to customer purchase power, I fear we will miss our opportunity to change national diets for another generation. The best form of health care is preventative action, and that is what… Read more »

Urban Farming: a Viable Solution

      No Comments on Urban Farming: a Viable Solution

One of the most promising possible solutions to an increasingly at-risk world food system is the concept of urban farming. Already a popular initiative and social movement in many cities, urban farming brings people closer to their food and vice versa. We already have heard compelling arguments from Authors like Pollan, and seen undeniable evidence via ethnographic studies of non-Western… Read more »

Save the Land, Save the Water, Save Everything!

      No Comments on Save the Land, Save the Water, Save Everything!

Political Ecology has different levels of definitions depending on the scope of a given perspective. One concept that I find interesting is how we separate the word nature from environment. Essentially nature has a larger scope than that of what is implied by the word environment. Regardless of what word and what scope we have in mind about our surroundings,… Read more »

Banana Industry Giants: Why Reward Them?

      No Comments on Banana Industry Giants: Why Reward Them?

Bananas are found in every grocery store as cheap, affordable produce, but the fruit represents more than just something we eat and enjoy. It is symbolic of the many economic, social, environmental and political problems where the cheap price-per-pound label on the banana comes at the cost of the lives of workers in the banana industry in order to keep… Read more »

Holy Hemp!

      No Comments on Holy Hemp!

The political ecology of today’s world food system is continuously being shaped by countless influential factors. The world food system is in an utter state of imbalance in terms of waste and environmental degradation. The foundation from which these issues arise can be traced back to governmental and social dimensions and or decisions that took place in the recent past…. Read more »

No Solutions for the Unheard

      No Comments on No Solutions for the Unheard

Throughout the research process of writing my paper, I was overwhelmed with the amount of problems and lack of solutions that the people of Ecuador have in terms of water contamination.  Ecuador has been involved in a resource curse, specifically around the mighty oil market.  Their natural resources have been exploited by national corporations such as Chevron/Texaco since the 1980’s… Read more »

Bees – Are they really a big deal?

      No Comments on Bees – Are they really a big deal?

  Honey bees are an essential part of agriculture and plant life in North America, being a major pollinator of everyday foods such as cranberries, blueberries, tomatoes, apples, and numerous other crops (Schuster). Without bees, we would be left without a key pollinator and without pollination, there would be no more plants, no more animals, and no more man (Latsch)…. Read more »