As we proceed further into the Anthropocene, we are entering the unknown as a planet. Many aspects of our world are behaving less predictably than ever as a result of human impact. Shocks to the complex global food system can come in many forms, from natural disasters to world trade disputes to pest outbreaks. How resilient is our food system,… Read more »
Several years ago, my brother was traveling regularly to Israel, Palestine, and the surrounding areas as part of a team working to research and advocate for the water rights of the Bedouin tribes. He was in law school, working with the Muslim Student Association on a project that I took very little interest in. Now I have an entirely different… Read more »
When I think of how much water I consume, and where it comes from I think of Spain. Here in the Netherlands, most of the fresh produce is labeled with the country of origin. I eat a variety of fruits and vegetables and I see Spain on a lot of my fresh produce purchases. In that sense, I consume Spain’s… Read more »
In recent times there has been an increase in awareness of the downsides associated with industrial agriculture. The loss of soil, inefficient water and resource usage, toxic chemicals, poorly regulated GMO’s, and the inhumane environments for animals. With such a long list of skeletons, it’s no wonder that a range of movements to shift away from this system have… Read more »
Between the IMF, the World Bank, and the WTO we begin the journey into acronym ladened globalization lead by the neoliberal policies of Bretton Woods. Although the intentions appeared to be in the best interest of the average person, with trade incentivizing countries to create ties rather than going to war. We began an era of subsidized and industrialized… Read more »
Social justice and equity are important areas of exploration in the political ecology of the world food system. Socioeconomic factors contribute greatly to resource and information access, and those in vulnerable circumstances seem to have significantly increased risk factors in both overall health and exposure to contaminants due to the food they consume. As Norah MacKendrick points out, for her… Read more »
The ecologic impact of land use regarding various parts of our lives is an important aspect of how we live on this planet. How the food we eat requires grazing land, and our usage of built up, energy, and forest land to provide ourselves housing makes a complex footprint that we create by living here. The supply chains and associated… Read more »
In The Real Cost of Cheap Food, Michael Carolan argues that “free trade is rarely fair” for smallholder farmers competing in the globalized food marketplace. The Fair Trade movement has risen in the last decade as a means of leveling the playing field for the developing world in trade relations. Seattle’s Theo Chocolate is a Fair Trade, bean-to-bar chocolate maker… Read more »
The trends of food system industrialization and nutritionism outlined by Michael Pollan in In Defense of Food have not diminished in the decade since its publication. Neither have the global social, political and economic forces driving those trends. Pollan outlines the bodily and environmental dangers that our new food landscape presents, making a compelling argument that our food needs defending…. Read more »