Politics and our aspiration to a high quality of life are sometimes at odds. In American culture, we are raised to believe that the improvement of the earth and our lives are entirely on our collective backs. In Maniates’ “Individualization: Plant a Tree, Ride a Bike, Save the World?” he speaks about the drops in the bucket from our individual… Read more »
Examining our protein options and balancing its farming impact on the planet.
When I consider how globalization and international trade inform one another, the food industry comes quickly to mind: affordability and access. While developed countries greatly benefit financially, some may argue that globalization has many more disadvantages when it comes to developing countries. For instance, globalization affects not only the environment via commodity chains, but culture on a mass global import-to-export… Read more »
In 1966, James Brown belted, “This is a man’s world.” Although Brown’s simplistically chauvinistic, yet beautifully sung, words may not resonate with the contemporary listener, Mother Earth may have a considerably harder time dismissing the general concept. This thought can be daunting. On one hand, we are a product of this world, and on the other, we have shaped it…. 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 »
What is the real cost of cheap food? In Michael Carolan’s book, The Real Cost of Cheap Food, he tries to answer this question by explaining chapter by chapter what we lose when we consume “cheap” food (anything mass produced and sold as affordable to the working class.) Whether a country that produces cheap food or a human who consumes… Read more »
The 21st century has and will continue to challenge human civilization with increasingly unprecedented threats of a wide variety. Threats that come from increased probability of great power conflict and the destabilizing potential of AI are among these, however, the most prescient long-term danger to societies across the globe comes from the vulnerability of food and water systems. The latter… Read more »
The average American citizen is overworked. Many people work full time (sometimes with more than one job), have family obligations, go to school, and attempt to have hobbies. All of this activity leaves little time to wonder about the food we are eating and the system we are contributing to when we make food choices. Many people leading this busy… Read more »
If we are to change the direction of our impact and start toward a balanced ecological existence, it will require something akin to a global social movement. Policy and infrastructure at all levels will need to be radically adjusted, and corporate entities as well as individuals will need to be accountable for their actions. This is true not just for… Read more »
My breakfast this morning was made possible by globalization. Banana chocolate chip pancakes are a standard at my local diner, so it can be hard to imagine a time when they were considered exotic, with their Ecuadorian bananas and chocolate chips made from ingredients sourced in the Ivory Coast. But transcending the limits of local climes and growing seasons, global… Read more »