Food

Foodisoneofthemostbasicresourcesthathumansneedfordailysurvival.Fortypercentoftheworld'spopulationgainsalivelihoodfromagricultureandweallconsumefood.Yetcontroloverthisfundamentalresourceisconcentratedinrelativelyfewhands.The2008foodpricecrisisillustratedboththevolatilityandvulnerabilitybuiltintothecurrentglobalfoodsystem;attheheightofthecrisis,thenumberofhungrypeopleontheplanetclimbedtoover1billion.Atthesametime,thereareseriousecologicalconsequencesthatstemfromanincreasinglyindustrialmodelofagriculturethathasspreadworldwide.Thisbookaimstocontributetoafullerunderstandingoftheforcesthatinfluenceandshapethecurrentglobalfoodsystem.AuthorJenniferClappexploreshowcorporatecontrol,inequitableinternationalagriculturaltraderules,andthefinancializationoffarmcommoditieshaveeachhadafundamentalinfluenceonthepracticesthatdominatetoday'sglobalfoodsystem.Bycontrast,farmersandconsumers,particularlyinthedevelopingworld,havehadlittlevoicetochangetherulesofthegame.Butmovementsareemergingtochallengethedominantglobalsystem.Theextenttowhichthesealternativemovementscandisplaceit,however,remainstobeseen.