Remaking the North American Food System: Strategies for Sustainability

by C. Clare Hinrichs, Thomas A. Lyson

Overview

Food and agriculture are in the news daily. Stories in the media highlight issues of abundance, deprivation, pleasure, risk, health, community, and identity. Remaking the North American Food System examines the resurgence of interest in rebuilding the links between agricultural production and food consumption as a way to overcome some of the negative implications of industrial and globalizing trends in the food and agricultural system.
 
Written by a diverse group of scholars and practitioners, the chapters in this volume describe the many efforts throughout North America to craft and sustain alternative food systems that can improve social, economic, environmental, and health outcomes. With examples from Puerto Rico to Oregon to Quebec, this volume offers a broad North American perspective attuned to trends toward globalization at the level of markets and governance and shows how globalization affects the specific localities. The contributors make the case that food can no longer be taken for granted or viewed in isolation. Rather, food should be considered in its connection to community vitality, cultural survival, economic development, social justice, environmental quality, ecological integrity, and human health.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780803227903
Publisher:	University of Nebraska Press
Publication date:	01/01/2008
Series:	Our Sustainable Future
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	384
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

C. Clare Hinrichs, an associate professor of rural sociology at Pennsylvania State University, has published numerous articles on rural sociology and agriculture. Thomas A. Lyson (1948–2006) was the Liberty Hyde Bailey Professor of Development Sociology and director of the Community, Food, and Agriculture Program at Cornell University. He is the author of Civic Agriculture: Reconnecting Farm, Food, and Community.
 
Contributors: Elizabeth Barham, Jim Bingen, Troy C. Blanchard, Holly Born, Linda Brewer, Viviana Carro-Figueroa, Kate Clancy, Laura B. DeLind, Gail Feenstra, Gilbert W. Gillespie Jr., Amy Guptill, Michael W. Hamm, Janet Hammer, Alison H. Harmon, Duncan L. Hilchey, C. Clare Hinrichs, Matthew Hoffman, Raymond A. Jussaume Jr., Larry Lev, Sharon Lezberg, Debra Lippoldt, Thomas A. Lyson, Audrey N. Maretzki, Todd L. Matthews, Marcia Ruth Ostrom, Kathryn Ruhf, Garry Stephenson, G. W. Stevenson, Joan S. Thomson, Elizabeth Tuckermanty, and Jennifer Wilkins

Table of Contents

Contents

Acknowledgments   000

Introduction: Practice and Place in Remaking the Food System      000

C. Clare Hinrichs

Part I: What's Wrong with the Food System? Orienting Frameworks for Change

1. Civic Agriculture and the North American Food System     000

Thomas A. Lyson

2. Warrior, Builder, and Weaver Work: Strategies for Changing the Food System 000

G. W. Stevenson, Kathryn Ruhf, Sharon Lezberg, and Kate Clancy

Part II: Institutions and Practices to Remake the Food System

3. Farmers' Markets as Keystones in Rebuilding Local and Regional Food Systems      000

Gilbert Gillespie, Duncan L. Hilchey, C. Clare Hinrichs, and Gail Feenstra

4. Practical Research Methods to Enhance Farmers' Markets   000

Larry Lev, Garry Stephenson, and Linda Brewer

5. Community Supported Agriculture as an Agent of Change: Is It Working?      000

Marcia Ruth Ostrom

6. Food Policy Councils: Past, Present, and Future    000

Kate Clancy, Janet Hammer, and Debra Lippoldt

7. The "Red Label" Poultry System in France: Lessons for Renewing an Agriculture-of-the-Middle in the United States   000

G. W. Stevenson and Holly Born

8. Eating Right Here: The Role of Dietary Guidance in Remaking Community-Based Food Systems      000

Jennifer Wilkins

9. Community-Initiated Dialogue: Strengthening the Community through the Local Food System      000

Joan S. Thomson, Audrey N. Maretzki, and Alison H. Harmon

Part III: The Importance of Place and Region in Remaking the Food System

10. Retail Concentration, Food Deserts, and Food-Disadvantaged Communities in Rural America      000

Troy C. Blanchard and Todd L. Matthews

11. Localization in a Global Context: Invigorating Local Communities in Michigan through the Food System 000

Michael W. Hamm

12. Assessing the Significance of Direct Farmer-Consumer Linkages as a Change Strategy in Washington State: Civic or Opportunistic? 000

Marcia Ruth Ostrom and Raymond A. Jussaume, Jr.

13. Emerging Farmers' Markets and the Globalization of Food Retailing: A Perspective from Puerto Rico 000

Viviana Carro-Figueroa and Amy Guptill

14. The Lamb That Roared: Origin-Labeled Products as Place-Making Strategy in Charlevoix, Quebec      000

Elizabeth Barham

15. Be Careful What You Wish For: Democratic Challenges and Political Opportunities for the Michigan Organic Community    000

Laura B. DeLind and Jim Bingen

16. The Social Foundation of Sustainable Agriculture in Southeastern Vermont  000

Matthew Hoffman

17. Community Food Projects and Food System Sustainability  000

Audrey N. Maretzki and Elizabeth Tuckermanty

Conclusion: A Full Plate: Challenges and Opportunities in Remaking the Food System  000

C. Clare Hinrichs and Elizabeth Barham

List of Contributors    000

Index 000

Editorial Reviews

"Whether looking for alternatives to large-scale commodity agriculture or seeking to improve food access for underserved people, Remaking the North American Food System is useful to practitioners and academics alike as they work to better understand the context and possibilities for creating a better food system."—Patricia Allen, Great Plains Research

— Patricia Allen

Great Plains Research

"Remaking the North American Food System: Strategies for Sustainability is an essential reference for anyone working on improving their local, regional, and our national food systems. The collection of work provides a rich history of how local food movements have served to reconnect people to the places and producers in their own communities."—Kelly D. Horton, Journal of Hunger and Environmental Nutrition

— Kelly D. Horton

Journal of Hunger and Environmental Nutrition

"Whether looking for alternatives to large-scale commodity agriculture or seeking to improve food access for underserved people, Remaking the North American Food System is useful to practitioners and academics alike as they work to better understand the context and possibilities for creating a better food system."—Patricia Allen, Great Plains Research

Great Plains Research - Patricia Allen

"Remaking the North American Food System: Strategies for Sustainability is an essential reference for anyone working on improving their local, regional, and our national food systems. The collection of work provides a rich history of how local food movements have served to reconnect people to the places and producers in their own communities."—Kelly D. Horton, Journal of Hunger and Environmental Nutrition

Journal of Hunger and Environmental Nutrition - Kelly D. Horton