Industrial agriculture is generally characterized as either the
salvation of a growing, hungry, global population or as socially
and environmentally irresponsible. Despite elements of truth in
this polarization, it fails to focus on the particular
vulnerabilities and potentials of industrial agriculture. Both
representations obscure individual farmers, their families, their
communities, and the risks they face from unpredictable local,
national, and global conditions: fluctuating and often volatile
production costs and crop prices; extreme weather exacerbated by
climate change; complicated and changing farm policies; new
production technologies and practices; water availability;
inflation and debt; and rural community decline. Yet the future of
industrial agriculture depends fundamentally on farmers' decisions.
In Defense of Farmers illuminates anew the critical role that
farmers play in the future of agriculture and examines the social,
economic, and environmental vulnerabilities of industrial
agriculture, as well as its adaptations and evolution.
Contextualizing the conversations about agriculture and rural
societies within the disciplines of sociology, geography,
economics, and anthropology, this volume addresses specific
challenges farmers face in four countries: Bolivia, Brazil, Canada,
and the United States. By concentrating on countries with the most
sophisticated production technologies capable of producing the
largest quantities of grains, soybeans, and animal proteins in the
world, this volume focuses attention on the farmers whose labors,
decision-making, and risk-taking throw into relief the implications
and limitations of our global industrial food system. The case
studies here acknowledge the agency of farmers and offer ways
forward in the direction of sustainable agriculture.
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