"This is a hugely informative book, stocked full of careful analysis."--Amy Best, Associate Professor of Sociology, George Mason University Accused by many of creating a global health crisis, the American diet has been a source of controversy for years. The way Americans eat--and the disastrous health problems that can often result--is debated on daytime talk shows and in political arenas, written about in bestselling manifestos, and exposed in Oscar-nominated documentaries. Yet, despite all the attention from the media and the scientific community, few studies have looked seriously at the mass-market forces underlying our Western diet. In The Industrial Diet, Anthony Winson chronicles the forces that have transformed our natural resources into an industry that produces edible commodities, an industry that far too often subverts our well-being instead of nourishing us. Tracing the industrial diet's history from its roots in the nineteenth century through to the present day, Winson looks at the role of technology, population growth, and political and economic factors in the constitution and transformation of mass dietary regimes. In addition to providing new evidence linking broad-based dietary changes with negative health effects in the developed and developing world, Winson also outlines realistic and innovative strategies that can lead to a healthier future. A fresh new look at the degradation of food and the emergent struggle for healthful eating, this book is an eye-opening tour of the state of nutrition and food culture today. Anthony Winson is Professor of Sociology and Anthropology at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada.

"Contingent Work, Disrupted Lives" examines the repercussions of economic globalization on several manufacturing-dependent rural communities in Canada. Foregrounding a distinct interest in the 'grassroots' effects of such contemporary corporate strategies as plant closures and downsizing, authors Anthony Winson and Belinda Leach consider the impact of this restructuring on the residents of various communities. The authors argue that the new rural economy involves a fundamental shift in the stability and security of people's lives and, ultimately, it causes wrenching change and an arduous struggle as rural dwellers struggle to rebuild their lives in the new economic terrain.

Beginning with broader theoretical and empirical literature on global changes in the economy and the effects of these changes on labour, the text then focuses exploration on manufacturing in Ontario with an analysis of five community case studies. Winson and Leach give considerable attention to the testimony of numerous residents; they report on in-depth interviews with key respondents and blue-collar workers in five separate communities, ranging from diverse manufacturing towns to single-industry settlements. The result is an intimate contextual knowledge of the workers' lives and their attempts to adapt to the tumultuous economic terrain of 1990s rural Canada.

Winner of the John Porter Prize for 2003, awarded by the Canadian Sociology and Anthropology Association.

"This is a hugely informative book, stocked full of careful analysis."--Amy Best, Associate Professor of Sociology, George Mason University Accused by many of creating a global health crisis, the American diet has been a source of controversy for years. The way Americans eat--and the disastrous health problems that can often result--is debated on daytime talk shows and in political arenas, written about in bestselling manifestos, and exposed in Oscar-nominated documentaries. Yet, despite all the attention from the media and the scientific community, few studies have looked seriously at the mass-market forces underlying our Western diet. In The Industrial Diet, Anthony Winson chronicles the forces that have transformed our natural resources into an industry that produces edible commodities, an industry that far too often subverts our well-being instead of nourishing us. Tracing the industrial diet's history from its roots in the nineteenth century through to the present day, Winson looks at the role of technology, population growth, and political and economic factors in the constitution and transformation of mass dietary regimes. In addition to providing new evidence linking broad-based dietary changes with negative health effects in the developed and developing world, Winson also outlines realistic and innovative strategies that can lead to a healthier future. A fresh new look at the degradation of food and the emergent struggle for healthful eating, this book is an eye-opening tour of the state of nutrition and food culture today. Anthony Winson is Professor of Sociology and Anthropology at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada.

"Contingent Work, Disrupted Lives" examines the repercussions of economic globalization on several manufacturing-dependent rural communities in Canada. Foregrounding a distinct interest in the 'grassroots' effects of such contemporary corporate strategies as plant closures and downsizing, authors Anthony Winson and Belinda Leach consider the impact of this restructuring on the residents of various communities. The authors argue that the new rural economy involves a fundamental shift in the stability and security of people's lives and, ultimately, it causes wrenching change and an arduous struggle as rural dwellers struggle to rebuild their lives in the new economic terrain.

Beginning with broader theoretical and empirical literature on global changes in the economy and the effects of these changes on labour, the text then focuses exploration on manufacturing in Ontario with an analysis of five community case studies. Winson and Leach give considerable attention to the testimony of numerous residents; they report on in-depth interviews with key respondents and blue-collar workers in five separate communities, ranging from diverse manufacturing towns to single-industry settlements. The result is an intimate contextual knowledge of the workers' lives and their attempts to adapt to the tumultuous economic terrain of 1990s rural Canada.

Winner of the John Porter Prize for 2003, awarded by the Canadian Sociology and Anthropology Association.

"This is a hugely informative book, stocked full of careful analysis."--Amy Best, Associate Professor of Sociology, George Mason University Accused by many of creating a global health crisis, the American diet has been a source of controversy for years. The way Americans eat--and the disastrous health problems that can often result--is debated on daytime talk shows and in political arenas, written about in bestselling manifestos, and exposed in Oscar-nominated documentaries. Yet, despite all the attention from the media and the scientific community, few studies have looked seriously at the mass-market forces underlying our Western diet. In The Industrial Diet, Anthony Winson chronicles the forces that have transformed our natural resources into an industry that produces edible commodities, an industry that far too often subverts our well-being instead of nourishing us. Tracing the industrial diet's history from its roots in the nineteenth century through to the present day, Winson looks at the role of technology, population growth, and political and economic factors in the constitution and transformation of mass dietary regimes. In addition to providing new evidence linking broad-based dietary changes with negative health effects in the developed and developing world, Winson also outlines realistic and innovative strategies that can lead to a healthier future. A fresh new look at the degradation of food and the emergent struggle for healthful eating, this book is an eye-opening tour of the state of nutrition and food culture today. Anthony Winson is Professor of Sociology and Anthropology at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada.