In recent years labor relations have altered significantly and new and more serious forms of labor marginalization and control have emerged. This book looks at labor in agriculture and food in a global era by studying salient characteristics of the conditions and use of labor in global agri-food. Written by experienced and also emerging scholars, the chapters present a wealth of empirical data and robust theorizations that allow readers to grasp the complexity of this topic. The volume stresses the new and emerging dimensions of labor and its continuous importance under globalization. Relevant to those studying the use and position of labor in neoliberal globalization, topics addressed include: Globalization and change in labor relations, mobility of agricultural labor, social upgrading, labor relations and resistance in the value chain.

This volume explores capital mobility under globalization by studying some of its salient consequences in agriculture and food in North and South America. It probes the manner in which capital mobility alters the organization of the temporal and spatial dimensions that characterize the reproduction of capital. This is an important aspect of globalization because it reproduces the tension between the constant attempt of agents of capitalism to expand their scope of action and accelerate the time of the reproduction of capital, and the fixed nature of the institutions and measures that are employed to regulate capitalism. The analysis of this contradictory aspect of globalization is presented in seven cases that, while global in scope and social implications, are located in North and South America. Areas examined include the organization of labor in the exportation of grapes, fruit producing regions of Argentina and Brazil, the changing character of small town Ontario, migration and farmers in Mexico, and North Atlantic salmon. These original pieces of empirical research are contextualized by the introduction and common themes underscored in the concluding chapter.

State Capitalism under Neoliberalism analyzes state capitalism in agri-food under neoliberalism and investigates state-sponsored actions designed to counter the negative consequences of the implementation of free-market policies and strategies. In particular, it probes efforts of the Brazilian State to respond to the neoliberalization and corporatization of agriculture and food. Between 2003 and 2016, the left leaning Workers’ Party (Partido dos Trabalhadores) governed Brazil, which claimed to support landless peasants, family farming, food sovereignty, and state regulation of the unwanted consequences of the evolution of free market capitalism. The contributors analyze these actions of the Brazilian state, stressing its accomplishments and limits, and argue that the emancipatory actions of the Brazilian state engendered a complex and contradictory set of results which show that state capitalism is a problematic solution to the problems generated by the global neoliberal regime.