'In this very timely book, two of the world's most prominent critics of the global food system, Eric Holt-Giménez and Raj Patel, dissect the causes of hunger and the food price crisis, locating them in a political economy of capitalist industrial production dominated by corporations and driven by the search for profits for the few instead of the welfare of the many. The picture that emerges is a political economy of global production that is failing badly in terms of feeding the world and is itself contributing to the spread of inequalities that promote hunger.'
Walden Bello, president of the Freedom from Debt Coalition and professor of sociology at the University of the Philippines
'I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in issues related to food distribution/markets, the current global crisis, the role of capitalism and international organisations, and hopes for an alternative future. I would also recommend, since food is such an intrinsic part of our lives, society, culture and economies, that this book be read by everyone with a concern for our present, our future, and our rights – and specifically our right to food.'
Manmeet Kaur, Development in Practice, vol 20, no. 7, September 2010
Erosion of local and national control
Food Rebellions! takes a deep look at the world food crisis and its impact on the global South and under-served communities in the industrial North. While most governments and multilateral organisations offer short-term solutions based on proximate causes, authors Eric Holt-Giménez and Raj Patel unpack the planet's environmentally and economically vulnerable food systems to reveal the root causes of the crisis. By tracking the political and economic evolution of the industrial agri-foods complex, Food Rebellions! shows us how the steady erosion of local and national control over their food systems has made African nations dependent on a volatile global market and subject to the short-term interests of a handful of transnational agri-food monopolies.
A powerful handbook
Food Rebellions! is a powerful handbook for those seeking to understand the causes and potential solutions to the current food crisis now affecting nearly half of the world's people. Why are food riots occurring around the world in a time of record harvests? What are the real impacts of agrofuels and genetically engineered crops? Whose interests are being advanced by Africa's 'new' Green Revolution? And why are the thousands of farmer-led 'islands of sustainability' flowering across the landscapes of the global South being ignored by policy-makers? What are hundreds of peasant farm organisations, civil society organisations, and concerned researchers doing about the crisis? Finally, what can you do?
Democratising food systems
Food Rebellions! suggests that to solve the food crisis, we must change the global food system — from the bottom up and from the top down. On one hand, farmers utilising sustainable approaches to production need to be supported, and farmer-to-farmer agroecological knowledge must be spread. At the same time, food and farm advocates need to work in local, national and international policy arenas to open dialogue, demand transparency and change the 'rules' currently holding back agroecological alternatives. The book frames the current food crisis as a unique opportunity to develop productive local food systems as engines for sustainable economic development. Hunger and poverty, the authors insist, can be eliminated by democratising food systems and respecting people's right to safe, nutritious and culturally appropriate food and to food-producing resources — in short, by advancing food sovereignty.
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