Lifestyles, Community Well-Being and Social Change: Lessons from Country Australia for Global Citizens

Rural-Lifestyles-300Bentham Science Publishers has published a new E-book titled “Rural Lifestyles, Community Well-Being and Social Change: Lessons from Country Australia for Global Citizens” edited by Angela T. Ragusa. This edited e-book is a collection of articles that explores ‘rural realities’ of country life in Australia for global audiences interested in rurality, health and well-being. Read further on the publishers website.

The Neoliberal Regime in the Agri-Food Sector: Crisis,Resilience, and Restructuring

9780415817899
Steven A. Wolf and Alessandro Bonanno have edited a new book about the Neoliberal Regime in the Agri-Food Sector. For the last three decades, the Neoliberal regime, emphasising economic growth through deregulation, market integration, expansion of the private sector, and contraction of the welfare state has shaped production and consumption processes in agriculture and food. The book surveys and synthesizes a range of sociological frames designed to grapple with the concepts of regimes, systemic crisis and transitions. Contributions include historical analysis, comparative analysis and case studies of food and agriculture from around the globe. These highlight particular aspects of crisis and responses, including the potential for continued resilience, a neo-productivist return, as well as the emergence and scaling up of alternative models. Read more at the publishers website

Saving More Than Seeds: Practices and Politics of Seed Saving

9781409446514
Catherine Phillips at the University of Wollongong, Australia, has written a book on seed saving. Saving More Than Seeds advances understandings of seed-people relations, with particular focus on seed saving. The practice of reusing and exchanging seeds provides foundation for food production and allows humans and seed to adapt together in dynamic socionatural conditions. Read more at the publishers website

Who Controls the Countryside?

Mark ShucksmithRural sociologist and IRSA Council member, Professor Mark Shucksmith (Newcastle University, UK), recently participated in a BBC Radio3 live discussion on ‘Who Controls the Countryside?’. The discussion was recorded at The Sage Gateshead before a full house on Sunday 27th October and was broadcast on Thursday 7th November. You can listen to the recording, or download it, from http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03g2yf

President’s Corner: CAFO Contradictions and Test-tube Meat

geoffrey-lawrenceConcentrated Animal Feeding Operations – commonly referred to as CAFOs – have become an important, if not controversial, component of industrial farming throughout the world. CAFOs are often praised for the efficient way in which animals can be raised, slaughtered, and their protein delivered to a hungry world. But they also raise concerns about environmental pollution and, in particular, animal cruelty. What do we know about CAFOs? Are they the future of animal protein production, or will they be irrelevant in a world of test-tube meat? Continue reading

New special edition of the International Journal of Sociology of Agriculture and Food

International Journal of Sociology of Agriculture and FoodThe latest special edition of the International Journal of Sociology of Agriculture and Food (IJSAF) features a collection of papers on private food standards: