Cultural studies: food and society Books

Book SynopsisThis book provides a comprehensive theological framework for assessing the significance of eating. Drawing on diverse theological, philosophical, and anthropological insights, it offers fresh ways to evaluate food production and consumption practices as they are being worked out in today''s industrial food economy. Unlike books that focus primarily on vegetarianism and hunger-related concerns, this book broadens the scope of consideration to include the sacramental character of eating, the deep significance of hospitality, the meaning of death and sacrifice, the Eucharist as the place of inspiration and orientation, the importance of saying grace, and the possibility of eating in heaven. Throughout, eating is presented as a way of enacting fidelity between persons, between people and fellow creatures, and between people and Earth. Food and Faith demonstrates that eating is of profound economic, moral, and spiritual significance. Revised throughout, this edition includes a new introductTrade Review'Many people who 'do theology' for a living resign themselves to dusty classrooms where they fiddle with doctrines that most us can't even pronounce. But not Norman Wirzba. He is a first-rate thinker by any reckoning, but he has devoted his life to the holiness of the ordinary. It's no surprise then that he would pen a groundbreaking theology of eating. Food and Faith is an invitation to taste and see God's goodness with the power to transform your mealtimes into worship services. Savor this book slowly, and thank me when you're finished.' Jonathan Merritt, author of Learning to Speak God from Scratch and contributing writer for The Atlantic'I strongly recommended the first edition of Food and Faith. I recommend the second edition with even more enthusiasm. Not only are there careful revisions throughout, there are critical new chapters. Science is rapidly changing our understanding of ourselves as complex creatures, and the advent of the Anthropocene promises to alter everything - the planet's dynamics itself, and certainly culture and agriculture. Wirzba's cutting edge attention to these gives this new edition even more significance and more traction.' Larry Rasmussen, Reinhold Niebuhr Professor Emeritus of Social Ethics, Union Theological Seminary, New York City'Food and Faith is undoubtedly the quintessential theological work on eating, but Norman Wirzba's vision extends far beyond the food we put in our mouths. His careful thinking orients us toward living healthfully and well within the interconnected life of God's creation.' C. Christopher Smith, founding editor of The Englewood Review of Books, and co-author of Slow Church: Cultivating Community in the Patient Way of Jesus'Human eating practices have never been more disordered than they are today. Systems of modern industrial food production sustain billions of lives on this planet, but many still go to bed hungry, while others suffer from a surfeit of cheap, highly processed foods. Wirzba wisely reminds us that more technology cannot finally save us here. Instead, he invites us to taste and see that the Lord is good. Food, he tells us, is God's love made edible. Sharing meals together, we glimpse a foretaste of heaven. Our very bodies are sites of nurture for myriad organisms, and we are privileged to be capable of glimpsing our own lives and deaths as participating in nature's unfolding round of relationality. Will we respond to the call to participate in God's own Trinitarian life of hospitality, communion, and care? Will we make eating a spiritual practice? A beautiful and transformative book.' Jennifer A. Herdt, Gilbert L. Stark Professor of Christian Ethics, Yale Divinity School'Norman Wirzba is a gift and this book is one of the best you'll read this year. The thoughtfulness, the insight, the depth in these pages will revolutionize the way you think about every meal, every person you break bread with, every morsel that sustains you. Highly recommended!' Margaret Feinberg, author of Taste and See: Discovering God among Butchers, Bakers, and Fresh Food Makers'Food and Faith is a modern classic in serious Christian theological ethics, and even better in its new second edition. Wirzba offers here a magisterial, comprehensive work that can transform not only how Christians think about food but how we think about agriculture, community, death, covenant, Eucharist, heaven, scripture, and Jesus himself. A fine example of what can happen when a trained theologian committed to practicing the way of Jesus determines to address a significant but neglected issue in human life. I highly recommend this book.' David P. Gushee, Director of the Center for Theology and Public Life, Mercer University and President of the American Academy of ReligionTable of ContentsIntroduction: who is the you that eats?; 1. It's about fidelity; 2. Thinking theologically about food; 3. The 'roots' of eating: our life together in gardens; 4. Eating in exile: dysfunction in the world of food; 5. Life through death: sacrificial eating; 6. Eucharistic table manners: eating toward communion; 7. Saying Grace; 8. Eating in heaven? Consummating communion; Epilogue. Faithful eating in an anthropocene world.

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Book SynopsisA fascinating and approachable deep dive into the colonial roots of the global wine industry. Imperial Wine is a bold, rigorous history of Britain's surprising role in creating the wine industries of Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand. Here, historian Jennifer Regan-Lefebvre bridges the genres of global commodity history and imperial history, presenting provocative new research in an accessible narrative. This is the first book to argue that today's global wine industry exists as a result of settler colonialism and that imperialism was central, not incidental, to viticulture in the British colonies. Wineries were established almost immediately after the colonization of South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand as part of a civilizing mission: tidy vines, heavy with fruit, were symbolic of Britain's subordination of foreign lands. Economically and culturally, nineteenth-century settler winemakers saw the British market as paramount. However, British drinkers were apathetic towards what they pejoratively called colonial wine. The tables only began to turn after the First World War, when colonial wines were marketed as cheap and patriotic and started to find their niche among middle- and working-class British drinkers. This trend, combined with social and cultural shifts after the Second World War, laid the foundation for the New World revolution in the 1980s, making Britain into a confirmed country of wine-drinkers and a massive market for New World wines. These New World producers may have only received critical acclaim in the late twentieth century, but Imperial Wine shows that they had spent centuries wooing, and indeed manufacturing, a British market for inexpensive colonial wines. This book is sure to satisfy any curious reader who savors the complex stories behind this commodity chain.Trade Review"Historical insights and sharp commentary. A must-read for students of wine history." * Australian Financial Review *"Imperial Wine teaches wine enthusiasts about the role of empire in shaping the wine world of the past, present, and probably the future, too. And it teaches students of imperialism that the influence of those forces continues even in something as seemingly simple as a glass of wine. Interesting. Well-written. Thought-provoking. I learned a lot." * Wine Economist *"Really fascinating . . . . Very accessible to the average reader who has any interest at all in the history of wine. Most important, however, is I think the author has contributed an original idea or at least fully fleshed out an idea concerning the significance and utility of the 'Old World' / 'New World' structure that has for so long now played a key role in discussions of wine history and the world wine marketplace." * Fermentation newsletter *"As with any good history, Regan-Lefebvre’s book sparks more questions than it answers. . . . This is, however, not a shortcoming of the book but a strong point: like a glass of rich red wine, the topic of wine in the British Empire certainly has legs. These legs— and the ideas propounded in this book—will provide fertile ground for future discussion and scholarship in the years to come." * Gastronomica *"It's a brilliant book from start to finish. Academic rigour and discipline structures every page. The weight of detail is formidable. The subject is uncomfortable, even ugly. But Regan-Lefebvre has a gift – she knows how to curlicue dry facts just enough to make them intriguing without losing their accuracy. She’s delivered all this in what amounts to a cracking read. It is a fascinating book. A page-turner, even!" * JancisRobinson.com *"A novel approach. . . . Imperial Wine is the vinous equivalent of a rags-to-riches story. Based on an impressive amount of research, it springs the occasional surprise." * TLS *"Shows how the modern consumer’s​ ​choice of an alcoholic beverage rested on centuries of canny merchant​ ​schemes, land grabs, and exploitation of Indigenous peoples​. . . . ​This book clearly proves that good commercial wine is one of the​ ​ways that the system convinces players that the game is worth playing​." * Journal of Interdisciplinary History *"Informed readers will appreciate its extensive coverage and writing style, in which lively and uncomplicated prose is enlivened with numerous wry asides. . . . It tells a compelling story of how wines from the former Empire came to win over British palates, and capture a major share of the global market. It is the first book that succeeds in explaining how this unfolded over the course of more than two centuries.​" * Journal of Wine Economics *"Imperial Wine… [offers] a master class in historical storytelling. Carving out a space between academia and popular historical writing, it offers a compelling critique of the global forces underpinning the production, consumption, and circulation of wine across the British Empire." * Social History of Alcohol and Drugs *Table of ContentsContents List of Illustrations Acknowledgments Introduction PART ONE. ORIGINS, C. 1650–1830 1 • Writing about Wine 2 • Why Britain? 3 • Dutch Courage: The First Wine at the Cape 4 • First Fleet, First Flight: Creating Australian Vineyards 5 • Astonished to See the Fruit: New Zealand’s First Grapes PART TWO. GROWTH, C. 1830–1910 6 • Cheap and Wholesome: Cape Producers and British Tariffs 7 • Echunga Hock: Colonial Wines of the Nineteenth Century 8 • Have You Any Colonial Wine? Australian Producers and British Tariffs 9 • Planting and Pruning: Working the Colonial Vineyard 10 • Sulphur! Sulphur!! Sulphur!!! Phylloxera and Other Pests 11 • Served Chilled: British Consumers in the Victorian Era 12 • From Melbourne to Madras: Wine in India, Cyprus, Malta, and Canada PART THREE. MARKET, C. 1910–1950 13 • Plonk! Colonial Wine and the First World War 14 • Fortification: The Dominions and the Interwar Period 15 • Crude Potions: The British Market for Empire Wines 16 • Doodle Bugs Destroyed Our Cellar: Wine in the Second World War PART FOUR. CONQUEST, C. 1950–2020 17 • And a Glass of Wine: Colonial Wines in the Postwar Society 18 • Good Fighting Wine: Colonial Wines Battle Back 19 • All Bar One: The New World Conquers the British Market Conclusion Appendix: Notes about Measurements Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisOffering a sweeping overview of how and what humans have eaten in their long history as a species, this book uses case studies from recent archaeological research to tell the story of food in human prehistory.Trade ReviewThe Story of Food in the Human Past is fascinating and well written and covers a broad swath of archaeology with a tone that will not only engage students, but also general readers interested in the archaeology of food."—Jerry D. Moore, author of The Prehistory of Home and Visions of Culture: An Introduction to Anthropological Theories and Theorists, Fifth Edition

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Book SynopsisAcomprehensive and entertaining historical and botanical review, providing an enjoyable and cognitive read.Nature The foods we eat have a deep and often surprising past. From almonds and apples to tea and rice, many foods that we consume today have histories that can be traced out of prehistoric Central Asia along the tracks of the Silk Road to kitchens in Europe, America, China, and elsewhere in East Asia. The exchange of goods, ideas, cultural practices, and genes along these ancient routes extends back five thousand years, and organized trade along the Silk Road dates to at least Han Dynasty China in the second century BC. Balancing a broad array of archaeological, botanical, and historical evidence,Fruit from the Sandspresents the fascinating story of the origins and spread of agriculture across Inner Asia and into Europe and East Asia. Through the preserved remains of plants found in archaeological sites, Robert N. Spengler III identifies the regions where our most familiar crops were domesticated and follows their routes as people carried them around the world. With vivid examples,Fruit from the Sandsexplores how the foods we eat have shaped the course of human history and transformed cuisines all over the globe.Trade Review“An excellent example of a comprehensive and entertaining historical and botanical review, providing an enjoyable and cognitive read for scientists, general public, students and policy makers.” * Nature *“Combines the studies of history, archaeology, and botany in an excellent account of where many of our foodstuffs originate, showing how they became distributed over most of Eurasia.” * CHOICE *“Spengler tells a fascinating tale of a culinary past that is just beginning to come into focus. . . .Provides lots of food for thought.” * Science News *"An entertaining and thought provoking historical, botanical and archaeological review of a vast swathe of the Old World. It is accessible for specialists and the general public alike, and should be read by policy makers as well, with a mind to thinking about agricultural diversity and sustainability." * Central Asian Archaeological Landscapes *"A book that you are likely to turn to again and again for that extra bit of insight into the story behind the food on your plate, which is the true test of great plants-and-people ‘story-telling’." * Botany One *"The volume is truly a mine of information. This book is a must for anybody interested in food, cultural diversity, archaeology, exchange networks and the impact of modern globalisation on food and cultural homogenisation." * Antiquity *"The acts of buying, cooking, or studying food are enriched by the historical and scientific background that the author provided after serious consideration of aspects related to botany, history, and geography." * Graduate Journal of Food Studies *"The unique contribution of this book is its ability to bring evidence from archaeological plant remains to life, in a style that could be readily appreciated by readers with a variety of interests." * Plant Science Bulletin *"Fruit From the Sands stands most definitely as a solid analysis of early Asian food origins and exchanges, and as such is a welcome addition to the literature on Asian cultural history, but should find resonance in other spaces as well." * Asian Review of World History *"Filled with details about plant and human movements and adaptations, Fruit from the Sands speaks to scholars from a wide range of fields in humanities, social sciences and biological sciences." * Food, Culture & Society *Table of ContentsA Word on Semantics A Note on Dates Map of Central Asia part i. how the silk road influenced the food you eat 1. Introduction 2. Plants on the Silk Road 3. The Silk and Spice Routes part i i. artifacts of the silk road in your kitchen 4. The Millets 5. Rice and Other Ancient Grains 6. Barley 7. The Wheats 8. Legumes 9. Grapes and Apples 10. Other Fruits and Nuts 11. Leafy Vegetables, Roots, and Stems 12. Spices, Oils, and Tea 13. ConclusionAppendix: European Travelers along the Silk Road Acknowledgments Notes References Index

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Book SynopsisLike coffee or tea, yerba mate is one of the world's most beloved caffeinated beverages. Once dubbed a devil's drink by Spanish missionaries in South America only to be later hailed by capitalists and politicians as green gold, it has a long and storied history. And no country consumes and celebrates yerba mate quite like Argentina. Yerba Mateis the first book to explore the extraordinary history of this iconic beverage in Argentina from the precolonial period to the present. From yerba mate's Indigenous origins to its ubiquity during the colonial era, from its association with rural people and the poor in the late nineteenth century to its resurgence in the last years of the twentieth century, Julia Sarreal meticulously documents yerba mate's consumption, production, and cultural importance over time.Yerba Mateis the definitive history of this popular beverage and social practice, and it tells a fascinating story about race, culture, and how a drink helped forge the national identity of one of the world's most dynamic countries.Trade Review"Yerba Mate is the first book to chart the captivating journey of Argentina’s cherished caffeinated beverage from its indigenous roots to the modern day. Through meticulous documentation, author Julia Sarreal showcases how yerba mate has intertwined with Argentina’s cultural and racial dynamics. She sheds light on yerba mate’s transformative role in shaping the country’s national identity and its present ubiquity." * Food Tank *"Yerba Mate would appeal to anyone interested in learning all that is needed to know about an infusion that is embedded in Argentine culture and the country’s everyday life. . . . I would recommend heating water, preparing a mate, and sipping while you enjoy the reading." * ReVista *"As Sarreal notes, yerba mate is now increasingly consumed as a cold beverage in Europe and the United States, marketed as a pick-me-up superfood with all the false trappings of Indigenous exoticization. And thanks to Sarreal’s sweeping book, scholars of Latin America and of food and drugs now have a definitive study of yerba mate in Argentina, and a picture window on the nation’s historical longue durée." * Hispanic American Historical Review *Table of ContentsContents Acknowledgments Introduction 1 • From Indigenous Staple to Colonial Commodity 2 • Tool of Empire 3 • Borderland Production and the Struggle to Form an Argentine Nation 4 • Gaucho Mythology and the Drink of the New Argentines 5 • Profits and Nationalism: The Rise of Green Gold in Argentina’s Belle Epoque 6 • Yerba Regulation, Nationalism, and the Fall of Laissez-Faire Ideology 7 • Yerba Workers as a Symbol of Capitalist Exploitation 8 • Modernity, Mass Politics, and Mate’s Decline 9 • The Rebirth of Mate with Democracy, Economic Crisis, and Globalization Afterword Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisHow oysters shaped the environment, cultures, and economies of the NorthwestHeaven on the Half Shell offers a thoroughly researched and richly illustrated history of the Pacific Northwest's beloved bivalve, the oyster. Starting with the earliest evidence of sea gardens and clam beds from 11,500 years ago, this book covers the history of oyster cultivation through contemporary aquaculture in coastal Washington, Oregon, British Columbia, northern California, and southeastern Alaska. Generations of oyster farmers, Native and non-Native, have weathered many challenges to continue the harvest. Their vivid individual accounts are braided together with significant history, such as the major contributions of Japanese immigrants prior to World War II and the 1994 Rafeedie decision that affirmed shellfish harvesting rights held by Northwest tribes. The book also sheds light on the innovations that made oysters an enduringly popular food, from the creation of so-called sexless oysters that coulTrade Review"The writers’ respective backgrounds in science and history, combined with delectable dishes, make this book one part cookbook, one part bedside reading for food and history buffs." * 425 Magazine *"A must-read for PNW oyster lovers." * KING 5 - Evening *

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Book SynopsisTrade Review‘This impressive Handbook captures and reflects the vibrancy of, and will propel further, the rapidly expanding field of critical agrarian studies. It is an indispensable reference in the field for students, teachers, researchers, policy experts, and activists.’ -- Saturnino M. Borras Jr., International Institute of Social Studies, the Netherlands and Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Peasant Studies‘The Handbook of Critical Agrarian Studies is a magnificent field-building achievement. Ambitious and comprehensive, it marks the coming of age of critical agrarian studies, with first-rate contributions from foundational thinkers and emerging stars on everything from agroecology and land, to financialization, territoriality, extractivism, migrant labour, and dozens of other topics.’ -- Marc Edelman, Hunter College and The Graduate Center, City University of New York‘Critical agrarian studies is not a sentimental journey into the past but ways of rethinking how the dynamics of agrarian change reflect and shape some of the most important issues of our time. In these creative and thoughtful short chapters, leading scholars provide new angles on familiar questions such as land ownership, the ways we eat, agrarian extractivism, ecological crisis and rural social movements and on many new issues as well. Authors also lead readers through current debates and introduce them to the particular methodological problems of agrarian studies.’ -- Bridget O’Laughlin, International Institute of Social Studies, the Netherlands and Co-Editor of the Journal of Agrarian Change'The Handbook of Critical Agrarian Studies is an excellent and solid work that takes us through the foundational and current debates of this research field, its main concepts and methodological approaches, the intersection of the agrarian question with environmental, territorial, techno-science and financialization issues, among other topics. An essential reference book.’ -- Carla Gras, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Argentina‘This Handbook will surely become the point of departure for anyone planning research on agrarian issues from a critical perspective. The 72 contributions – most by well-regarded experts in the field—provide both succinct literature reviews and substantive insight on a broad range of relevant topics. Some of the chapters, such as on The Agrarian Question, Land Grabs, and Feasible Utopias are superb. Whether for clarification of key concepts or to grasp the contours of current debates, the Handbook will be useful to students, researchers, those teaching in the field, as well as policy advocates and activists.’ -- Carmen Diana Deere, University of Florida, USTable of ContentsContents: Foreword xxiii Tania Murray Li Acknowledgements xxv 1 An introduction to the Handbook of Critical Agrarian Studies 1 A. Haroon Akram-Lodhi, Kristina Dietz, Bettina Engels and Ben M. McKay PART I ORIGINS 2 Frontiers, regimes and learning from history 9 Ulbe Bosma and Eric Vanhaute 3 Origins of peasant studies 15 Harriet Friedmann 4 The diversity of classical agrarian Marxism 25 A. Haroon Akram-Lodhi and Cristóbal Kay 5 Debates on the historical origins of agrarian capitalism 34 Xavier Lafrance 6 An alternative perspective on the agrarian question in Europe and in the developing countries 45 Utsa Patnaik PART II CONCEPTS 7 The agrarian question 53 Michael Watts 8 Class 67 Sara Berry 9 Land 72 A. Haroon Akram-Lodhi 10 Frontiers: Commodification and territorialization 80 Mattias Borg Rasmussen and Christian Lund 11 Labour 91 Jonathan Pattenden 12 Labor and social reproduction 99 Smriti Rao 13 Peasants 109 Jan Douwe van der Ploeg 14 Gender 120 Avanti Mukherjee 15 Gender, nature, body 131 Andrea J. Nightingale and Wendy Harcourt 16 Kinship 139 Pauline E. Peters 17 Generation 150 Ben White 18 Intersectionality 157 Carol J. Pierce Colfer, Markus Ihalainen and Bimbika Sijapati Basnett 19 Merchant and usurer’s capital 165 John Harriss 20 Agricultural markets 171 Muhammad Ali Jan and Barbara Harriss-White 21 Financialization 178 Jennifer Clapp and S. Ryan Isakson 22 Agrarian law 187 Sergio Coronado 23 Territoriality 197 Annie Shattuck and Nancy Lee Peluso 24 Agrarian/land reform 205 Ben Cousins 25 Food regimes 218 Philip McMichael 26 Crisis 232 Robert Chernomas, Ian Hudson and A. Haroon Akram-Lodhi 27 Food sovereignty, food security and the right to food 238 Priscilla Claeys, Annette Aurélie Desmarais and Jasber Singh PART III METHODOLOGIES 28 Qualitative research 251 Elisa Greco 29 Quantitative analysis 258 J. Paul Dunne 30 Geographical research 266 Oliver Pye 31 Questions and answers 272 A. Haroon Akram-Lodhi PART IV REGIONAL PERSPECTIVES 32 The agrarian question in Africa: Past, present and future 279 Samir Amin 33 Social movements in times of extractivism: The ecoterritorial turn in Latin America 285 Maristella Svampa 34 Agrarian change in China: Historical origins and competing perspectives 296 Qian Forrest Zhang 35 Beyond confrontation: Silent growers, symbiosis and subtle peasantness in post-socialist Eurasia 305 Oane Visser, Brian Kuns and Petr Jehlička 36 BRICS and global agrarian transformations 316 Gustavo de L.T. Oliveira and Ben M. McKay 37 Neoliberalism and the crisis in India’s countryside 324 Prabhat Patnaik 38 Crises of capitalism in the countryside: Debates from the South 334 Praveen Jha and Paris Yeros PART V DEBATES 39 Land grabs 346 Ariane Goetz 40 Water for agriculture 357 Larry A. Swatuk 41 Biofuels 366 Carol Hunsberger 42 Industrial fisheries and oceanic accumulation 374 Elizabeth Havice and Liam Campling 43 Forests and current transitions 387 Markus Kröger 44 Artisanal and small-scale mining 401 Boris Verbrugge and Robin Thiers 45 Footloose labour 410 John Harriss 46 Contract farming 416 Helena Pérez Niño and Carlos Oya 47 Biotechnology 427 Matthew A. Schnurr and Lincoln Addison 48 Agroecology 438 Nils McCune and Peter Rosset 49 Identities and culture in the rural world 453 Nicholas Copeland 50 Everyday politics in agrarian societies 463 Benedict J. Tria Kerkvliet 51 The state and rural politics 469 Leandro Vergara-Camus 52 Experts, land regimes and the politics of mapping 480 Facundo Martín 53 Rural social movements/transnational agrarian movements 491 Giuliano Martiniello 54 Industrial agriculture and agrarian extractivism 503 Ben M. McKay and Henry Veltmeyer 55 Rural dispossession and capital accumulation 515 Derek Hall 56 Ecological crises in the rural world 525 Marcus Taylor 57 Microfinance and rural financial inclusion 536 Marcus Taylor 58 Rural indebtedness 547 Julien-François Gerber 59 The neoliberal diet 556 Gerardo Otero 60 Meatification 561 Tony Weis 61 Digital agriculture 568 Kristina Dietz and Franza Drechsel 62 COVID-19 581 A. Haroon Akram-Lodhi PART VI TRAJECTORIES 63 The interface of critical development studies and critical agrarian studies 594 Henry Veltmeyer 64 Political ecology 601 Kristina Dietz 65 Pluriloguing postcolonial studies and critical agrarian studies 610 Johanna Leinius 66 Agrarian justice: Land, human rights and democratization 620 Jennifer C. Franco and Sofía Monsalve Suárez 67 Strategic linkages between STS and critical agrarian studies 630 Ryan Nehring 68 The Capitalocene response to the Anthropocene 636 Kees Jansen and Joost Jongerden 69 Degrowth in agrarian and fisheries studies 647 Arnim Scheidel, Irmak Ertör and Federico Demaria 70 Reconfiguring the intersection between urban food movements and agrarian struggles: Building an urban political agroecology praxis 656 Chiara Tornaghi and Severin Halder 71 Radical transformation: Creating alternatives to capitalism in the countryside 666 Kristina Dietz and Bettina Engels 72 Feasible utopias 676 Ray Bush Index 689

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Book SynopsisSince the dawn of time oysters have inhabited the earth. Naturally high in essential vitamins and minerals, they are one of the oldest known and most widely enjoyed foods consumed by humans. Varying in size from as small as a grape to as large as a dinner plate, the oyster has driven countries towards discovery and exploration. It has been the food of the rich and the sustenance of the poor. Renowned for its supposed aphrodisiac quality, it has inspired writers, poets, painters and lovers. Throughout history, it has also contributed to the spread of diseases such as typhoid and cholera. Follow the story from the prehistoric up to the present day, discovering how the oyster became the food of both paupers and kings, contributed to the building of empires and the demise of ecosystems, and why it may be the creature to help save the world's dying coastal shorelines and reefs.

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Book SynopsisThe Food and Folklore Reader is the first comprehensive introduction to folklore methods and concepts relevant to food. Mapping the study of food through key sources in folkloristics, the forty readings span the entire discipline: from seminal works on identity and aesthetics, to innovative scholarship on contemporary food issues such as food security and culinary tourism. The book also features:- Expert commentary and comprehensive introductions to each of the book's five parts by renowned folklorist and food scholar Lucy M. Long- Global coverage, with examples from the United States, Canada, Australia, Europe, Jewish and Filipino culture, and much more- Questions for discussion and suggestions for further reading supporting learning and encouraging students to explore these ideas in their own workDefinitive in scale and scope, this book defines the field of food and folklore for a new generation of students. An essential resource for all students in food studies, folklore Trade Review[Lucy M.] Long has culled the archives of the field, using seminal works that define folklore as well as articles that explore more contemporary issues such as food security and culinary tourism … She does an admirable job covering diverse food cultures with examples from the many ethnic identities within the United States, Canada, Australia, Sweden, Jewish and Arab cultures, and many more … an admirable job of collecting these articles on how to study the vast and ever growing world of food and culture chiefly from Folklore’s foodways perspectives. * Digest: A Journal of Foodways and Culture *This collection is sure to appeal to students in many disciplines, and really to anyone interested in the meaning of food. Accessible but sophisticated, the chapters start with foundational work, and then show us new angles on many familiar topics, from Spam to fruitcake, and draw us into the richness of contemporary folkloristics. This book belongs on every food scholar's shelves. -- Richard Wilk, Indiana University, USAWant to understand why food is so important? Read this book. Expertly curated by Lucy Long, The Food and Folklore Reader traces the history of the field and details the depth and breadth of food in the vernacular. Appealing and accessible to the general reader, it is a must have for food studies scholars. -- Amy Bentley, New York University, USAFolklore was one of the earliest disciplines to take food seriously and engage with popular disputations around literal taste. This excellent anthology reminds us of the insights that can be garnered in pursuing the productive methodologies and concepts in folkloristics. It is brimming with pedagogical tools for teaching about food, culture and society. -- Krishnendu Ray, New York University, USAThis is a major resource for the rapidly growing field of foodways and its study by folklorists. Opening with the pioneering work of Don Yoder in the 70s and closing with her own recent work on culinary tourism, Lucy Long casts a wide net as editor of this rich and diverse set of readings. From Jewish cuisine in the Mississippi Delta to the Dog’s Eye Pie in Australia, Long leaves no stone unturned. Essential reading for understanding food worlds. -- William Ferris, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USAFood and Folklore Reader is an excellent contribution to the study of food from the distinctive angle that folklore provides. * Folklore *Table of ContentsGeneral Introduction Part 1: Foundations: History, Definitions, and Methodologies Introduction to Part One Discussion Questions References and Further Reading Readings Part 2: Food in Groups, Community, and Identity Introduction to Part One Discussion Questions References and Further Reading Readings Part 3: Food as Art, Symbol, and Ritual Introduction to Part One Discussion Questions References and Further Reading Readings Part 4: Food as Communication, Performance, and Power Introduction to Part One Discussion Questions References and Further Reading Readings Part 5: Food in Public and Applied Folklore Introduction to Part One Discussion Questions References and Further Reading Readings Appendix of Sources Index

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Informative, pragmatic responses about what, why, and how we eat." * Kirkus Reviews *“An easily digestible series of Q&A-format chapters, the book explores questions of what personal nutrition looks like in our complicated food world, and how both flawed policy and corporate interests can make sustainable and healthy eating challenging. . . . Nestle deftly threads many of the nutritional issues facing the country.”
 * FoodPrint *"There is no one who knows more about food politics and policy and its effects on health in this country than Marion Nestle. . . . Years of research on various aspects of our systems have made her the go-to, for many of us, when we can't make sense of something that should be very straightforward but is anything but. . . . Her perspective is expansive and her opinions direct." * KCRW/Good Food *“[Addresses] some of the most pressing issues around consumers’ diets, local and global food systems, and the environment. . . . Offers readers an accessible introduction to these complex topics. It also shows readers how they can fight for a better food system and a healthier planet.” * Food Tank *"Klein offers a concrete and approachable doorway to a discussion and study of race in America. She tells a compelling story, devoid of jargon and not requiring specialized knowledge, while still grounded in rigorous research." * Food, Culture & Society *"This 'little book' has big messages and is well worth reading even by those already active in food and nutrition advocacy. It achieves its goal of being accessible to diverse readers. Overall, it integrates topics that are discussed separately in Nestle’s previous books and that are often considered separately in public health and larger societal discourse but must ultimately be addressed by coordinated solutions." * American Journal of Public Health *Table of ContentsIntroduction I. THE POLITICS OF PERSONAL DIETS AND HEALTH 1. What is a healthy diet? 2. Why does nutrition advice always seem to be changing? 3. Are low-carb diets really better for us? 4. Can food be addictive? 5. Is fake meat better for us—and the planet—than the real thing? 6. Is it a good idea to self-medicate with supplements or superfoods? II. THE COMMUNITY POLITICS OF FOOD CHOICE 7. Why should anyone go hungry, ever? 8. Is obesity really only a matter of personal responsibility? 9. Why isn’t healthy school food a no-brainer? 10. Why don’t we demand a higher standard of food safety? 11. Why can’t we stop wasting food? 12. Do we need a national food policy agency? III. THE GLOBAL POLITICS OF DIETS, HEALTH, AND THE ENVIRONMENT 13. Can we feed the world well? 14. Is the “free” market the path to a stable global food supply? 15. Can we stop agriculture from contributing to global warming? 16. Will technology fix our food system? 17. What are Sustainable Development Goals, and why should we care? 18. Is there a road map to the future of food? Conclusion: Take Action Abbreviations Sources and Further Reading Index

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Book Synopsis*Winner of the 2022 Cherasco International Prize*''Thoroughly engrossing'' Michael Pollan, The Atlantic''Wonderful, energising'' Kathryn Hughes, The GuardianCoffee is one of the most valuable commodities in the history of the global economy and the world''s most popular drug. The very word ''coffee'' is one of the most widespread on the planet. Augustine Sedgewick''s brilliant new history tells the hidden and surprising story of how this came to be, tracing coffee''s 400-year transformation into an everyday necessity.The story is one that few coffee drinkers know. Coffeeland centres on the volcanic highlands of El Salvador, where James Hill, born in the slums of nineteenth-century Manchester, founded one of the world''s great coffee dynasties. Adapting the innovations of the industrial revolution to plantation agriculture, Hill helped to turn El Salvador into perhaps the most intensive monoculture in modern history, a place of extraordinary productivity, inequality and violence.The book follows coffee from the Hill family plantations into the United States, through the San Francisco roasting plants into supermarkets, kitchens and work places, and finally into today''s omnipresent cafés. Sedgewick reveals the unexpected consequences of the rise of coffee, which reshaped large areas of the tropics, transformed understandings of energy, and ultimately made us dependent on a drug served in a cup.''Gripping'' The Spectator''An eye-opening, stimulating brew'' The EconomistTrade ReviewWonderful, energising ... Coffeeland is a data-rich piece of original research that shows in compelling detail how coffee capitalism has delivered both profit and pain, comfort and terror to different people at different times over the past 200 years ... Sedgwick's great achievement is to clothe macroeconomics in warm, breathing flesh. -- Kathryn Hughes * The Guardian *Thoroughly engrossing ... his literary gifts and prodigious research make for a deeply satisfying reading experience studded with narrative surprise. Sedgewick has a knack for the sparkling digression and arresting jump cut, hopping back and forth between El Salvador and the wider world. -- Michael Pollan * The Atlantic *Both a curio-shop of forgotten snippets of history and quirky facts - who knew mocha was so called because it was shipped out of a Yemeni port of the same name? - as well as a theory of the modern world ... there is much here to entertain, educate and - dare one say it of a book about coffee - stimulate. -- David Pilling * Financial Times *Sedgewick's gripping book exposes the dark heart of what goes into making a ubiquitous commodity, cherished every morning, enshrined in the workplace and appreciated after a meal. It provides a devastating answer to the question: 'What does it mean to be connected to faraway people and places through everyday things?' -- Colin Greenwood * The Spectator *An erudite and engrossing socioeconomic history ... With a forensic grasp of detail, Sedgewick charts the rise of mass-marketing and modern retail strategies through the story of the humble coffee bean ... Yet Coffeeland's poignant message runs wider still. Ultimately, the story of coffee, today's 'unrivaled work drug', is also the story of globalisation. -- Oliver Balch * Literary Review *Many fascinating details... Mr Sedgewick's book is a parable of how a commodity can link producers, consumers, markets and politics in unexpected ways. Like the drink it describes, it is an eye-opening, stimulating brew. * The Economist *[A] beautifully written, engaging and sprawling portrait of how coffee made modern El Salvador, while it also helped to remake consumer habits worldwide. * New York Times *It's a rich and complex story and the book is full of glances at the history of the times ... This is a staggeringly well-researched piece of work. -- Roger Alton * Daily Mail *Impressive ... People and food as much as coffee itself are the focus of Sedgewick's concern and the nexus of some of the most surprising connections in Coffeeland ... A powerful indictment of labour relations in El Salvador and capitalism in general. -- Judith Hawley * Times Literary Supplement *Epic, illuminating ... Coffeeland functions not just as the story of one country's relationship to coffee, but as a pocket history of globalisation itself ... It is a story very worth telling - and one that reaches out far beyond so-called "Coffeeland" itself. -- Tim Smith-Laing * Daily Telegraph *Informed and entertaining ... Coffeeland is thoroughly researched and Sedgewick is a stylish writer. -- Ed Cumming * i newspaper *Extremely wide-ranging and well researched, Sedgewick's story reaches out into American political history ... The originality and ambition of Sedgewick's work is that he insistently sees the dynamic between producer and consumer-Central American peasant and North American proletarian-not merely as one of exploited and exploiter but as a manufactured co-dependence between two groups both exploited by capitalism. -- Adam Gopnik * New Yorker *Meticulously researched, vivid in its scene-setting, fine-toothed in its sociopolitical analysis . . . Coffeeland lays bare the history and reality behind that cup of joe you're drinking. -- Michael Upchurch * Boston Globe *How did a cup of coffee become the everyday addiction of millions? In this impressively wide-ranging, personality-filled history, Augustine Sedgewick untangles the routes that carried coffee from the slopes of El Salvador's volcanoes ... To enter Coffeeland is to visit a realm of ruthless entrepreneurs, hard-working laborers, laboratory chemists, and guerrilla fighters. -- Maya Jasanoff, author of THE DAWN WATCHCapitalism has remade the global countryside in radical ways. Coffeeland brilliantly chronicles this most consequential revolution by telling the global history of one family. After reading Augustine Sedgewick's fast-paced book you will never be able to think about your morning coffee in quite the same way. -- Sven Beckert, author of EMPIRE OF COTTONCoffeeland will set a new standard ... an innovative study of work, of the work involved to produce a drink needed by workers to keep working. Sedgewick treats coffee not so much as a material commodity but rather more like intangible energy ... provocative and convincing. -- Greg Grandin, author of THE END OF THE MYTH

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Book SynopsisThe Sunday Times bestseller *Shortlisted for the Wainwright Prize*A New Statesman and Spectator Book of the Year''This book calls for nothing less than a revolution in the future of food'' Kate RaworthFrom the bestselling author of Feral, a breathtaking first glimpse of a new future for food and for humanityFarming is the world''s greatest cause of environmental destruction - and the one we are least prepared to talk about. We criticise urban sprawl, but farming sprawls across thirty times as much land. We have ploughed, fenced and grazed great tracts of the planet, felling forests, killing wildlife, and poisoning rivers and oceans to feed ourselves. Yet millions still go hungry.Now the food system itself is beginning to falter. But, as George Monbiot shows us in this brilliant, bracingly original new book, we can resolve the biggest of our dilemmas and feed the world without devouring the planet.Regenesis is a breathtaking vision of a new future for food and for humanity. Drawing on astonishing advances in soil ecology, Monbiot reveals how our changing understanding of the world beneath our feet could allow us to grow more food with less farming. He meets the people who are unlocking these methods, from the fruit and vegetable grower revolutionising our understanding of fertility; through breeders of perennial grains, liberating the land from ploughs and poisons; to the scientists pioneering new ways to grow protein and fat. Together, they show how the tiniest life forms could help us make peace with the planet, restore its living systems, and replace the age of extinction with an age of regenesis.Trade ReviewThis book calls for nothing less than a revolution in the future of food - one that will literally transform the face of the Earth, to make food affordable for all while restoring the living world. Such a vision sounds near impossible, but Monbiot reveals the food pioneers whose extraordinary innovations could bring it within reach. Never shying from controversy, Regenesis weaves the poetry of soil into the politics of farming to shake the ground on which we all grow. This is Monbiot's masterpiece: an urgent and exhilarating journey into remaking what and how we eat -- Kate RaworthRegenesis speaks to us like a poem that begins with a phantasmagoria of that which lies under the soil, offers a magnificent political economy of global food production and concludes with a hopeful vision of a techno-ethical equilibrium between Humanity and Nature. It must be read -- Yanis VaroufakisPeople from all walks of life should read this remarkable book. It is in my view one of the two or three most important books to appear this century -- Prof. Sir David King, former Chief Scientific Advisor to the UK GovernmentAs we begin to rethink our relationship with Nature, the unstinting work of George Monbiot becomes ever more valuable. Monbiot has been at the cutting edge of the discussion for decades, and his extraordinary book covers this complex, evolving subject with depth and breadth, sincerity and humour. I never cease to be surprised by the unexpected perspectives he brings to bear, leading me through problems I never envisaged and solutions I never imagined. We are left with the hope that the solutions might triumph, that we might make it through -- Brian EnoA book offering evidence-based hope is a rare thing in these days of climate and nature emergency - yet that's exactly what George Monbiot has written. Inspiring and compelling, Regenesis sets out a transformative vision of a new food future with the potential to both restore nature and feed the world. Monbiot's blueprint is both wildly ambitious and deeply practical, and might well be our last best hope of stopping the sixth great extinction -- Caroline LucasThis remarkable book, staring curiously down at the soil beneath our feet, points us convincingly in one of the directions we must travel. I learned something on every page -- Bill McKibbenGeorge Monbiot clears paths towards solutions that lie dormant within us, which, if embraced, could transform our world and our societies into better places. He reaches for new ideas that might ignite the collective consciousness in a push to protect, rather than tragically destroy, the biosphere. Read George Monbiot and you will meet the cheerful courage and passion of a fellow traveller on this earth who seeks authentic hope -- ANOHNIFor anyone who cares about where our food comes from and its impact on the planet Regenesis is essential reading. This deeply researched book lifts the lid on our current methods of food production and all its dirty secrets: but more than that it provides a blueprint for the future. Monbiot pursues the key question: how can we have healthy food that's cheap enough for everyone to eat? His answers provide critical pathways towards a way to feed the planet -- Rosie BoycottForget Elon Musk's dry-as-dust retro sci-fi fantasies, George Monbiot gives us an inspiring vision of the future that is alive and kicking and grounded in the latest scientific discoveries. George Monbiot has combined his gifts as an investigator, interviewer and witty storyteller to create an exhiliarating epic! -- Robert NewmanA fascinating and ultimately positive book ... a harmonic vision of how changing our relationship to land use, farming and the food that we eat could transform our lives -- Thom YorkeWonderful ... Monbiot shows that the thin layer on which all terrestrial ecosystems stand is alive with organisms as diverse, fascinating and mysterious as any found above ground. He shatters the shibboleths of farming, showing the way to a radical transformation of agricultural practices and exciting new opportunities for nourishment -- David SuzukiRegenesis is a world-making, world-changing book; at once visionary and rigorous and practicable. It rings and sings throughout with Monbiot's extraordinary combination of passion, generosity and justice. It is braced by his unshakeable commitment to bettering the planet for all its inhabitants, human and other-than-human. It is a thrilling work, more ambitious even than its predecessor, Feral, and it gripped me as I read. Recognising that "the future is underground", Monbiot shows us that the possibility for a transformed relationship with food, the living world and each other lies just beneath our feet, right under our noses -- Robert MacfarlaneA brilliant, mesmerizing, vital book. Beneath each square meter of soil live thousands of species, and each chapter of George Monbiot's eye-opening exploration of that soil and its potential is similarly, dynamically rich-delivering a whole new way of thinking about our agriculture and our diets, our climate and our future. And much needed hope, besides -- David Wallace-WellsA genuinely brilliant, inspirational book ... George Monbiot embarks on a journey of discovery, realising that soil and its role in our life is bigger than everything else. Halfway through, I felt like a child who was bursting to share a secret with anyone who would listen. By the time I had finished reading, I felt as if the purest mountain stream had washed through my brain, and Monbiot had shared the most fundamentally important insight of his life -- Sir Tim Smit, Founder of the Eden ProjectYou may think you are across environmental and climate change issues, but think again. This passionate, extraordinary book opens up a compelling and vital new dimension: food and the way the world farms -- Will HuttonWith rigour, singular bravery and an infectious love for the living world, George Monbiot presents the Silent Spring of our time. Regenesis is an eye-watering reckoning of humanity's land and food crisis and an astonishing vision of survival and restoration. Monbiot takes us on a journey from the rhizospheres and the drilospheres through soil ecology, cultural myths, to the future of food all bound together with his own wonder-ful, beautifully-written observations. There is no topic more important for planetary survival than land and food, and there is no writer willing to dispense of bullshit, tell us the truth, and take on powerful forces and perceived wisdom like George Monbiot. A visionary, fearless, essential book -- Lucy JonesMonbiot rolls up his sleeves and pulls on his boots for an uncompromising session of agricultural dragon-slaying and foodie myth-busting. Unafraid to propose a new world order for farming and food production that is kinder to both people and planet, Regenesis is rigorous and restive, but also witty, original and humane. Let us hope it is read, digested and acted on by people, politicians and policy-makers the world over -- Hugh Fearnley-WhittingstallI am so grateful George Monbiot has applied his razor sharp intellect, bountiful curiosity and love for the land to the complex and fundamental issue of what we eat. This book offers a deep dive into the most essential question of our time - how might we feed ourselves without destroying our planet in the process? -- Lily ColeThis is an important book and a gripping read. It will enflame vested interests on all sides. Because Monbiot has that most aggravating of gifts - the ability lucidly to point out things that people desperately do not want to be true -- Henry DimblebyHow can we ensure that everyone is fed without destroying the biosphere? Regenesis is a lively and deeply researched enquiry that confronts our dilemmas head on. There are no easy answers, but Monbiot provides a brilliant guide to asking the right questions. Transformation is urgently needed and this book shows how it is possible -- Merlin SheldrakeGeorge Monbiot is a very skilful writer, and Regenesis shows all his powers at full stretch. He seems to see more fully than almost anyone else in this field, with a clarity of attention both to the smallest realities of a handful of soil and to the widest implications of the way human beings have lived and continue to live in the world. Telling things in the right order doesn't seem like one of the functions of the imagination, but again and again Monbiot shows that it is, with all the imaginative sympathy of a great storyteller as well as the overarching understanding of a moral visionary. This is a fine and necessary book -- Philip PullmanGeorge Monbiot is one of the most fearless and important voices in the global climate movement today -- Greta ThunbergI used to look up to the stars for thoughts of infinity, eternity and divine cooperation. This book revealed to me I could find the same inspiration beneath the soles of my feet in less than a foot of soil. My walks on earth will never be the same as they were. The writing, observation and devotion is infectiously compelling. The learning is deep and immense -- Mark RylanceA magnificent new overview of how we might live and feed ourselves without destroying ourselves ... It is riveting ... Along with a dazzling array of stats, there's also impressive investigative reporting ... rich food for thought, devastating figures, startling insights and even the odd joke ... A hugely important read -- Christopher Hart * The Sunday Times *A call to raze the pastoral imaginary so that we can begin to think clearly about how we produce food and steward the soil ... To have any chance of turning the age of extinction into an age of regeneration, systemic reform, based on the facts, not pastoral myth-making, is essential -- Philippa Nuttall * New Statesman *Colossally important... You've got to read it -- Max Porter (via Twitter)A treasure trove of hope and solutions, and a vision for a sustainable, healthy, equitable world. We meet inspiring farmers as well as some radical solutions ... Comprehensive, devastating, rousing ... An essential book -- Rowan Hooper * New Scientist *Big ideas, beautifully written and the portraits of people building the alternatives are gorgeous! Makes you angry and enraptured with the beauty of the natural world all at once -- Aaron Bastani (via Twitter)A paean to the wonder that is the ecology of soil, scientifically informed and beautifully told. The perfect bank holiday read -- Yadvinder Malhi, Professor of Ecosystem Science at the University of OxfordPhenomenal. Clear, eloquent, fearless and devastating in its analysis. A revolution in the future of food -- Adam Rutherford (via Twitter)Glorious ... intelligent, deeply researched .... The point Monbiot makes so ably and so necessarily is that system change is both essential and possible through a complexity of solutions ... The stakes could not be higher. If a book can change hearts and minds about one of the most critical issues of our time, this rational, humane polemic is it -- Gaia Vince * Observer *Revolutionary ... Rigorous, bold and clear-sighted ... To conjure the miracle of more food with less farming, we need to rethink what lies beneath our feet -- David Farrier * Prospect *Vivid and memorable... Regenesis is a compelling, deeply researched account of a deeply broken food system and how we might heal it * Irish Times *A compelling story of soil, food and farming * Financial Times *Ambitious and deeply researched ... Monbiot exposes, with journalistic flair, the 'gulf between perception and reality' about where and how our food is produced ... it includes some fascinating case studies ... bristling with ideas and imagination -- Laura Battle * Financial Times *Eye-opening, persuasive, meticulously researched [...] Monbiot thinks globally [... and] his arguments take account of the needs of everyone in society -- Amy Liptrot * Guardian *A paean to soil, told more gracefully and memorably than anyone before him... Regenesis is likely to become a classic. Monbiot is a writer of the first rank -- Bill McKibben * Times Literary Supplement *Inspiring, courageous, and bursting with ideas -- Jeremy Williams * The Earthbound Report *

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Book SynopsisThis unique book is an exciting global journey into the origins, technologies, and recipes of ancient beer as well as into beer's continued importance today in diet, ritual, and economics.Trade ReviewIt is only the beer drinkers that survived long enough to reproduce and pass their genes in our direction. Beer has been at the heart of most societies on earth-and this book is an authoritative and fascinating dip into thousands of years of fertile history of the world's favorite adult beverage. * Charles Bamforth, author of In Praise of Beer *If you've ever wondered, as a brewer or beer aficionado, what a brew from thousands of years ago in Africa or anywhere else on planet Earth might have tasted like and how it was made, this is the book for you. John W. Arthur's globetrotting doesn't stop in the past as he ventures into remote villages and tribal conclaves of today and captivates you with traditional beers of all kinds. These brews celebrated life, sustained gods and ancestors, or simply brought a joie de vivre to our everyday life. * Patrick E. McGovern, author of Uncorking the Past: The Quest for Wine, Beer, and Other Alcoholic Beverages and Ancient Brews: Rediscovered and Re-created *This wonderful book richly documents the foundational role that beer, and beer-enhanced sociality, has played in human societies around the world for over 10,000 years. Although beer and other chemical intoxicants are too often given short shrift by scholars, Arthur demonstrates that it is impossible to fully understand the technology, economics, health and nutritional outcomes, ritual practices, or social structures of most cultures without understanding how beer is produced, traded, and consumed. Impressively detailed and comprehensive. * Edward Slingerland, author of Drunk: How We Sipped, Danced, and Stumbled Our Way to Civilization *Arthur's book belongs in every serious library. Highly recommended. * Choice *The text is quite accessible and could easily be incorporated into upper-level undergraduate and graduate courses. * Liza Gijanto, African Archaeological Review *Table of Contents1. Introduction - Beer is Food 2. The Diversity of Indigenous Beer Production 3. Near Eastern and Asian Beers: Stone Bowls, Red-Crown Cranes, Ancient Hymns, and Ancestral Spirits 4. African Beers: Feeding the Living and the Ancestors 5. European Beers: Henges, Vikings, Monks, and Our Favorite Brews 6. Meso- and South American Beers: Beer Fuels Runners, Roads, and Feasts 7. Tapped Out Index

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Book SynopsisSam Bilton explores our complex relationship with this versatile confection, which is made from the humble beans of the tropical cacao tree.

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Book SynopsisThe tomato gets no respect. Never has. Lost in the dustbin of history for centuries, accused of being vile and poisonous, subjected to being picked hard-green and gassed, even used as a projectile, the poor tomato has become the avatar for our disaffection with industrial foods - while becoming the most popular vegetable in America (and, in fact, the world). Each summer, tomato festivals crop up across the country; the Heinz ketchup bottle, instantly recognizable, has earned a spot in the Smithsonian; and now the tomato is redefining the very nature of farming, moving from fields into climate-controlled mega-greenhouses the size of New England villages. Supported by meticulous research and told in a lively, accessible voice, Ten Tomatoes That Changed the World seamlessly weaves travel, history, humour, and a little adventure (and misadventure) to follow the tomato's trail through history. A fascinating story complete with heroes, con artists, conquistadors, and-no surprise-the Mafia, this book is a mouth-watering, informative, and entertaining guide to the food that has captured our hearts for generations.

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Book SynopsisInspiring. -MARK BITTMANOne of the best stories under the sun. -JOSÉ ANDRÉSFrom James Beard Award-winner Rowan Jacobsen, the thrilling story of the farmers, activists, and chocolate makers fighting all odds to revive ancient cacao and produce the world''s finest bar.When Rowan Jacobsen first heard of a chocolate bar made entirely from wild Bolivian cacao, he was skeptical. The waxy mass-market chocolate of his childhood had left him indifferent to it, and most experts believed wild cacao had disappeared from the rainforest centuries ago. But one dazzling bite of Cru Sauvage was all it took. Chasing chocolate down the supply chain and back through history, Jacobsen travels the rainforests of the Amazon and Central America to find the chocolate makers, activists, and indigenous leaders who are bucking the system that long ago abandoned wild and heirloom cacao in favor of high-yield, low-flavor varietals preferred by

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Book SynopsisAsk about German food and most people think of beer and sausage, or pretzels and Limburger cheese. However, the 82 million inhabitants of modern-day Germany do not all live exclusively on Oktoberfest fare. In fact, Germans have a long tradition of taking outside influences into their cuisine, and there is a wide variety of food eaten within the various regions of the country. Beyond Bratwurst traces the many traditions that have combined to form German food today. From their earliest beginnings, food and cooking in Germany have been marked by geographic and climatic differences between north and south, as well as continuous cultural influences from bordering countries. The openness of Germans to these influences has resulted in the frequent reinvention of their cuisine. The regional variations of today are based as much on political, cultural and socioeconomic history as on geography: the story of German food includes the back-to-the-land movement of the late nineteenth century and the development of modern mass-market products by Justus von Liebig and Dr Oetker, as well as rationing and shortages under the Nazis, post-war hunger and divisions between East and West.& #8232;
 Beyond Bratwurst describes who eats what, how, where, when and why in Germany, telling the stories of many German specialities such as beer, stollen, rye bread and lebkuchen, as well as more surprising German favourites.

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Book SynopsisTrade Review“Andrew Friedman’s deep dive into The Dish gives us a great appreciation and understanding of the people who play a part in the meals we order in restaurants. This book should be required reading for all of us who enjoy going out to eat!” — Marcus Samuelsson, James Beard Award-winning author, chef, and restauranter “Andrew Friedman has achieved a long overdue thing: shown just how much skill, connectivity, personal touch, and professional grace exists in our restaurant culture. It is a real gift to have an archivist like Andrew who cares so much about cooks, producers and service workers document this work with such a loving and truthful eye.” — Lisa Donovan, James Beard Award-winning author of Our Lady of Perpetual Hunger Perpetual Hunger “Tail to nose and root to stem, Andrew Friedman serves the life story of a single plate of food at a single restaurant and somehow conjures an entire world of blue-collar work.” — Amanda Cohen, Chef/Owner of Dirt Candy “Who is really behind the food we eat at a restaurant? Andrew Friedman, in The Dish, perfectly orchestrates what it takes to go from farm…and ranch…and vineyard…to mouth.” — Tom Colicchio, Chef/Owner of Crafted Hospitality

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Book SynopsisFor centuries, professional cooking was a job exclusively for men. As a result, most histories of food and cooking, even today, are dominated by male achievements. But while historians weren''t paying attention, women all over the world have been quietly changing the way we eat, cook, and dine out, inventing standardized measures, dishwashers, coffee filters, and even Champagne and buffalo wings!In A WOMAN''S PLACE, these hidden figures of culinary history have the chance to tell their stories. Stories like that of Leah Chase, whose New Orleans restaurant sheltered and fed the civil rights movement, or Madhur Jaffrey, who became an accidental celebrity chef teaching English and American home cooks how to cook Indian food.With lively illustrations depicting the women in scenes from their everyday lives, and stories ranging around the globe and across centuries, A WOMAN''S PLACE is the perfect gift for the foodie, history lover, or groundbreaking woman or girl in your

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Book SynopsisIn Closing the Food Gap, food activist and journalist Mark Winne poses questions too often overlooked in our current conversations around food: What about those people who are not financially able to make conscientious choices about where and how to get food? And in a time of rising rates of both diabetes and obesity, what can we do to make healthier foods available for everyone?To address these questions, Winne tells the story of how America''s food gap has widened since the 1960s, when domestic poverty was rediscovered, and how communities have responded with a slew of strategies and methods to narrow the gap, including community gardens, food banks, and farmers'' markets. The story, however, is not only about hunger in the land of plenty and the organized efforts to reduce it; it is also about doing that work against a backdrop of ever-growing American food affluence and gastronomical expectations. With the popularity of Whole Foods and increasingly common community-supported agriculture (CSA), wherein subscribers pay a farm so they can have fresh produce regularly, the demand for fresh food is rising in one population as fast as rates of obesity and diabetes are rising in another. Over the last three decades, Winne has found a way to connect impoverished communities experiencing these health problems with the benefits of CSAs and farmers'' markets; in Closing the Food Gap, he explains how he came to his conclusions. With tragically comic stories from his many years running a model food organization, the Hartford Food System in Connecticut, alongside fascinating profiles of activists and organizations in communities across the country, Winne addresses head-on the struggles to improve food access for all of us, regardless of income level. Using anecdotal evidence and a smart look at both local and national policies, Winne offers a realistic vision for getting locally produced, healthy food onto everyone''s table.

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Book SynopsisIn this pioneering study Vivienne Richmond reveals the importance of dress to the nineteenth-century English poor, who valued clothing not only for its practical utility, but also as a central element in the creation and assertion of collective and individual identities.Trade Review'Vivienne Richmond demonstrates the power of clothing in the lives of the working and indigent poor of nineteenth-century England: children, women and men. This is an innovative exploration of clothing cultures, both those crafted by individuals and those imposed by state and institutional authorities. Subtle and insightful, Richmond brings new perspectives to this important topic.' Beverly Lemire, University of Alberta'Vivienne Richmond tells a very sad historical story, about the bodily and psychological misery of a large proportion of the population in nineteenth-century Britain; but she is not afraid to be wry, or ironic, or outraged and sometimes very funny, when appropriate.' Carolyn Steedman, University of WarwickTable of ContentsIntroduction: identifying the poor, locating their clothes; 1. Setting the standard: working-class dress; 2. 'Frankly a mystery': budgeting for clothes; 3. 'Poverty busied itself': buying clothes; 4. 'Woman's best weapon': needlework and home-made clothing; 5. 'The struggle for respectability'; 6. The sense of self; 7. 'The bowels of compassion': clothing and the Poor Law; 8. 'An urgent desire to clothe them': ladies' clothing charities; 9. 'We have nothing but our clothes': charity schools and servants; 10. 'The greatest stigma and disgrace': lunatic asylums, workhouses and prisons; Conclusion: no finery; Bibliography.

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Book SynopsisChina''s food safety system is in crisis. Egregious scandals, as varied as the sale of liquor laced with Viagra and the distribution of fake eggs, reveal how regulatory practices have been stretched to their limit in the world''s largest food production system. On Feeding the Masses focuses on the oft-cited but ultimately overlooked concept of scale to identify the root causes of China''s regulatory failures in food safety. The ''politics of scale'' framework highlights how regulators disagree on which level of government is best suited to regulate (''the scale of governance''), struggle to address multilevel tensions (''multidimensional scale integration''), and fail to understand how policies at one level of government can affect other levels of government in unexpected and costly ways (''scale externalities''). Drawing from over 200 interviews with food safety regulators and producers, the study provides one of the most comprehensive accounts of China''s food safety crisis to date.Trade Review'Food safety has become one of the most salient quality-of-life issues. Using a 'politics of scale' framework, John K. Yasuda sheds important light on the politics of food safety in China. He also helps us appreciate the challenges of governance in large-scale polities.' Dali L. Yang, University of Chicago'Why do government regulations designed to safeguard the public so often fail to achieve this goal in practice? John K. Yasuda's On Feeding the Masses provides a fresh answer to this important question by going deep inside the Chinese state. Yasuda finds that the lackluster performance of China's national food safety system stems not from corruption, lack of state capacity, or recalcitrant bureaucrats, but from 'scale politics,' that is, the difficulties of coordinating knowledge, procedures, and rules across different levels of government. Yasuda's 'politics of scale' theoretical framework, which he elucidates and tests with impressive subnational and cross-national evidence, offers an exciting new way for scholars and practitioners to understand and manage the challenges of multilevel governance.' Richard Snyder, Brown University, Rhode Island'… Yasuda's new book On Feeding the Masses: An anatomy of Regulatory Failure in China is worth the wait. … Part of the appeal of Yasuda's conceptual framework is its ability to incorporate so much analytical territory. Overall, Yasuda's book will appeal to political scientists and policy analysts researching China, as well as anyone researching or working in the food industries in China. It is also an excellent teaching resource for undergraduate and graduate courses on food and government in China.' Sacha Cody, newbooks.asiaTable of Contents1. Food safety and China's scale problem; 2. Revisiting scale; 3. On feeding the masses; 4. The export sector: the heavy hand of direct control; 5. CSA markets: 'I don't sell vegetables, I sell trust'; 6. Failed state policies: scale and its discontents; 7. Co-regulatory initiatives: China's big, small farmer problem; 8. Scaling-down: moving from global to the local; 9. Scaling-up: from local experiments to national solutions?; 10. The scale politics of regulatory giants compared; 11. Parting thoughts on scale; Appendix; References; Bibliography.

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Book SynopsisThis Companion provides an engaging and expansive overview of gustation, gastronomy, agriculture and alimentary activism in literature from the medieval period to the present day, as well as an illuminating introduction to cookbooks as literature. Bringing together sixteen original essays by leading scholars, the collection rethinks literary food from a variety of critical angles, including gender and sexuality, critical race studies, postcolonial studies, eco-criticism and children''s literature. Topics covered include mealtime decorum in Chaucer, Milton''s culinary metaphors, early American taste, Romantic gastronomy, Victorian eating, African-American women''s culinary writing, modernist food experiments, Julia Child and cold war cooking, industrialized food in children''s literature, agricultural horror and farmworker activism, queer cookbooks, hunger as protest and postcolonial legacy, and ''dude food'' in contemporary food blogs. Featuring a chronology of key publication and histTrade Review'The book is clearly written and full of engaging facts and literary connections.' M. K. Bloodsworth-Lugo, ChoiceTable of ContentsIntroduction: the literature of food J. Michelle Coghlan; 1. Medieval feasts Aaron K. Hostetter; 2. The art of early modern cookery Joe Moshenska; 3. The Romantic revolution in taste Denise Gigante; 4. The matter of early American taste Lauren Klein; 5. The culinary landscape of Victorian literature Kate Thomas; 6. Modernism and gastronomy Allison Carruth; 7. Cold War cooking J. Michelle Coghlan; 8. Farm horror in the twentieth century Michael Newbury; 9. Queering the cookbook Katharina Vester; 10. Guilty pleasures in children's literature Catherine Keyser; 11. Postcolonial tastes Parama Roy; 12. Black power in the kitchen Erica Fretwell; 13. Farmworker activism Sarah D. Wald; 14. Digesting Asian America Anne Anlin Cheng; 15. Postcolonial foodways in contemporary African literature Jonathan Bishop Highfield; 16. Blogging food, performing gender Emily Contois.

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Book SynopsisThis compelling study explores food programs initiated by the British government across two centuries, from the workhouses of the 1830s to the post-war Welfare State. Challenging the assumption that state ideologies and practices were progressive and based primarily on scientific advances in nutrition, Nadja Durbach examines the political, economic, social and cultural circumstances that led the state to feed some of its subjects, but not others. Durbach follows food policies from their conception to their implementation through case studies involving paupers, prisoners, famine victims, POWs, schoolchildren, wartime civilians and pregnant women. She explores what government food meant to those who devised, executed, used, and sometimes refused, these social services. Many Mouths seeks to understand the social, economic, and political theories that influenced these feeding schemes, within their changing historical contexts. It thus offers fresh insights into how both the administratorsTrade Review'Many Mouths is an absorbing study of when, why and how the modern British state sought to feed its most vulnerable subjects. Durbach's major achievement is to show us how the state was literally made manifest – locally, nationally and imperially – through the practices used to feed people. This compelling book should be read by all those interested in the politics of food and its central place in modern British history.' James Vernon, University of California, Berkeley'Many Mouths is a sweeping, richly textured, and important study of government feeding that takes us from the Dickensian workhouse of the 1830s to the debates surrounding the cups of welfare orange juice served to expectant mothers and children after the Second World War. Throughout, we see how food (and drink) is good to think with and to govern with as well.' Erika Rappaport, University of California, Santa Barbara'Many Mouths is a magisterial study of the complex history of British state feeding from the 1830s to the 1960s. Durbach provides a compelling analysis of how the distribution of food is an elemental field through which power relations were (and are) articulated and contested. This is an extremely important book.' Christopher Otter, Ohio State University'… goes back to the 19th century to examine some of the origins of our current 'food system' and how embedded attitudes to food - and of who is deserving of feeding - have shaped policy to the present day … casts an interesting light on the way in which people's relationships with food became entwined with their relationships to the British state.' Erica Wagner, Financial Times'… the author is to be praised for moving beyond the conventional top-down focus on planners and administrators and conveying the voice of the recipients of relief.' M. J. O'Brien, Choice'… Durbach's study provides compelling evidence that there are certain irreducible realities about food itself that resist even well meaning attempts at ameliorating undernutrition no matter what form it may take.' Travis A. Weisse, Bulletin of the History of MedicineTable of ContentsIntroduction. The politics of pickles; 1. Old English fare: festive meals, the new Poor Law, and the boundaries of the nation; 2. Gendered portions and racialized rations: the classification of difference in British and colonial prisons; 3. Famine, cooked food, and the starving child: rethinking political economy in colonial India; 4. Tommy's tummy: provisioning POWs during the first world war; 5. The science of selection: malnutrition and school meals in the interwar years; 6. Every sort and condition of citizen: British restaurants and the communal feeding experiment during the second world war; 7. Nations out of nurseries, empires into bottles: the colonial politics of welfare orange juice; Conclusion. How the sausage gets made.

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Book SynopsisChapter 1 looks at the planting techniques of barley noting that the bidirectional planting technique had a significant effect on growth and yield of barley. Chapter 2 provides information about the molecular approaches and mutation breeding in barley. Late spring frosts and drought are the most important abiotic stress factors that definite the yield and quality performance of spring barley genotypes in breeding programs. For this purpose, the authors of Chapter 3 used in their study a total of 25 spring barley genotypes, including 20 advanced line and 5 standard varieties. The next chapter looks at the composite of barley and the health effects it has. The last chapter, the author performs a study that investigates the effects of the short-term application (1 and 5 days) of arsenic, cadmium, and lead (15Î"M, 30Î"M, and 60Î"M mixtures) on the phenolic contents of a barley species that was registered by the Trakya Agricultural Research Institute in 2014.Table of ContentsPreface; Planting Techniques of Barley (Hordeum vulgare); Molecular Techniques and Mutation Breeding Approaches to Genetically Enrich the Barley (Hordeum Vulgare L.); Effects of Ecological Factors on Spring Barley Genotypes; An Introduction to Specific Attributes of Barley: Cultivation, Production and Consumption; The Effects of Heavy Metal Exposure on Phenolic Compounds in Barley (Hordeum vulgare); Index.

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Book Synopsis

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Book SynopsisThe best way to avoid food-borne illnesses is to prevent contaminants from getting into food. Public health is a constant concern for world health authorities since not only food-borne illnesses but also diverse human illnesses associated to fat, salt and sugar intake, are increasingly prevalent. These diseases are caused by micro-organisms, harmful chemicals or excess of some food components in foods which people preferably drink or eat. On the other hand, chemicals can produce both acute and chronic diseases depending on the level of contaminants present in the food. When the level of contaminants is high, the result may be an acute disease with dramatic consequences, but when the level of contaminants is low; they may accumulate in a live organism and produce a long term disease. Usually, chemical contaminants are found in the environment, both naturally and produced by human activity. In this sense, prevention is therefore the principal focus of all safety quality systems in the food industry and rules to change this system in order to assure people safe food products of the required quality by the consumer are discussed. Since food contamination can happen at any place during processing, it is necessary to evaluate all the hazards that can occur all along the food production chain, identifying inputs, and analysing and controlling all critical points to keep hazards at acceptable levels.

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Book SynopsisThis compilation examines agricultural research from across the globe and covers a broad spectrum of related topics. In this book, the authors discuss research including the impacts of the Fukushima nuclear disaster on Japanese agriculture and food chains; plant nutrients, plant growth retardants, and cotton production; response of olive trees to deficit irrigation regimes; improving selectivity in trawl fisheries; grazing management of native and naturalised pastures in harsh environments; sustainable grazing systems for the enhancement of livestock production and biodiversity in less-favoured heathland areas of northern humid Spain; genomic organisation and comparative analysis of the genome of domesticated animals and poultry; and in-depth studies of cattle-manure-compost activated carbons for Cu(Ii) ions removal.

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Book SynopsisAccording to USDA''s Economic Research Service (ERS), the national net farm income, a key indicator of U.S. farm well-being, is forecast at a record $121 billion in 2013, up 6% from last year, and about $3 billion above 2011''s previous record. In addition to record net farm income, farm wealth is also at record levels. This book discusses the USDA''s Economic Research Service (ERS), which originally developed a farm typology that has been used over the years extensively in ERS publications and USDA analyses to help clarify the distributional impacts of policy, market, and technological developments.

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Book SynopsisBeef markets in the United States are undergoing rapid change as alternative production systems and technologies evolve in response to consumer demands and compete with conventional grain-fed beef production. This book focuses on the issues and implications of alternative beef production systems; slaughter and processing options and issues for locally sources meat; and technology, restructuring, and productivity growth of hog production in the United States from 1992 to 2009.

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Book SynopsisIn 2003, EPA introduced revised Clean Water Act regulations to better protect surface waters from nutrients from concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). When applying manure to crop or pasture land (the primary disposal method), CAFOs now must follow a nutrient management plan that specifies a manure application rate that minimises the threat to water quality. This book focuses on managing manure to improve air and water quality; trends and developments in hog manure management; and current laws and legislative issues with animal waste and hazardous substances.

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Book SynopsisMost U.S. households have consistent, dependable access to enough food for active, healthy living -- they are food secure. But a minority of American households experience food insecurity at times during the year, meaning that their access to adequate food is limited by a lack of money and other resources. Food and nutrition assistance programs of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) increase food security by providing low-income households access to food, a healthful diet, and nutrition education. This book presents statistics from the survey covering households'' food security, food expenditures, and use of food and nutrition assistance programs in 2012.

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Book SynopsisAgricultural trade and development is a backbone of international trade. It includes agricultural trade patterns, commercial policy, international institutions such as WTO, Tariff and non-tariff barriers in international trade, exchange rates, biotechnology and trade, agricultural labour mobility, land reform, environment and the areas and issues spanning these areas. This new book brings together leading research and issues in this fundamental field.

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Book SynopsisThis book presents an overview of the cultivation of the potato, pointing out some aspects in relation to its production, consumption and importance for consumer health. The aim is to offer a glimpse of the forest rather than the single tree, but not failing to focus on "a few trees". The approach is interdisciplinary, and in this sense the history and the climatic aspects that favour cultivation are highlighted first, ideally starting with contributions on the South-America and then moving eastwards, following the diffusion of the potato in the rest of the world. Some technological aspects are then tackled linked to cultivation, harvest, post-harvest, production and utilisation of potatoes. Lastly some aspects are dealt with, nutritional and not, relating to the importance of potatoes on the health of the consumer.

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Book SynopsisIn the last ten years the ready meals market has had considerable growth with an average of 4.0% in value and 3.0% in volume per year. Several factors have contributed to this growth. The changes in the lifestyle of individuals in the Western world have increased the demand for convenience in the preparation of meals. Consumers work more hours, spend more time in traffic and wish to maximise their increasingly diminished leisure time; therefore, they demand both products and services that facilitate and support a busy life. As a reaction to this demand the Food Industry has expanded its options of ready-to-eat food. The main objective of this study is to characterise the influence of lifestyles in the habit of eating these meals. We present an analysis about the health, flavour, convenience and tradition dimensions in the consumption of ready-to-eat products and eating habits of consumers'' samples from São Paulo and Rome. The concepts of lifestyles, multiculturalism, eating habits and the consumption of ready meals are revised. According to the results, the consumers of both cities present different styles regarding eating habits. More elderly populations from southern Europe are traditional regarding their eating habits. Similarly, in this work, consumers of Rome in general present greater concern with tradition and health in comparison to São Paulo. The Germanic cultures are more concerned with health, while in Italy the sensorial element would matter more. This study indicated that in São Paulo there is a great emphasis in convenience and flavour. The city of São Paulo takes pride in being a gastronomical centre and many of the social activities of the city''s habitants takes place at gatherings that involve feeding; therefore the importance of flavour aspect is easily explained. Simultaneously, the convenience aspect is supported by another characteristic of the city: the fact that it is a large urban centre. The circumstances of contemporary life and the impacts of advertisement have changed the acquisition and consumption of food, highlighting the relevance of prepared food in São Paulo. It is believed that the results of this line of investigation are relevant not only to professionals that work on the development of new products, positioning of brands and products that operate in the current markets, but also to the distributors that commercialise food products and the food packaging industry.

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Book SynopsisThe pomegranate is a beloved plant and fruit that has been used in ancient times. The raw fruit, juice, peels and flowers were used as medicines. The botany, genetics, cultivation and postharvest treatment of pomegranates are discussed, along with the production of juices and extracts. Previously published reports on the biochemical composition of each part of the pomegranate are described. This is followed by a list of potential health effects. Many of these articles described the health effects of extracts of pomegranates because (until recently) few journals would publish articles that described the effects of whole foods. Based on reductionist thinking, this approach required investigators to isolate individual active ingredients. So, the book starts with an introduction that compares and contrasts reductionist and systems thinking. In reductionist thinking the whole is equal to the sum of its parts, while in systems thinking and traditional medicine, individual parts can act synergistically to cause health effects. Modern medicine is becoming a fusion of traditional and western medicine. Math, physics, chemistry and engineering are used to do modern analyses of individual parts of the patient and his or her diseases. At the same time, the traditional methods are used to observe nature and look for the relationships between ions, molecules, cells, organs and organisms. Moreover, medicine is becoming predictive, preventive, personalized and participatory. It uses genomic and metabolomic data to predict a person''s susceptibility to diseases and then provide advice on how to treat or cure the diseases. It is personalized for each individual. Patients are encouraged to participate in making decisions about their own treatments, including their diet. So, hard scientific data from previously published articles are used in this book to describe the biochemical composition and potential health effects of pomegranates. At the same time, the results are interpreted based on the author''s experience in analytical chemistry.

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Book SynopsisSugarcane is one of the most important crops commercially grown in about 115 countries of the world. India is a major producer as well as consumer of sugar in the world and has produced about 25MT of sugar from 360MT sugarcane in 2011-13, contributing about 15 percent of the total sugar production in the world. A quantum of sugar is produced from sugarcane, however, this crop faces a number of problems such as low cane productivity, biotic and abiotic stresses, high cost of cultivation, post-harvest losses, and low sugar recovery. In India, sugarcane research began in the beginning of the 19th century. Since then rapid advancement has been made in sugarcane cultivation by Indian researchers. The objective of this book is to provide a comprehensive account of all the major achievements based on Indian workers in sugarcane research. The book is a compilation of recent advancements made on sugarcane development, cultivation, and on improvement in cane and sugar yield using conventional and biotechnological approaches by different agricultural scientists and researchers of India.

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Book SynopsisFor almost six decades, the United States has played a leading role in global efforts to alleviate hunger and malnutrition and to enhance world food security through international food aid assistance -- primarily through either the donation or sale on concessional terms of U.S. agricultural commodities. Objectives of U.S. foreign food aid include providing emergency and humanitarian assistance in response to natural or manmade disasters and promoting agricultural development and food security. This book includes a description of U.S. international food aid programs under current law; several important policy issues related to U.S. international food aid; and describes Administration and congressional proposals intended to change the nature of U.S. food international aid. This book also reviews the U.S. Agency for International Development''s (USAID) processes for awarding and modifying cash-based food assistance projects and assesses the extent to which USAID and its implementing partners have implemented financial controls to help ensure appropriate oversight of such projects.

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