Transforming Food Systems: The Quest for Sustainability

by Dave Watson

Overview

• Sets out the historical context for understanding the current challenges facing food production
• Gives a unique overview of the range of reformist, progressive and radical solutions to reforming the global food system
• Provides a framework for comparing the relative strengths and weaknesses of different solutions

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781801468596
Publisher:	Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing Ltd
Publication date:	06/24/2025
Series:	Burleigh Dodds Agricultural Science , #99
Pages:	456
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.93(d)

About the Author

Dr Dave Watson is a leading authority on sustainability issues affecting agriculture. He has taught at the University of Hull, UK as well as managing research programmes for the International Livestock Research Institute, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center.

Table of Contents

Part 1 The global food system

• 1.Emergence of the global food system
• 2.Trouble at t'mill
• 3.Drivers and outcomes of change

Part 2 Competing paradigms of food production

• 4.Neo-productivist food systems
• 5.Reformist food systems
• 6.Progressive food systems
• 7.Radical food systems

Part 3 The golden chalice of sustainability and the evolution of food systems

• 8.The golden chalice of sustainability
• 9.Food system evolution

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"The global climate crisis is focusing attention on the need to transform food systems to improve sustainability and reduce detrimental environmental impacts. Globally, around a third of greenhouse gas emissions are generated by food systems. This book provides an authoritative account of the evolution of the global food system and the various prescriptions for reform currently in play. Using the conceptual prism of regimes of accumulation, it helps make sense of different alternative food systems and sheds light on the prospects for incremental and radical reform. With over 120 pages of references, it will provide an invaluable source for students and scholars interested in the sustainability food." (Professor Neil Ward, University of East Anglia, UK and author of 'Net Zero, Food and Farming: Climate Change and the UK Agri-Food System')

Editorial Reviews

“The depth of the analysis and the wealth of references in Dave Watson’s book provide a solid foundation for understanding the implications of the pressing environmental challenges we face, particularly the global food crisis. His engaging style makes this book not only informative but also inspiring. It encourages us to rethink our relationship with food, to value our culinary traditions, and to promote systems that nourish not only individuals but also our planet.” (Book Review Published in International Journal of Environmental Studies – Professor Nadia Boutaleb, Hassan II University of Casablanca, Morocco)

"Written from a supply side perspective, this is an excellent, well-written and comprehensive synthesis of a huge volume of literature on ways to improve the sustainability of food systems. I enjoyed reading it." (Professor Tim Benton, Distinguished Fellow - Environment and Society Centre, Chatham House - Royal Institute of International Affairs, UK)

From the Publisher