Food Security, Nutrition and Sustainability

by Geoffrey Lawrence (Editor), Kristen Lyons (Editor), Tabatha Wallington (Editor)

Overview

As the threats of food insecurity loom ever larger, the world faces the sad irony of food shortages in the global South alongside a purported 'obesity epidemic' in the global North. The twin issues of food production and food access are of particular concern in the context of climate change, 'peak oil', biofuels, and land grabs by wealthy nations.

Food Security, Nutrition and Sustainability offers critical insights by international scholars, with chapters on global food security, supermarket power, new technologies, and sustainability. The book also assesses the contributions of diet and nutrition research in building socially just and environmentally sustainable food systems and provides policy recommendations to improve the health and environmental status of contemporary agri-food systems. The book features contributions from a range of social science perspectives, including sociology, anthropology, public health and geography, with case study material drawn from throughout the world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781136545658
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	10/18/2013
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	320
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Geoffrey Lawrence is Professor of Sociology and Head of the School of Social Science, University of Queensland, Australia.

Kristen Lyons is Senior Lecturer in the School of Biomolecular and Physical Sciences, Griffith University, Australia.

Tabatha Wallington is a Research Scientist with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Australia.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction: Food Security, Nutrition and Sustainability in a Globalized World

Part I: Global Food Security

2. Breadbasket Contradictions: The Unstable Bounty of Industrial Agriculture in the United States and Canada
3. Security for Whom? Changing Discourses on Food in Europe in Times of a Global Food Crisis
4. The Re-emergence of National Food Security on the United Kingdom's Strategic Policy Agenda: Sustainability Challenges and the Politics of Food Supply
5. Neoliberalism and Food Vulnerability: The Stakes for the South
6. Energy Security, Agriculture and Food

Part II: Food Systems, Diet and Nutrition

7. Unequal Food Systems, Unhealthy Diets
8. Explaining Patterns of Convenience Food Consumption
9. Public Health and Moral Panic: Sociological Perspectives on the 'Epidemic of Obesity'
10. The Food Regulatory System - Is it Protecting Public Health and Safety?
11. The 'Wellness' Phenomenon: Implications for Global Agri-food Systems
12. Supermarkets, Food Systems and Public Health: Facing the Challenges

Part III: Towards a Sustainable Agri-food Future

13. Bodies, Bugs and Dirt: Sustainability Re-imagined in Community Gardens
14. Biofuels: Finding a Sustainable Balance for Food and Energy
15. Examining the Mythologies of Organics: Moving Beyond the Organic/Conventional Binary?
16. Nanotechnology and the Techno-corporate Agri-food Paradigm
17. Conclusion: Drawing Evidence from the Food System for Future Policy

Editorial Reviews

'A timely and important book addressing one of the world's greatest challenges - how to ensure everyone can eat well and healthily, and at the same time not destroy the planet. Through this clear and cogent collection, Geoffrey Lawrence and co-editors set out pathways for better futures. We can only hope that food, agricultural and public health institutions will listen carefully.' - Professor Jules Pretty OBE, Professor of Environment and Society, University of Essex, UK.

'In this first-rate book, academics and activists from around the world take on the full breadth of the food crisis in a series of challenging and insightful essays. Every discipline - from political economy to ecology to cultural anthropology to nutrition to science and technology studies - is represented in an anthology that doesn't simply diagnose the problem, but critically examines the solutions offered by governments, corporations and consumer groups. Ideas in these pages will be vital if we are to develop truly sustainable solutions to global hunger, obesity, and climate change.' - Raj Patel, author of Stuffed and Starved: The Hidden Battle for the World Food System.

From the Publisher