Agriculture and Food in Crisis: An Overview

An introduction to a special journal issue titled Agriculture and Food in Crisis: Conflict, Resistance, and Renewal begins with a look at the character & causes of the 2008 global food crisis. It is contended that basic trends identified a decade ago, eg, ecological damage, continue today as the basic motivation for the agrifood system remains profit generation. Critical remarks are offered on genetic engineering of crops, the free market & free trade ideology, European & US consolidation of the agrifood system, the global purchasing of land in foreign countries in the name of food security, rural-urban migration in the South owing to poor conditions in the countryside, & the impact of climate change on food production. A call is made for agroecological approaches to crop production & land reform as the basis for achieving food security & sovereignty, environmental sustainability, & stable employment. Adapted from the source document.