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The Fight Over FoodProducers, Consumers, and Activists Challenge theGlobal Food SystemEdited by Wynne Wright and Gerad Middendorf“One problem with the food system is thatprice is the bottom line rather than havingthe bottom line be land stewardship, anappreciation for the environmental andsocial value of small-scale family farms, or fororganically grown produce.”—Interview with farmer in Skagit County, WashingtonAlso of IntererstTogether at the Table: Sustainabilityand Sustenance in the AmericanAgrifood SystemPatricia Allenisbn 978-0-271-02977-1 | paper: $27.00sRural Studies SeriesFor much of the later twentieth century, food has beenabundant and convenient for most residents of advancedindustrial societies. The luxury of taking the safety and dependabilityof food for granted pushed it to the back burnerin the consciousness of many. Increasingly, however, thisonce taken-for-granted food system is coming under questionon issues such as the humane treatment of animals,genetically engineered foods, and social and environmentaljustice. Many consumers are no longer content with buyinginto the mainstream, commodity-driven food market onwhich they once depended. Resistance has emerged indiverse forms, from protests at the opening of McDonald’srestaurants worldwide to ever-greater interest in alternatives,such as CSAs (community-supported agriculture), fairtrade, and organic foods. The food system is increasinglybecoming an arena of struggle that reflects larger changesin societal values and norms, as expectations are movingbeyond the desire for affordable, convenient foods to a needfor healthy and environmentally sound alternatives. In thisbook, leading scholars and scholar-activists provide casestudies that illuminate the complexities and contradictionsthat surround the emergence of a “new day” in agriculture.The essays found in The Fight Over Food analyze and evaluateboth the theoretical and historical contexts of theagrifood system and the ways in which trends of individualaction and collective activity have led to an “accumulationof resistance” that greatly affects the mainstream market offood production. The overarching theme that integrates thecase studies is the idea of human agency and the ways inwhich people purposely and creatively generate new formsof action or resistance to facilitate social changes withinthe structure of predominant cultural norms. Togetherthese studies examine whether these combined effortswill have the strength to create significant and enduringtransformations in the food system.Wynne Wright is Assistant Professor of Community, Food,and Agriculture at Michigan State University.Gerad Middendorf is Associate Professor of Sociology atKansas State University.312 pages | 3 illustrations/1 map | 6 x 9 | Januaryisbn 978-0-271-03274-0 | cloth: $65.00sisbn 978-0-271-03275-7 | paper: $28.50sRural Studies SeriesRural Sociology1-800-326-9180 | 11