Product Description

This book explains what is happening to the world's agricultural systems and their farmers under the impact of neoliberal economics. What is at stake is the very future of our global food system and of each country's agricultural and farming systems. The livelihoods of rural people in both industrial and developing countries are under threat. The book explains what is happening to agriculture in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) negotiating context, and unravels the complex ways in which agriculture in the North is subsidized. It sets out an alternative vision for agricultural policy, which would take it completely out of the WTO's ambit. Food is not just another commodity, but something which goes to the heart of human livelihood, culture and security.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #245662 in Books
• Published on: 2006-09-27
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 194 pages

Review
'Food is Different makes the case, with clarity and passion, for rebuilding the global food system beyond the unequal and devastating consequences of the WTO 'free trade' regime. Rosset guides us through the thicket of rules and regulations, explaining their irreversible impact on social and ecological sustainability and engaging us with a powerful and compelling catalogue of alternatives, captured in the concept of "food sovereignty." ' - Philip McMichael, Cornell University 'Food is Different comes at a time where the WTO is being criticed and discredited by both governments and civil society, and it brings to the fore the real alternatives being proposed by social movements all over the world. This is a timely publication that gives voice and expression to those who have none.' - Paul Nicholson, European Farmers Coordination (CPE) and La Via Campesina 'Peter Rosset eloquently illustrates that good is the basis of human existence and that it intertwines the lives of farmers, consumers and the environment. Food is Different should be read by all who are willing to build food sovereignty on a local, regional and global level as well as by those who believe the current WTO system is working - it will change their minds.' - Andrianna Natsoulas, Food and Water Watch

About the Author
Dr. Peter Rosset is an agro-ecologist and a food rights activist, He is a researcher at the Center for Studies of Rural Change in Mexico, at Oaxaca, co-coordinator of the Land Research Action Network and a visiting scholar at the University of California, Berkeley. He has written widely on food and agriculture.