ABSTRACT
The ways in which food and agriculture are organized around the world have enormous implications for the global environment. The industrial organization of agriculture that feeds the dominant food system – including large-scale production methods and intensive livestock operations – is associated with soil degradation (Chapter 39 and 40), biodiversity loss (Chapter 37), pollution (Chapter 30), climate change (Chapter 28) and the depletion of water supplies (Chapter 34). At the same time, international economic forces in the food system – including the international trade in food and global financial activities that add to tensions between food, fuel and land – also contribute to environmental problems including greenhouse gas emissions (Chapter 28) and deforestation (Chapter 38). The environmental effects of industrial agricultural production and the integration of that production system into global food and agricultural commodity markets extend far beyond national borders. The issue, however, has not been dealt with effectively at the global scale. Food and agriculture have a grounded quality because of their intimate relationship with the soil, and because individuals consume food on a daily basis. Individual food choices of course have important implications for how agriculture relates to the environment and politics. But it is not just individual choice that matters on this issue. Political choices about how societies collectively organize agricultural systems are of overriding importance because these choices shape individual food choices in many ways. These issues thus require consideration not just at a local or national scale, but also at the international level.
