Agri-food and rural development : sustainable place-making

The agri-food and rural development world has experienced significant changes in recent years. The evolution towards globalized and highly complex food supply systems has been accompanied by growing competition, reduced state subsidies as well as concerns about quality, output and the environment. At the beginning of the 21st century, the agri-food industry is urgently searching for new solutions. Exploring these recent developments, Agri-Food and Rural Development highlights the latest research on understanding and promoting sustainable food systems. Featuring a range of international case studies, it investigates different models of rural development for food production, examines the implications for a sustainable future, analyzes future challenges, and suggests new strategies for future agri-food development in a world fast exceeding its resources. An ambitious new study written by a leading authority in the field, this book offers a vital new perspective on this important debate and is destined to become a landmark text for students, scholars and policy-makers in food studies, agriculture, rural sociology, and geography.

List of Figures List of Tables and Boxes Acknowledgments Preface 1. Governing for Agri-Food Security and Rural Sustainability: Antecedents and Transitions 2. Contested Sustainabilities in Agri-Food and Rural Development: Exploring Sustainable Pathways of Green Growth and the Bio-Economy in the UK 3. Socialising and Spatialising the Bio-Economy: Reconstructing Natural Powers 4. An Alternative Model: Exploring the 'New Rural Paradigm' and the Rural Eco-Economy in Europe 5. Evolving Webs of Agri-Food and Rural Development in the UK: The Case of Devon and Shetland 6. Towards a Sustainability Science and Place-Making for Rural and Agri-Food Development References Index