Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Food Geographies: Social, Political, and Ecological Connections (Exploring Geography)

What is the significance of food in our everyday lives? Food Geographies addresses this broad question by examining the social, political, and ecological connections that food weaves between people and places across the world and revealing the centrality of food in the human experience. This interdisciplinary and systemic perspective provides readers with key concepts, analytical tools, and critical skills to better understand and address the many issues facing the contemporary food system, including food insecurity, environmental degradation, climate change, labor exploitation, social inequality, power imbalance in decision making, and threats to health and well-being. It takes readers to places including modern plantations in Peru, collective farms in Tanzania, food halls in France, home kitchens in Japan, community gardens in Brazil, pubs in England, and animal feeding operations in America. By raising important questions about the current system, readers will explore ways to enact meaningful change to build better future food geographies by producing, consuming, and engaging with food differently. Review Highly accessible and wide-reaching, this textbook is essential for students learning about food and food systems in geography classrooms and beyond. Students will learn how to connect the political, economic, ecological, cultural, social, and lived aspects of food, while being empowered to envision better food-environment futures.--Allison Hayes-Conroy, Temple University Finally, a text that at once covers key developments and concepts in food and geography! This highly accessible introduction will please both students and instructors.--Julie Guthman, University of California, Santa Cruz Food Geographies is a comprehensive and insightful accounting of the interplay between space, place, and people in food systems. Joassart-Marcelli adeptly demonstrates not only the inherent geographical qualities of food systems but also how food can provide a lens for understanding many social science topics--including poverty, environmental justice, and identity. Especially valuable is the emphasis on critical perspectives and illustrative examples of human-environment relationships. Accessible, yet far-reaching, this textbook is the perfect resource for fostering student understanding of complex and dynamic food systems through a geographic lens.--Colleen Hammelman, University of North Carolina at Charlotte About the Author Pascale Joassart-Marcelli is Professor of Geography and Director of the Interdisciplinary Food Studies Program at San Diego State University where she has been teaching courses such as Geography of Food; Food, Place, and Culture; Food Justice; and Feeding the World. Her research focuses on the relationship between place, ethnicity, and food, including the role of food in creating just and sustainable cities for all. She has published over 50 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, is the author of The $16 Taco: Contested Geographies of Food, Ethnicity, and Gentrification (2021) and the co-editor of Food and Place: A Critical Exploration (2018). Her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation and other private and public funding agencies.