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Good or bad, agribusiness is an undeniable part of the agricultural landscape. We often associate the concept with (bad) industry practices and giant corporations. These associations aren't wrong, but there is so much more to agribusiness than widely- known cultural giants with poor social and environmental track records. So, what does agribusiness really mean? The …
Continue reading "how does agribusiness work? what are the different parts of agribusiness?"
Historically speaking, agriculture has been treated as a single, unified sector in which existing market mechanisms (most commonly government intervention) enabled the coordination of production and distribution. This approach failed to account for the activities engaged in by private entities, e.g. farmers or industries working with farmers. The common understanding of agriculture as a sector …
Continue reading "what is agribusiness? how did agribusiness evolve?"
Alternative food networks (AFNs) aim to help connect food consumers with food producers in the hope that the resocialization of consumption will drive change within the food system. Such changes are generally geared towards promoting social and environmental sustainability. However, even with holistic intentions, alternative food networks [AFNs] are not without their challenges, limitations, and …
Continue reading "the main challenges to alternative food networks"
As the world's population grows and alternative values and interests come to light, the name- and facelessness of current approaches to agricultural production have become a point of contention and are less and representative of contemporary societal values (1). As a response, localism has become a standard component of emerging social and technological trends. Localism …
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Product labeling is a tool for promoting markets with specific characteristics. The labels provide information about those characteristics that might normally be unobservable or difficult to assess. If systematically and structurally implemented, labels are a source of reliable and credible information. Ecolabels are a specific type of product labeling that certifies the environmental performance of …
Continue reading "the advantages and disadvantages of ecolabels"
In 1920, more than half of the United States' population were farmers. They lived a peasant life in rural communities and were skilled in a range of animal rearing and crop production skills. Farmers tended to embrace natural complementaries between the unique components of the farm to establish healthy food production systems. Most farm work …
In recent years [and for generations among indigenous populations], companion planting has emerged as a common technique aimed at exploiting the benefits of the relationships between specific plants to naturally improve crop flavor, health, and vigor. More simply, companion planting is a type of polyculture where two plant species are grown together because it is …
