Globalizing Organic focuses on the globalization of a culture of "eating for change" and the ways in which local meanings attached to the production of foods embed ecological and social values. Rafi Grosglik examines how organic agriculture was integrated in Israel—a state in which agriculture was a key mechanism in promoting Jewish nationalism and in time has become highly mechanized and technologically sophisticated. He explores how organic food, which signifies environmental protection and social equity, has been realized in a country where environmental issues are perceived as less pressing compared to inner political conflicts, the Israeli-Arab conflict, and recurrent wars. Based on more than a decade of ethnographic fieldwork, interviews, and analysis of historical documents and media, Grosglik traces how alternative food movements are affected by global and local trends. He covers a wide range of topics, including the ethos of halutzim ("pioneers," Zionist ideological farmers and workers), the utopian visions of the Israeli kibbutz, indigeneity that is claimed both by Palestinians and Jewish settlers in the Gaza Strip and in the West Bank, biblical meanings that have been ascribed to environmental and countercultural ideas, the Americanization of Israeli society, and its neoliberalized economy.

Agriculture and food systems, including organic agriculture, are undergoing a technological and structural modernization strongly influenced by growing globalization. Organic agricultural movements can be seen as a tangible effort towards more sustainable development. However, there are large differences between, on the one hand, industrialized farming and consumption based on global food chains and, on the other, smallholder farmers and resource poor people primarily linked in local food markets in low-income countries. This book provides an overview of the potential role of organic agriculture in a global perspective. The book discusses in-depth political ecology, ecological justice, ecological economics and free trade with new insights on the challenges for organic agriculture. This is followed by the potential role of organic agriculture for improving soil fertility, nutrient cycling and food security and reducing veterinary medicine use, together with discussions of research needs and the importance of non-certified organic agriculture.

Traces how alternative food movements are affected by global and local trends, with a focus on how organic agriculture was integrated in Israel.

Roots of the organic challenge -- The cultural soil of organic farming -- Albert Howard and the world as Shropshire -- The Howards in India -- The search for pre-modern wisdom -- The compost wars -- To the empire and beyond -- The globalization of organic farming -- The 1980s to the present -- Organic farming and the challenge of globalization

India's recent economic transformation has fascinated scholars, global leaders, and interested observers alike. In 1990, India was a closed economy and a hesitant and isolated economic power. By 2016, India has rapidly risen on the global economic stage; foreign trade now drives more than half of the economy and Indian multinationals pursue global alliances. Focusing on second-generation reforms of the late 1990s, Aseema Sinha explores what facilitated global integration in a self-reliant country pre-disposed to nationalist ideas. The author argues that the impact of globalization on India has affected trade policy as well as India's trade capacities and private sector reform. India should no longer be viewed solely through a national lens; globalization is closely linked to the ambitions of a rising India. The study uses fieldwork undertaken in Geneva, New Delhi, Mumbai and Washington DC, interviews with business and trade officials, as well as a close analysis of the textile and pharmaceutical industries and a wide range of documentary and firm-level evidence to let diverse actors speak in their own voices.

Our Global Environment, regarded for decades as the quintessential introduction to environ-mental health for its authoritative coverage and cogent prose, provides a richly detailed survey of current environmental issues. In compelling language, Anne Nadakavukaren and new coauthor Jack Caravanos describe the crucial interdependence between humans and their environment, exploring the varied ways in which human activities have impacted, degraded, or altered the environment, and the consequences to both natural ecosystems and human health and well-being. The eighth edition features a new chapter on climate change and the public health impacts of global warming, incorporating the latest assessments of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change with regard to the physical science basis, mitigation efforts, and adaptation strategies. Extensive revisions and updates throughout the volume reflect current topics of concern, including the magnitude of global hunger and malnutrition, outbreaks of the Zika virus, vaping and the incidence of serious lung injury, MTBE contamination of groundwater, recycling of lead-acid batteries in developing countries, mercury exposure among artisanal gold miners, and lead-contaminated drinking water in Flint, Michigan, and other communities. Readers will appreciate the addition of 16 pages of color images as well as the authors’ emphasis on opportunities for public participation in the decision-making processes that profoundly influence health and environmental quality.

Trade liberalization, as promoted by the World Trade Organization (WTO), has become one of the dominant drivers and most controversial aspects of globalization. Trade sustainability impact assessments (SIAs) were introduced as a means of generating better understanding especially of the social and environmental impacts of trade liberalisation, and of making those impacts more consistent with sustainable development. This book takes a hard look at the experience of Trade SIAs to date, and the extent to which they have achieved their objectives and improved the outcomes of trade negotiations. It proposes several ways in which Trade SIAs could be made more effective, and illustrates these in respect of controversial sectors in which trade liberalisation has been implemented or proposed, including commodities, services and investment. Finally the book makes proposals beyond SIA through which some of the conflicts between trade liberalization and sustainable development could be more effectively addressed. Written by top researchers and experts on trade SIAs, this book is vital for researchers, academics, post-graduate students and policy makers working on any aspect of impact assessment, international trade or globalisation more generally. In addition, the book will provide a particularly useful background for those considering how the environment and trade interrelate at both global and regional levels, with some particular insights on climate change and trade policies.