In Ireland, family farming retains enormous ideological and cultural significance. As a social form it is one of the last preserves of male dominance in which women's contributions and concerns are largely overlooked. This book breaks new ground as the first major study of Irish farm families in which women are the focus of attention. Little is known of how gender relations actually work themselves out within farm families, or of farm women's understanding of their situation, but even a casual observer would conclude that Irish farm women are not without influence. This volume reveals how contemporary farm women experience life on the family farm (often through their own voices) and how they have managed to create their own spheres of influence, despite their apparent unequal status and invisibility in the male world of agricultures. This study not only makes farm women's subordination explicit, but in discerning the sources and force of their influence within and outside the farm family, it offers a challenge to existing explanations of the evolution of Irish rural social structures. It also suggests that feminist theories of the family need to pay closer attention to the mother's influence on social reproduction.

Since the early 1990s, new public and private actors, emphasizing issues such as landscape, nature, environment and food safety, have challenged EU rural development policies. This book looks at this innovative framework and, in particular, the impacts of the interactions between established interests and newcomers in local power relations. Specific attention has been given to the gendered nature of these processes. Case studies from throughout Western Europe analyze local rural power relations and present overviews of the significance of rural gender relations. The book demonstrates that traditional and new forms of social organization in rural areas create new forms of political participation. Changing forms of social capital and political participation not only influence the relation between state and civil society, but also male-female relationships. The book argues that the dynamics of these gendered power relations produce competing discourses, which can often hinder policy making and implementation.

European agricultural policy has the potential to restructure gender relations

Leach and Pini bring together empirical and theoretical studies that consider the intersections of class, gender and rurality. Each chapter engages with current debates on these concepts to explore them in the context of contemporary social and economic transformations. This book will appeal to scholars working in the fields of gender, rurality, identity, and class studies.

In this second edition of The Sociology of Food and Agriculture, students are provided with a substantially revised and updated introductory text to this emergent field. The book begins with the recent development of agriculture under capitalism and neo-liberal regimes, and the transformation of farming and peasant agriculture from a small-scale, family-run way of life to a globalized system. Topics such as the global hunger and obesity challenges, GM foods, and international trade and subsidies are assessed as part of the world food economy. The final section concentrates on themes of sustainability, food security, and food sovereignty. The book concludes on a positive note, examining alternative agri-food movements aimed at changing foodscapes at levels from the local to the global. With increased coverage of the financialization of food, food and culture, gender, ethnicity and justice, food security, and food sovereignty, the book is perfect for students with little or no background in sociology and is also suitable for more advanced courses as a comprehensive primer. All chapters include learning objectives, suggested discussion questions, and recommendations for further reading to aid student learning.