* This book takes the reader on an immersive journey through landscapes and situations of modern-day agriculture* The authors tell you intimate stories of diverse stakeholders and provide an insight into complex scientific, political, legal and philosophic ideas* Agriculture is the single most transformative thing humans are collectively doing to the planet* F. Huber and U. Martin have been documenting the social and environmental consequences of global agriculture since 2007* In a slow journalism approach they build close relationships with their Interview partners, so the projects grow organically, chapter by chapter, in a constant cycle of research, production, and presentation* Featuring many great unseen picturesAgriculture drives climate change, extinction, erosion and water depletion. It uses about 40 percent of all land on earth and more than 70 percent of all freshwater. Due to over-exploitation of the soil and climate change, desertification is one of the greatest threats to life on earth. F. Huber and U. Martin have been documenting the social and environmental consequences of global agriculture since 2007. In a slow journalism approach they build close relationships with farmers, ranchers and fishermen, and interview policy makers, activists and scientists. The book is divided in three big parts with 350 extraordinary, touching photos: White Gold (2007-2012) examines the social and ecological effects of global cotton production. LandRush (2011-ongoing) analyzes the impact of large-scale agro-investments on rural economies and land rights, the boom of renewable fuels, the reallocation of land, and the future of agriculture around the world. Dry West (2014-ongoing) documents the hydrological society and human-shaped landscapes of the American West, where rivers run in concrete beds, across mountains and deserts and up towards money.Contents: Introduction, Texas Blues, Killing Seeds, Burkina Dreams, Dying Sea, The Road, The Farm, Family Affairs, Full Circle, California Drought, American Nile, Dustbowl Riviera.

Annie Mae's family is looking forward to beginning a new life—on their own land. When the Oklahoma Territory is opened in 1889, they and thousands of other settlers race across the border to claim some land of their own. But there is not enough for everyone, and Annie Mae is afraid of trouble ahead. Even if they find their beautiful land, will they be able to keep it?

Interrogates the narratives of land grabbing and agricultural investment through detailed local studies that illuminate how these are experienced on the ground and the implications for Africa's land and agricultural economy.

This series captures the exciting and turbulent times that spawned America's first quests for westward expansion. Focusing on key events in history that shaped our country, each vividly illustrated book features clearly written text that explains the social, political, and economic realities of the time.

Fields of Gold critically examines the history, ideas, and political struggles surrounding the financialization of farmland. In particular, Madeleine Fairbairn focuses on developments in two of the most popular investment locations, the US and Brazil, looking at the implications of financiers' acquisition of land and control over resources for rural livelihoods and economic justice. At the heart of Fields of Gold is a tension between efforts to transform farmland into a new financial asset class, and land's physical and social properties, which frequently obstruct that transformation. But what makes the book unique among the growing body of work on the global land grab is Fairbairn's interest in those acquiring land, rather than those affected by land acquisitions. Fairbairn's work sheds ethnographic light on the actors and relationships—from Iowa to Manhattan to São Paulo—that have helped to turn land into an attractive financial asset class. Thanks to generous funding from UC Santa Cruz, the ebook editions of this book are available as Open Access volumes from Cornell Open (cornellpress.cornell.edu/cornell-open) and other repositories.

On September 16, 1893, over 100,000 people converged on the edges of six million acres just south of the Kansas border, a parcel officially designated the Cherokee Outlet but more commonly called the Cherokee Strip. This was the largest of the rushes, where officials threw open whole parcels of land at one time. The opening of the outlet drew people with a wide mix of motivations. Those who arrived that stifling September found heat, dust, wretched conditions, high prices--and hope. Among them was William Prettyman, whose photographs remain the most stirring record of the event. When the starting gun went off at noon, the blurred images of people and animals racing across the dusty terrain became part of the memory of a whole region.

A critique of the greatest reallocation of resources in the history of the world and an analysis of its effects on indigenous peoples, the growth of property rights, and the evolution of ideas that make up the foundation of the modern world.