The Conquest of Bread

150 Years of Agribusiness in California

By: Richard A. Walker

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Hardcover | 20 January 2005 | Edition Number 1

At a Glance

Hardcover
402 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
20.0 x 15.5 x 2.69

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A sweeping analysis of California's agrarian history from 1850 to the present. For over a century, California has been the world's most advanced agricultural zone, an agrarian juggernaut that not only outproduces every state in America, but also most countries. California's success, however, has come at significant costs. Never a family-farm region like the Midwest, California's landscape and Mediterranean climate have been manipulated and exploited to serve modern business interests. Home to gargantuan accomplishments such as the world's largest water storage and transfer network, California also relies on an army of Mexican farm laborers who live and work under dismal conditions. In The Conquest of Bread, acclaimed historian Richard A. Walker offers a wide-angle overview of the agro-industrial system of production in California from farm to table. He lays bare the long evolution of each link in the food chain, showing how a persistent emphasis on productivity and growth allowed California to outpace agriculture elsewhere in the United States. Full of thunder and surprises, The Conquest of Bread allows the reader to weigh the claims of both boosters and critics in the debate over the most extraordinary agricultural profusion in the modern world.

Industry Reviews

"A major work of geographic and social theory. This book is must reading for... all those concerned with the technological, organizational, economic and geographic dimensions of technologically advanced societies. -RICHARD FLORIDA, AUTHOR OF THE RISE OF THE CREATIVE CLASS No one hereafter will ignore-be able to Ignore-[Walker's] argument and challenge on how to think about capitalist development. -ROBERT BEAUREGARD, AUTHOR OF VOICES OF DECLINE Walker advances the Intellectual project and cause of our discipline like few others. -MERIC GERTLER, AUTHOR OF THE NEW INDUSTRIAL GEOGRAPHY A telephone book and a check book are the only items needed by a modern farm operator. -ANN SCHEURING, CALIFORNIA AGRICULTURE"

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Illustration Credits	p. vii
Preface	p. ix
Introduction: Unlocking the Secrets of Agribusiness	p. 1
Cornucopia	p. 19
All the World's a State Fair	p. 22
Wheat Shall Overcome	p. 27
Golden Waves of Gain	p. 40
A Landscape of Commodities	p. 48
A Profusion of Produce	p. 49
Back to the Land	p. 59
Amber Waves of Labor	p. 66
Enter the Grower	p. 76
Origins and Outlook	p. 77
Scale and Scope	p. 86
Modern Farm Management	p. 92
Farmers' Keepers	p. 98
Down on the Farm	p. 105
First the Stock	p. 108
Groundworks	p. 118
Waterbugs	p. 125
Labor Pains	p. 131
Industrial Agriculture	p. 147
Root and Branch	p. 152
The Machine in the Garden	p. 164
Pumping Up Production	p. 171
Petrofarming and Fertilizer	p. 181
Away with All Pests	p. 185
A Chicken-and-Egg Story	p. 193
The Harvest of Agribusiness	p. 202
Factors in the Fields	p. 204
Sunshine in a Can	p. 215
Heading Down the Aisle	p. 228
Fruit Cocktail	p. 238
California Cuisine	p. 248
Capital in the Countryside	p. 256
Capital Flows over the Land	p. 257
Making Class	p. 266
Wobbly Dreams	p. 280
Conclusion: The Conquest of Bread	p. 300
Notes	p. 307
Bibliography	p. 341
Index	p. 367
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

The Conquest of Bread

150 Years of Agribusiness in California

At a Glance

Hardcover

Industry Reviews

Shipping

How to return your order

Defective items

You Can Find This Book In

More in Agriculture & Farming

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