Heffernan and Constance
Terms to know: broiler, contract production
Questions to think about:
1) According to Heffernan and Constance, what is the appropriate "unit of analysis" for understanding the world
food system? Why?
2) Heffernan and Constanct say that an analysis of the global food system suggest that nation-states are not the
entities controlling the global economy. Why do they say that? How should we see the global economy as being
governed instead?
3) What is the broiler commodity chain? Describe the changes in it as it went from independent production, to
contract produciton, to corporate production.
4) How do you think corporate livestock production might be related to CAFOs (confined animal feeding
operations), also known as factory farms?
5) What do you think the shift from independent to contract to corporate production in the poultry industry has
meant for workers?
6) Why do TNCs need nation-states? Why do nation-states need TNCs?
Friedberg
Terms to know:
Questions to think about:
1) Why did Europeans first bring green beans to Africa? What role did fresh vegetables play in the history of
colonialism?
2) What's a core-fringe dietary pattern? How did the introduction of European vegetables alter the core-fringe
pattern among the people of Burkina Faso?
3)What changes in "outside meanings" shaped Burkinabe people's increased consumption of fresh vegetables? How
have local definitions of a "good sauce" changed in relationship to changing political-economic conditions?
4)How have concerns about food safety shaped the African vegetable trade? How have they shaped people's diets in
Burkina Faso?
Bestor
Terms to know: almadraba
Questions to think about:
1) What does an almadraba remind you of? Where do you think the idea and technique came from?
2) What changes in inside and outside meanings saved the sushi industry after the Japanese economic collapse in the
1990s? How do you think these very important changes in tastes and commodity chains were carried out?
3) What role does Tsukiji market play in the tuna trade? Do other commodity chains have similar "hubs" for
information and pricing?
4) What limitations do nation-states face in regulating commodity chains for highly migratory species? Given that
90% of the bluefin tuna fishery has now been decimated, what institutions do you think should govern global trade
in bluefin tuna?
5) How do inside meanings, seen here as aesthetic judgements and qualities, shape the tuna industry?
Questions to Write on:
1) The globalization of the food system has changed diets, production practices, markets and the connections
between distant locales. Using data from at least TWO of the readings, discuss at least TWO aspects of the
globalization of food. Be srue to explain how globalization has changed the food system, and explain the
significance of the aspects you choose to discuss.
2) Why do you think global food chains favor large firms over small investors or entrepreneurs? Use data
form at least two authors to explain.
3)
What is a “food regime”? Describe the changes in the global food regime brought about by the rise of
multianational agri-food companies.
4) Using Mintz's concepts of "inside" and "outside" meanings, describe the changes in the broiler (chicken)
and sushi-grade tuna industries over the last forty years.
5) How do both Japanese and American stereotypes about what it means to be Japanese shape the tuna
commodity chain?