Let Them Eat Junk: How Capitalism Creates Hunger and Obesity

Contents......Page 6
Preface......Page 9
Part I: Introduction......Page 14
1. Introduction......Page 15
General introduction......Page 16
A framework for understanding capitalism......Page 23
Part II: Understanding Capitalism......Page 30
2. The Management of Agriculture and Food by Capital\'s Deep Structures......Page 31
Capital\'s profit orientation......Page 39
Capital, time and speed......Page 43
Capital, space and homogenization......Page 46
Capital and workers......Page 50
Capital and underconsumption......Page 54
Capital, oligopoly and globalization......Page 56
Capital and subjectivity......Page 59
Conclusions......Page 62
3. The Phase of Consumerism and the US Roots of the Current Agriculture and Food Regimes......Page 64
Consumerism\'s profit orientation: petroleum, cars, suburbs and television......Page 69
Consumerism, time, and speed: unchecked toxicity and life on the run......Page 74
Consumerism, space and homogenization, suburbanization and monocultures......Page 77
Consumerism and workers: hiding the health costs of hazardous working conditions and low wages......Page 79
Consumerism and underconsumption: new forms of debt expansion and advertising......Page 81
Consumerism, oligopoly and globalization: a command economy of corporations......Page 84
Consumerism and subjectivity: the politics of fear......Page 85
Conclusions......Page 89
Part III: The Historical Analysis of the US-Centred Global Food Regime......Page 92
4. The Food Regime and Consumer\'s Health......Page 93
Capitalist agriculture......Page 94
The case of tobacco......Page 97
The global food regime: a story of irrationality......Page 100
The obesity \"epidemic\"......Page 104
Sugar......Page 108
Meatification and fat consumption......Page 114
Hunger and starvation......Page 118
Salt......Page 121
Soy......Page 122
Pesticides......Page 123
Food additives......Page 126
Microorganisms......Page 127
Loss of nutrients......Page 128
Genetically modified organisms......Page 131
Supermarkets......Page 132
Fast food chains......Page 133
Conclusions......Page 135
5. The Health of Agriculture and Food Workers......Page 137
Workers in the US agricultural and food systems......Page 138
Workers in the agricultural and food systems of developing countries......Page 146
Conclusions......Page 157
6. Agriculture, Food Provisioning and the Environment......Page 159
Peak oil and biofuels......Page 160
Global warming......Page 167
Land and deforestation......Page 169
Fresh water......Page 171
The oceans......Page 172
Species loss......Page 173
Genetically modified organisms......Page 174
Waste......Page 176
Conclusions......Page 177
7. Food, Marketing and Choice in the United States......Page 178
Choice and the case of tobacco......Page 180
Marketing......Page 184
Marketing to children......Page 185
Choosing junk foods......Page 190
Consumer sovereignty......Page 191
Conclusions......Page 193
8. Corporate Power, Food and Liberal Democracy......Page 195
Corporations and government......Page 198
Corporations and the legal system......Page 202
Corporations and science......Page 203
Conclusions......Page 210
Part IV: Conclusions......Page 212
9. Agriculture, Food and the Fight for Democracy, Social Justice, Health and Sustainability......Page 213
Capitalism\'s food failures......Page 214
Movements for change......Page 216
Toward a more effective and accountable public sector......Page 217
More accountable corporations......Page 218
Making markets democractically accountable......Page 221
Conclusions......Page 223
Notes......Page 225
Bibliography......Page 251
Index......Page 264