Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and their uses are often misunderstood. Consumers are regularly unsure what GMOs are, or if they are safe for consumption and the environment. Contradictory and sometimes inaccurate information is available from numerous sources, and challenges consumers and others to separate the facts from sensationalized…

Purpose: We studied innovation processes in agriculture and nutrition to discuss a scaling approach that encompasses the technical, institutional, and behavioral dimensions of change. Approach: To understand dynamics across these dimensions, we analyzed farmers' innovation processes through two analytical lenses: farmer-centered and structural.…

Purpose: Innovations in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are essential for increasing resource efficiency and sustainability in the agri-food system. An innovation support service (ISS) can benefit SMEs but the provision and access to it can be restricted across national borders thereby hindering cross-border regions' economic potential.…

For much of the twentieth century, the Future Farmers of America was one of the most powerful youth organizations in the country and a leading voice of the American farmer. Its top members met regularly with U.S. Presidents, including Jimmy Carter who was an alumnus of the organization, and high-ranking executives from the nation's largest…

For educators creating a new course on the geography of food (or perhaps food and agriculture), the options can be overwhelming. The decisions about what topics to cover, which books to assign, and how assignments can be structured might overwhelm all but the most hearty instructors. The topic of food touches on so many other geographic…

Purpose: Little is known about effective ways to operationalize agricultural innovation processes. We use the MasAgro program in Mexico (which aims to increase maize and wheat productivity, profitability and sustainability), and the experiences of middle level "hub managers", to understand how innovation processes occur in heterogeneous…

This article presents the author's rejoinder to Joachim Singelmann's presidential address on "From Central Planning to Markets." Joachim Singelmann in his presidential address challenged the received wisdom: socialism was doomed to fail; during the market transition all of its basic institutions had to be abolished and replaced by the…

In recent years, the European Union's stated commitment to the principle of multifunctionality within its Common Agricultural Policy has fostered a resurgence of interest in recovering and protecting the heritage and traditions associated with local agricultural products. In spite of, or perhaps because of, the growing political and economic…

This book is the first comprehensive account of developments in open and distance non-formal education in developing countries for over more than 20 years. It includes many instructive and inspiring examples of how international agencies such as UNESCO, FAO, WHO, UNICEF, USAID and the Commonwealth of Learning and national providers are using…

During the interwar period, California's labor-intensive agriculture transitioned from reliance on diverse immigrants to preference for Mexicans. Political movements to restrict immigration, the Great Depression, and labor unrest compelled farm employers to search for labor that could be used flexibly and deported easily. To achieve this…

Introduction: The purpose of the present study was to explore the educational and cognitive aspects of an innovative approach to Internet use within an interdisciplinary, integrated framework for activities set up to enable students to acquire knowledge informally. These activities had the potential to provide real-world results through a model…

In 2008 MSU Extension evaluated their program to identify the major areas of educational need for Michigan farmers and agribusiness operators. Surveys were mailed to a stratified random sample from Michigan Agricultural Statistics Service records of dairy, livestock, swine, cash crops, fruit, vegetable, and nursery/greenhouse producers. Findings…

Louisiana's land, coast, and inland waterways are home to many natural resources such as seafood, petroleum, natural gas, and timber--and freshwater crawfish, or "mudbugs" as the locals like to call them. These natural resources are vital to Louisiana's economy. The author describes a unit of study on economics in which a teacher taught…

In recent years, numerous studies have identified the importance of cultural constructions of "good farming" to farming practice. In this paper, we develop the "good farming" construct through an empirical study of organic and conventional farmers, focussing on how change occurs. Drawing on Bourdieu's concepts of cultural…

Within the political economy of agriculture and agrofood literatures there are examples of approaches that reject simple dichotomies between alternatives and the mainstream. In line with such approaches, we challenge the assumption that alternative agriculture, and its attendant improved environmental practices, alternative management styles, less…