Search

Esta obra traz contribuições para análise e reorientação nas políticas públicas que visam à diminuição do desmatamento na Amazônia brasileira a partir da compreensão das práticas socioprodutivas dos agricultores familiares e da análise dos fatores que determinam as mudanças nas mesmas. A autora parte do pressuposto de que os agricultores familiares da região amazônica enfrentam constrangimentos econômicos e tecnológicos para adaptar-se às novas demandas de proteção ambiental e que, por meio da compreensão da dinâmica da mudança socioprodutiva, pode-se analisar a possibilidade de eficiência das recentes políticas que visam ao controle do desmatamento na Amazônia, e às negociações que as envolvem. Assim, os resultados obtidos quanto aos processos de mudanças nas práticas e lógicas socioprodutivas dos agricultores podem indicar qual ambiente institucional deverá ser constituído para fortalecer novas formas de relação sociedade-natureza. A autora assume o desafio de compreender o problema não a partir da ruptura da divisão ontológica e dicotômica entre os processos sociais e os naturais, e sim concebendo o objeto de estudo na interface das relações materiais e não materiais.

World Agriculture and the Environment presents a unique assessment of agricultural commodity production and the environmental problems it causes, along with prescriptions for increasing efficiency and reducing damage to natural systems. Drawing on his extensive travel and research in agricultural regions around the world, and employing statistics from a range of authoritative sources including the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, the author examines twenty of the world's major crops, including beef, coffee, corn, rice, rubber, shrimp, sorghum, tea, and tobacco. For each crop, he offers comparative information including: • a “fast facts” overview section that summarizes key data for the crop • main producing and consuming countries • main types of production • market trend information and market chain analyses • major environmental impacts • management strategies and best practices • key contacts and references With maps of major commodity production areas worldwide, the book represents the first truly global portrait of agricultural production patterns and environmental impacts.

Begun in 1941 as an outgrowth of Friends of the Land, the journal The Land was an attempt by editor Russell Lord to counteract -- through education, information, and inspiration -- the rampant abuse of soil, water, trees and rivers. But for all its seriousness of mission, The Land was a stimulating mix of fact and charm. It included literature, philosophy, art, and the practical observations of farmers and conservation workers, to encourage small farmers to understand and apply conservation principles to their lands. This anthology, a fascinating mosaic, compiled from the 13 years of The Land tells in fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and philosophy the story of how we changed from a nation of small farms to the agribusiness we have today. Among the 40 authors included are conservation and literary giants such as Aldo Leopold, E. B.White, Louis Bromfield, Paul Sears, Allan Patton and Wallace Stegner.