Geography Project Proposal Name: Course: Date: Geography Project Proposal Project Title: Agricultural Geography and the production and consumption of food Researcher’s name: Statement of question: What is the relationship between food production, consumption and geography? Hypothesis: Food consumption and production rely on geographical factors for sustainability to ensure human survival. Introduction The interest currently exhibited in food production and consumption with respect to geographic factors has been attributed to politics and culture.

Literature also indicates the presence of a relationship between sustainability and the area of food consumption. Hence, this is an indication that geography determines sustainability in the production and consumption of food. The unsustainable production and consumption of food patterns resulted in the deterioration of the global environment. Production and consumption of food affects the basic aspect of human survival (Marsden, 1997). In addition, the subject of sociology agriculture indicates that production is at the center of social power and illustrates privileged political action. Consumers usually interact with production from a non-political perspective despite the presence of imbalances in power and resources in agricultural production and subsequent consumption of produce. Furthermore, sustainability in food production and consumption is essential in ensuring that the available resources within a given geographical area are able to sustain a given population for an increased period (Marsden, 1997).

Experimental Procedure This project will use secondary sources such as literature and other forms of research conducted on the issue of food production and consumption and its relation to geography and relative factors. The use of secondary sources of data would provide an insight into the aspect of production and consumption of food with respect to geographical factors. Production and subsequent consumption are important activities essential for human survival. Literature review would be appropriate to review the various issues relative to food production and agricultural geography. This would provide information or data important in this research. This would provide the need to evaluate the various issues relative to food production and consumption. The use of a literature review would provide the situation of this study within the provided literature and thus provide a context for the reader or user of the information derived from this research.

Furthermore, adequate information from secondary resources could be used as an affirmation of assumed factors in terms of the relationship between food production, consumption and agricultural geography (Hartwick, 1998). Resources and Timeline needed Access to the outlined resources is paramount to ensure an adequate study of the identified issues. This research shall use a minimum of 20 sources for the study. This will provide a vast array of sources to conduct an exhaustive study on the issue presented. The time needed for the evaluation of the sources of information identified would be a period of a month of conclusive study of information provided.

Sources Allen, P. & M. Kovach. (2000). “The capitalist composition of organic: The potential of markets in fulfilling the promise of organic agriculture”. Agriculture and Human Values 17: 221-232. Arce, A. & T.

Marsden. (1993). “The social construction of international food: a new research agenda”. Economic Geography 69(3): 291-311.

Atkins, P. & Bowler, I., (2001).Food in Society. Economy, culture, geography, Arnold / Oxford: University Press. Crewe, L.

(2000). “Geographies of retailing and consumption”. Progress in Human Geography 24 (2): 275-290. Dixon, J.

(1999). “A cultural model for studying food systems”. Agriculture and Human Values 16: 151-160.

Friedland, W.H. (1984). “Commodity systems analysis: an approach to the sociology of agriculture”. Research in Rural Sociology and Agriculture 1:221-236. Gregson, N. (1995).

“And now it’s all consumption”. Progress in Human Geography 19(1): 135-141. Guthman, J. (2000).

“Raising organic: An agro-ecological assessment of grower practices in California”. Agriculture and Human Values 17: 257-266. Hartwick, E.R.

(1998). “Geographies of consumption: a commodity-chain analysis”. Environment and Planning D: Society and Space 16: 423-437. Hassanein, N.

(1999). Changing the Way America Farms: Knowledge and Community in the Sustainable Agriculture Movement. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. Marsden, T.K. (1997).

“Creating space for food: The distinctiveness of recent agrarian development”. Pp. 169-191 in D. Goodman and M.

J. Watts (eds.) Globalising Food: Agrarian Questions and Global Restructuring.

London: Routledge. Murdoch, J. & M. Miele. (1999). “‘Back to Nature’: Changing ‘Worlds of Production’ in the food sector”. Sociologia Ruralis 39(4): 465-483. Morgan, K.

& J. Murdoch. (2000).

“Organic vs. conventional agriculture: Knowledge, power and innovation in the food chain”. Geoforum 31: 159-173. Leslie, D. & S. Reimer. (1999). “Spatializing commodity chains”.

Progress in Human Geography 23 (3): 401-420. Lockie, S. & S. Kitto. (2000).

“Beyond the farm gate: Production-consumption networks and agri-food research”. Sociologia Ruralis 40(1): 3-19. Long, N. (2000). “Exploring local/global transformation: A view from anthropology”. Pp. 184-201 in A. Arce and N.

Long (eds.) Anthropology, Development and Modernities. London: Routledge. Tovey, H. (1997).

“Food, environmentalism and rural sociology: On the organic farming movement in Ireland”. Sociologia Ruralis 37(1): 21-37. Raynolds, L.

T. (2000). “Re-embedding global agriculture: The international organic and fair trade movements”. Agriculture and Human Values 17: 297-309. Sousa, I. de & L.

Busch. (1998). “Networks and agricultural development: The case of soybean production and consumption in Brazil”. Rural Sociology 63(3): 349-371. Vos, T. (2000). “Visions of the middle landscape: Organic farming and the politics of nature”.

Agriculture and Human Values 17: 245-256. References Allen, P. & M.

Kovach. (2000). “The capitalist composition of organic: The potential of markets in fulfilling the promise of organic agriculture”. Agriculture and Human Values 17: 221-232. Arce, A. & T. Marsden.

(1993). “The social construction of international food: a new research agenda”. Economic Geography 69(3): 291-311. Atkins, P. & Bowler, I., (2001).Food in Society. Economy, culture, geography, Arnold / Oxford: University Press.

Crewe, L. (2000). “Geographies of retailing and consumption”. Progress in Human Geography 24 (2): 275-290. Dixon, J. (1999). “A cultural model for studying food systems”. Agriculture and Human Values 16: 151-160.

Friedland, W.H. (1984). “Commodity systems analysis: an approach to the sociology of agriculture”. Research in Rural Sociology and Agriculture 1:221-236.

Gregson, N. (1995). “And now it’s all consumption”. Progress in Human Geography 19(1): 135-141. Guthman, J. (2000). “Raising organic: An agro-ecological assessment of grower practices in California”. Agriculture and Human Values 17: 257-266.

Hartwick, E.R. (1998). “Geographies of consumption: a commodity-chain analysis”. Environment and Planning D: Society and Space 16: 423-437. Hassanein, N.

(1999). Changing the Way America Farms: Knowledge and Community in the Sustainable Agriculture Movement. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. Marsden, T.K. (1997).

“Creating space for food: The distinctiveness of recent agrarian development”. Pp. 169-191 in D. Goodman and M.J. Watts (eds.) Globalising Food: Agrarian Questions and Global Restructuring. London: Routledge.

Murdoch, J. & M. Miele. (1999). “‘Back to Nature’: Changing ‘Worlds of Production’ in the food sector”.

Sociologia Ruralis 39(4): 465-483. Morgan, K. & J. Murdoch. (2000). “Organic vs.

conventional agriculture: Knowledge, power and innovation in the food chain”. Geoforum 31: 159-173. Leslie, D. & S. Reimer. (1999). “Spatializing commodity chains”. Progress in Human Geography 23 (3): 401-420.

Lockie, S. & S. Kitto. (2000).

“Beyond the farm gate: Production-consumption networks and agri-food research”. Sociologia Ruralis 40(1): 3-19. Long, N. (2000). “Exploring local/global transformation: A view from anthropology”.

Pp. 184-201 in A. Arce and N. Long (eds.) Anthropology, Development and Modernities. London: Routledge. Tovey, H.

(1997). “Food, environmentalism and rural sociology: On the organic farming movement in Ireland”. Sociologia Ruralis 37(1): 21-37. Raynolds, L. T. (2000). “Re-embedding global agriculture: The international organic and fair trade movements”.

Agriculture and Human Values 17: 297-309. Sousa, I. de & L. Busch. (1998). “Networks and agricultural development: The case of soybean production and consumption in Brazil”. Rural Sociology 63(3): 349-371.

Vos, T. (2000). “Visions of the middle landscape: Organic farming and the politics of nature”. Agriculture and Human Values 17: 245-256.