Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Angela Cho
Sucharita Kanjilal
Silvia Torresi
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Abstract
This project proposal considers how an interdisciplinary approach to Food Studies might be used to
understand the growing challenges in California's agricultural systems, using the state's extensive
almond plantations as the point of departure. Using a combination of historical, ethnographic and
quantitative methods, this proposal seeks to show how questions of agricultural practice, public health,
nutrition, sustainability and consumer culture must be studied not as mutually exclusive domains within
Food Studies, but as closely intertwined subjects that can only be thoroughly understood in relationship
with each other. We suggest that a rigorous exploration of the political economy of California's almond
planation systems in particular and the state's agricultural history in general can produce valuable
insights that might eventually shape policy and programs for equitable and sustainable access to food.
Introduction
The mere mention of California might evoke the imagery of lush orange orchards, acres
(Sackman, 2005). Yet its changing agricultural systems over the past few decades have also led
to serious questions about how to create and maintain sustainable food systems on the national
and community levels (Feenstra, 2001). These questions gain further import given the reality of
rapidly increasing human populations and decreasing resources (Cakmak, 2002). Sustaining
efficient agricultural practices, controlling production costs, producing sufficient and high-
quality food items, and distributing them to the entire population are all key concerns according
to the California Agricultural Vision (2010). California is a major contributor to the national and
global food supply, growing and distributing staple foods such as nuts, fruits, and vegetables
(Jackon et al., 2011). However, the state’s agricultural productivity is likely to face major
environmental challenges over the next few decades, through soil degradation and erosion and
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climate change (Eswaran, Lal, & Reich, 2018). Climate conditions, for instance, have adversely
affected California’s agricultural practices in the form of decreased crop yields, augmented crop
water demands, and increased pests and related diseases (Pathak et al., 2018). Changing
nutritional concerns among the population and new trends in health-related practices and diets
have also pushed for the growth of certain foods over others.
One example of how agricultural practices and have been affected by growing demands
is in the almond industry. With significant concerns about the environmental cost of producing
almonds in a drought-hit state, the almond industry has been forced to respond and innovate.
Over the past 40 years, the Almond Board of California has expanded its research to improve
aspects involving almond production such as water and air quality, bee health and pollination,
tree and soil health, energy conservation, carbon emission, and community health and wellness
("Growing Good", 2017). One major area of research and sustainability has been efficient
irrigation adaptations, with new technologies that could reduce the water required to grow
almonds up to two-thirds of the current amount. This proposal suggests that a historical,
California’s agricultural systems in general, will provide new insights into how to make the
state’s bounty available to all of its citizens in a sustainable and efficient manner.
In this section, we identify the key questions related to our proposed project through an
analysis of the past literature in this field. Our project seeks to build on this background research
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Research question 1: How have changing patterns of agriculture in California led to uneven
The historical development of California’s agriculture industry has been viewed from two
distinct lenses (Olmstead and Rhode, 2003). The first is the story of enterprising farmers who
were able to use sophisticated technology and know-how to convert a desert into a flourishing
agricultural producer. The second view is more critical, seeing California’s farmer capitalists as
exploitative grabbers of indigenous land, who used cheap migrant labor to aggressively pursue
agricultural profits. Agriculture in California in the early 19th century was centered largely
around the large-scale production of wheat. By the end of the 19th century, this was replaced by
small-scale intensive cultivation of fruits such as grapes and oranges, supported by investments
in state agricultural research. By the early 20th century, cotton was introduced, bringing with it
greater mechanization and an intensive use of power and industrialized irrigation practices. The
state’s relationship with agricultural labor, however, has been more controversial, which has
been ridden with racist policy (Chan, 1989), violent – though successful – labor movements
(Ganz, 2009) and concerns about deteriorating workers’ health (Olmstead and Rhode, 2008).
agricultural landscape. Despite its successes, the story of California’s agriculture is not only one
of human beings’ ability to harness nature optimally to produce successfully and provide for
everyone but rather one of conflicting histories, unequal access to food, and environmental
degradation (Akon and Agyeman, 2011). By establishing and examining this history, this project
seeks to better understand and explain the context of the current production and consumption
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Research question 2: How have these changes in food systems been viewed by consumers. How
have consumer choices been shaped by advertising and an increased interest in micronutrients?
Agricultural production is not only affected by climate, technology and capital, but also
the demand for certain food products. In this section of the project, we explore how narratives
about health, nutrition and specific “superfoods” feed back into the agricultural system,
encouraging farmers to produce more of some crops than others. Our specific case study pertains
to the production of almonds in California. We suggest that the increased production of almonds
towards veganism and gluten-free diets, which in turn have increased the demand for almond
flour and almond milk as substitutes for wheat flour and dairy milk. Scrinis et al (2008) have
argued that there has been an increased interest in identifying the individual nutrient components
of food (i.e. vitamins, fatty acids, and minerals). Further, this approach to diet suggests that the
nutritional value of food is the sum of its parts. Scrinis thus argues that this has been an
important way for corporations to market certain kinds of foods and diets as more beneficial than
others. As we hope to show, almond milk is one example of this. For instance, agricultural
majors such as Blue Diamond market products such as Almond Breeze as being high in vitamins
and low in calories. Scholars such as Bladow (2015) have shown that advertising that promotes
ideas of California being an idyllic pastoral paradise have been highly successful in selling both
dairy and almond milk. Therefore, an analysis of consumer approaches towards almond milk –
and California’s agricultural bounty in general – will help us examine the demand side of the
problem, supplementing our examination of the supply chains, nutrition questions and
sustainability concerns.
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Research question 3: What are the main features of California agriculture today? How did
almonds enter California and who has benefited from the growth of this industry? What have
Qualitative historical research on the almond industry will allow us understand the
context in which it came to be a major agricultural players in the state, the main actors involved
and the environmental impact it has had. This will then help best assess the current situation and
agricultural landscape has changed radically over the past 150 years, passing from a grain-based
mono-crop system involving large-scale ranching activities to smaller-scale intensive fruit and
nut cultivation.
The main features of California’s agricultural systems today are listed as follows:
which allowed for longer working hours; ii) the scarcity of cheap labor, which fostered the
search for labor-saving options; ii) the proactive attitude of California farmers towards the use of
electrical power and new technology and iv) the connection between farmers and manufacturers,
which allowed continuous technological evolution. Olmstead (2003) writes that “this process of
research for crops better suited to the state’s specific climate, investment in water control and
irrigation and shared knowledge between the main actors involved: the USDA, the agricultural
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c) Integration in the international markets: This is largely thanks to a highly
developed system that connects growers to manufactures, packing and canning factories,
cooperatives: This includes the California Fruit Growers Exchange created in 1905 and Blue
Diamond, which was founded in 1910 and is still the world’s largest processing and marketing
Almond production in California began in the 1840s from stock brought from southern
France and began spreading around the state by 1860. The development of almond agri-business
intensified most significantly between 1960 and 1975. In this period the almond acreage in
California grew from 113,000 acres to 290,000 acres (Patterson, 2005). This expansion of nut
trees in California allowed also the utilization of the most advanced planting and harvesting
Blue Diamond, have played a critical role in opening up new international markets for California
almonds. In addition, "they created new demand for almonds in the domestic market by engaging
in aggressive ad campaigns geared at housewives and the confectionary, bakery, and ice cream
industries" (Patterson, 2005). Further, we suggest that a growing interest in almond meal and
almond milk has also led to almonds being a key agricultural player in the state of California.
The main beneficiaries of this excessive production have been large-scale investors, insurance
companies and agribusinesses. For instance, Paramount Farming, now Wonderful company LLC,
was, according to the American and Western Fruit magazine, the top nut Grower in 2014.
Similarly, TIAA-CREF, a financial services corporation based in New York currently manages
approximately $8 billion in farmland assets and commitments around the world (Philpott, 2015).
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Other beneficiaries include family farms that grow almonds. According to figures released by the
Almond Board of California, 91% of the 6,800 almond farms in California are owned by
families. Finally, manufacturers and transport industries that are involved also stand to gain from
California is the world leader in almond production and while this has benefited the state
economy and certain groups of people involved in the industry, its cultivation has impacted the
representing one of the most productive agricultural areas in the world thanks to the combination
accounts for around 80% of all the water used in the state, according to the California
Department of Water Resources. Over the last two centuries, California’s farmers have carried
out several practices to improve irrigation techniques. This has included draining and safeguard
yields from possible flooding through the construction of ditches and levees, as well as the
development of irrigation systems, very often as a result of private initiatives. The first half of
the 20th century brought with it the increasing utilization of groundwater, which still continues
today.
Almonds require almost 10% of California’s water: one single almond needs one gallon
of water to be produced. Due to their specific characteristics, almond trees need to be regularly
watered even in years of drought and this has led farmers to increasingly use groundwater to
replace what they will usually take from the Colorado river and the Sierra Nevada mountains.
The direct consequences of water pumping from wells are aquifer depletion and land subsidence
(Sneed, 2013). In another study produced by UCLA and the University of Houston, researchers
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analyzed water consumption in the Central Valley from 2002 to 2016. They revealed significant
water loss during the last two droughts that hit California. This loss was due to a change in the
type of cultivated crops, reduced rainfall and snow packs and hotter temperatures, clear signs of
the increasing impact of climate change (Pathak, 2018). The utilization of groundwater for crop
irrigation has therefore a huge environmental impact, which also implies economic consequences
for the farmers and for the state in general. In 2014, a new legislation was introduced to regulate
groundwater use, but its implementation will only start between 2022 and 2040.
b) Soil, air and water pollution: One of the major concerns regarding air quality is that
the level of PM2.5 fine particulate matter is extraordinarily high in the Californian almond
districts. In fact, there are nine counties from California among the top ten most polluted areas
from PM2.5 across the United States (Larghezza, 2018). According to the California Air
Resource Board, PM2.5 is one of the two “pollutants of the greatest concern from a public health
perspective” together with ozone (Sources of Air Pollution, 2018). Further, the use of chemical
fertilizers and pesticides has serious consequences for the soil and related wildlife, as well as the
quality of the water that goes into the aquifers owing to rainfall and irrigation. Pesticides and
herbicides that are used in these intensive plantations get concentrated in the top 2-6 inches of
Last February, a Sacramento County Superior Court judge has ordained “California
agricultural officials to stop spraying pesticides on public and private property to control insects
that threaten the state's $45-billion agriculture industry” (Mohan, 2018). This sentence came
after the decision of environmental groups to sue the California Department for Food and
Agriculture on a specific issue: the possibility of being exempted from releasing information
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As part of our analysis, we found it particularly challenging to find information about the
consequences of the use of pesticides and fertilizers in California agriculture on people’s health,
bees, to help farmers keep up with the demand. Colonies of honeybees are transported to
California every year at the beginning of the bloom period to ensure pollination of the 1.000.000
acres of almond orchard currently present. Even if the honey industry is currently booming,
beekeepers struggle to stay alive due to honey frauds, in the form of adulterated honey coming
from China and several Asian countries (Phipps, 2016) and bee killings, mainly due to the use of
pesticides. What becomes a lifebelt for beekeepers is a very risky activity for the health of
honeybees. Bringing almost all the US hives in one part of the country means: i) mixing and
concentrating bees, making it easier to pass diseases among them; ii) exposing them to chemicals
used in almond orchards, like fungicides often sprayed in the groves or pesticides; iii) that they
can be stolen as it happened from 2014 to 2017 to several beekeepers (Rotten – Layers, guns &
honey).
Research question 4: How can the California’s agricultural industry carry out sustainable food
practices to meet the high demand for nutritious foods and keep up with growing populations?
According to the World Bank, the global demand for food is expected to increase by at
least 20% over the next 15 years, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, South and East Asia. Natural
resources are being depleted at rates never seen before and climate change and conflicts are
harshly affecting food production (Food Security. Understanding poverty). This project seeks to
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understand how lessons from California, specifically, might help provide answers to these
training and educational programs to farmers, high quality seeds, small scale loans).
living in developing countries; ii) to allow the participation of these countries in the global
economy and iii) to support and increase technological transfer to these countries.
c) Reducing food loss and waste through public awareness campaigns, education
sustainable way, ensuring food security and economic growth. Political stability also fosters
agricultural sector, which might produce interesting models for global practices. The new smart
farming system is expanding in regions like California’s Central Valley. Sowing, watering,
fertilizing and harvesting are computerized operations and allow for water savings. Another
element of this new type of farming is the work on the crop genomics to improve yield
productivity (The Future of Agriculture). However, this would require further investigations into
how we can make sure that GM crops are safe in the long run.
Another avenue for further research is the creation of new community spaces for
sustainable food systems. Some projects dealing with family farm production practices,
agricultural work and businesses and increasing healthy food access to people in the community
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are already under implementation in California under the University of California Sustainable
Agriculture Research and Education Program (SAREP). Those projects focus on the creation of
four types of spaces: (a) “Social” with the objective of gathering citizens to share
institutionalize sustainable food systems at political local level, to involve policy makers and
measure impact; (c) “Intellectual” to gather diverse disciplines and community points of view to
create the vision of the community food systems; (d) “Economic” to integrate into the local
financial capital and to try to combine new financial resources. The main driving themes of these
Research Question 5: As a state that produces more than half of the US’ fresh fruits and
vegetables, which of its successes can we learn from and apply more broadly?
As California is a state that produces more than half of the United States' fruits and
vegetable supply, it is crucial to address emerging concerns and to also identify reasons for its
successes. According to the California Agricultural Vision (2010) report, the state carries high
regulation standards for producers including environmental quality, farm labor practices, and
food safety. While these regulation standards may have contributed to high quality productions
and bringing California to be a world leading food supplier, regulatory compliance costs have
severely raised operating costs for crop producers. Moving forward, costs should be lowered
while maintaining quality production and reserve water usage. Furthermore, California has lost
more than 350,000 acres of agricultural land in the last few decades due to urban development
and lost immensely productive crop lands ("California Agricultural Vision", 2010). Policies
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could be implemented to conserve both land and water resources in the state for economically
Methodology:
Study design: The proposed project seeks to combine both qualitative and quantitative
research to present a holistic picture of California’s nutrition landscape, and use this work to
suggest key interventions towards food security and environmental sustainability. The study will
be designed as a long-term, collaborative project with multiple researchers. It will combine both
historical and qualitative research methods with quantitative research methods and nutritional
analyses. These methods will help us best address our research questions.
changed in response to particular political and economic climates in the USA, we can begin to
see what factors led to the situation we have today. Thus, an extensive historical review of
literature on the state’s agricultural systems will allow to contextualize this work, as well as the
need for specific interventions. The benefits of a historical approach to question of food safety,
nutrition and sustainability are made evident in the work of Hannah Landecker, who argues that
a historical approach to nutritional and agricultural sciences “reminds us that the history of
understand the political, economic and historical-cultural processes that shaped California’s food
systems today.
stakeholders are in terms of food security and sustainability, anthropological research in the form
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of ethnography is key to understanding whether policy interventions have actually changed
people’s lived realities and how cultural considerations affect the ways in which nutrition and
sustainability is viewed by California’s diverse population. To this end, we suggest carrying out
ethnographic fieldwork and sustained interviews with those especially vulnerable, such as
marginalized consumers, ethnic and racial minorities, as well as those are make the decisions that
affect them, such as policymakers, farmers, the heads of agricultural corporations and so on.
Ethnography is the practice of “thick description” (Geertz, 1973), through which the researchers
immerse themselves in the lived realities of their interlocutors in an effort to understand specific
processes as they are experienced. Ethnographic data provides a richer picture than purely
quantitative data, and as a result can be used to understand those factors that get lost between the
numbers, such as the importance of socio-cultural values, the relationships between people,
capital and the state, and specific challenges that cannot easily be recorded demographically.
agricultural practices on the state’s population, we will need to gather empirical data on
patterns based on factors such as income, ethnicity, and race. This data can be gathered through a
combination of collating government and FDA data, as well as carrying out randomly sampled
Agricultural practices can have significant impacts on its population health and
nutritional intake. Higher productivity in crop growing leads to higher affordability and
consumption of nutritious foods and many crops have been disseminated to contain essential
micronutrients such as zinc, iron, and vitamin A with biofortification methods (Fan, 2015).
Agricultural practices are also a key source of income for rural communities, hence contributing
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to their economic well-being and ability to afford nutritious foods and improve their health.
According to the State Indicator Report on Fruits and Vegetables published by the Center for
Disease Control (2013), California is among the top three states in America that has the highest
median daily fruit and vegetable intake among adults and has one of the highest percentages of
cropland acreage harvested for these agricultural products. Despite the overall economic success
of the agricultural industry in California, there is still a clear health disparity between population
groups varying on social factors such as socioeconomic status, geography, race, and ethnicity. In
the U.S., individuals of low-income neighborhoods who were ethnic minorities, primarily the
Latino and African American populations, consistently have the highest prevalence of obesity
and chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes according to the State of
Obesity report (2018). These low-income communities have a limited access to fresh produce
and healthy food choices yet greater access to nutrient poor, calorie dense foods which promote
unhealthy eating behaviors and weight gain (Caprio et al., 2018) (Rahman et al., 2011) (Lobstein
et al., 2015). Negative health outcomes cannot be fully explained by individual choices alone,
and it is evident that the food environment plays a major role in determining dietary risk factors
will collate broader data on California’s water conservation and water control, drought, soil
degradation, air and water pollution, the population of honey bees, and climate change impacts.
5. Case study: To demonstrate how our study design might work towards providing
specific solutions to some of our research questions, we have chosen the case study of almond
plantations in California. The state is the world’s largest producer of almonds, and almond
production consumes around 10% of its water resources. The cultivation of almonds in the
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drought-hit state has received considerable media as well as scholarly attention in terms of both
almonds’ nutritional value as well as cost to the environment. By using the combination of
qualitative and quantitative research methods and delving more deeply into the state’s almond
production debates, we will be able to demonstrate our methodology for a specific case, which in
turn will help draw broader conclusions about the challenges facing California’s agricultural
landscape today.
Implications for the future of Food Studies: The field of food studies explores the history of
agriculture, the anthropology of food, nutrition and sustainability. By exploring the changing
patterns of the agricultural industry in California through the last decades, we can draw richer
data that will help address into issues and concerns for nutritional security, policies, food justice,
food and environmental sustainability, and consumer attitudes and behaviors in order to propose
more efficient and resourceful practices for the years to come. These research methods could
open doors for professionals in these fields to work together in order to improve the future of the
food systems and public health in California. Relevant findings and results may be applied to or
contributed to creating more effective interventions and solutions to the increasing global
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References (and annotated bibliography)
Alkon, A. H., & Agyeman, J. (2011). Cultivating food justice: Race, class, and sustainability.
MIT Press.
Bagott J. (2016). About Those Nutty Almond Investors. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from
www.wsj.com/articles/about-those-nutty-almond-investors-1473722301
Bladow, K. (2015). Milking It: The Pastoral Imaginary of California’s (Non) Dairy Farming.
This article, written by an indigenous studies scholar, examines the relationship between
consumers of dairy and non-dairy milk, California’s agricultural history, and the role of
advertising and packaging in promoting ideas of the state as an idyllic pastoral paradise.
It considers the aesthetic and emotive dimensions of milk, and traces how it became a
The paper is useful for understanding how food histories and rhetorical power influence
production and choices. It also provides useful summaries of California’s dairy and
almond industries. Further, its critical take on the shift in consumer practices from
Farmland Trust to the California Department of Food and Agriculture and the State
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Caprio, S., Daniels, S. R., Drewnowski, A., Kaufman, F. R., Palinkas, L. A., Rosenbloom, A. L.,
America's Health and the Obesity Society. In Diabetes Care (Vol. 31, pp. 2211-2221).
Cakmak, I. (2002). Plant Nutrition Research: Priorities to Meet Human Needs for Food in
Food security and sustainability issues are significant concerns with the growing human
population and decreasing agricultural resources on our planet. To meet the increasing
demands of food production while meeting nutrient needs in areas experiencing severe
malnutrition, there are plant research efforts that aim to tackle these concerns. In North
America, the estimate of soil degradation in agricultural land was 26%, and 38% total
increasing food production to meet the projected estimated food yield needs but it may
increased gas emission that causes global warming. At least 60% of cultivated soils
around the world currently have mineral toxicities or deficiencies. Cakmak discusses how
plant nutrition research aims to create more efficient nutrient system for crop production
Chan, S. (1989). This bittersweet soil: The Chinese in California agriculture, 1860-1910. Univ of
California Press.
Eswaran, H., Lal, R., & Reich, P. (2018). Land Degradation: An overview. Retrieved from
https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/soils/use/?cid=nrcs142p2_054028
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Fan, S. (2015). How agriculture can improve health and nutrition. Retrieved from
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2015/04/how-agriculture-can-improve-health-and-
nutrition/
Feenstra, G. (2002). Creating Space for Sustainable Food Systems: Lessons from the Field.
https://www.jhsph.edu/research/centers-and-institutes/johns-hopkins-center-for-a-livable-
future/_pdf/projects/FPN/academic_literature/Creating_space_for_sustainable_food_syst
ems_Lessons_from_the_eld.pdf
This article discusses the history of shifts in the trends of food systems, especially new
Feenstra describes that community food system projects have been initiated for long-term
businesses, and increasing healthy food access to people in the community. Four types of
spaces were identified in order for protection and creation of these community system
food projects- social, political, intellectual, and economic space. Despite these initiatives,
consumers may prefer mainstream retailers, for example, rather than the farmer’s market
for obtaining fruits or vegetables. The three themes she describes that emerges from these
spaces are public participation, partnerships, and principles. Feenstra argues that patience
and time is required in order to see greater support and witness a measurable impact of
these projects.
http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/food-security
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Ganz, M. (2009). Why David sometimes wins: Leadership, organization, and strategy in the
Geertz, C. (2008). Thick description: Toward an interpretive theory of culture. In The Cultural
makes up 90% of family farms in California. The Almond Board of California has been
expanding in this field of funded research for the last 40 years to improve all aspects
involved in almond production including water and air quality, bee health and pollination,
tree and soil health, energy conservation, carbon emission, and community health and
wellness. One major area of research and sustainability efforts have been in efficient
irrigation adoption which has successfully used water-saving technologies that reduced
over a third of the amount of water required to grow almonds. Another highlight is efforts
for bee health and pollination, given that bee health has been on a decline due to
beekeeping and crop production methods in recent years. The Almond Board of
California developed the Honey Bee Best Management Practices (BMPs) for all
California almond farmers, which helps to welcome bees in orchards while protecting the
crops.
Hamblin J. (2014). The Dark Side of Almond Use. The Atlantic. Retrieved from
www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/08/almonds-demon-nuts/379244/
Herrick C. (2014). American and Western Fruit Grower’s 2014 Top Nut Growers. American
Fruit Grower magazine and Western Fruit Grower magazine. Retrieved from
www.growingproduce.com/nuts/2014-top-nut-growers/
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Jackon, L., Wheeler, S., Hollander, D., O'Geen, A., & Orlove, B. (2011). Case study on potential
Landecker, H. (2016). Antibiotic resistance and the biology of history. Body & Society, 22(4),
19-52.
Larghezza L., Liptrap R. Catalano L. (2018). Uno sguardo alla vecchia e nuova mandorlicoltura
https://rivistafrutticoltura.edagricole.it/vivaismo-frutticolo/uno-sguardo-vecchia-nuova-
mandorlicoltura-californiana/
Lobstein, T., Jackson-Leach, R., Moodie, M. L., Hall, K. D., Gortmaker, S. L., Swinburn, B. A.,
McPherson, K. (2015). Child and adolescent obesity: part of a bigger picture. Lancet,
Mohan G. (2018). Judge orders California agricultural officials to cease pesticide use". Los
20180226-story.html
Olmstead, A. L., & Rhode, P. W. (2003). The evolution of California agriculture, 1850-2000.
Pathak, T., Maskey, M., Dahlberg, J., Kearns, F., Bali, K., & Zaccaria, D. (2018). Climate
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Patterson A. L., Josling T.E. (2005). Mediterranean Agriculture in the Global Marketplace: A
www.internazionale.it/notizie/2015/04/02/mandorle-siccita-california
Philpott T. (2015). What America's nutty demand for almonds is doing to California. Grist.
to-california/
Phipps R. (2016). Resin technology applied to honey creates products which cannot be labelled
Rahman, T., Cushing, R. A., & Jackson, R. J. (2011). Contributions of built environment to
Sackman, D.C. (2005). Orange empire: California and the fruits of Eden. Univ of California
Press.
linkages between nature, culture and society. It uses the orange industry as its primary
example to develop insights into how California’s natural and social landscapes were
transformed over the 20th century through changes in agriculture. It shows how industry
practices such as putting up huge billboards with pictures of perfectly ripe oranges all
along the freeway system got households to increase their consumption and consequently
come to hold certain views about the purity of nature and good health.
By using a historical approach to food, this book shows how we might begin to
understand the deeper and richer complications of the agricultural industry, household
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consumption and the natural world. It will be especially useful towards developing the
background information and context for our project, given that modern agricultural
Scrinis, G. (2013). Nutritionism: The science and politics of dietary advice. Columbia University
Press.
This classic text in the sociology of food has been used widely to understand how
nutrition scientists, dietitians and public health experts have in different ways led modern
consumers to think about food in terms of the micronutrients they contain. Scrinis writes
that the “nutritionism” approach reduces food to its minute components and has replaced
older ways of eating that considered more broadly which foods were healthy, what to eat
more of and what to avoid. More importantly, Scrinis argues that this preoccupation with
the micronutrients in food has been “co-opted by the food industry” so that they can
consumer choices. It provides important anthropological and political grounding for why
products such as almond milk or avocados or oranges have gained popularity in post-
industrial states such as California because they are now seen not as beverages or fruits,
Sneed M., Brandt J., and Solt M. (2003). Land subsistence along the Delta-Mendota Canal in the
Northern part of the San Joaquin Valley, California, 2003-10. Scientific Investigations
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State Indicator Report on Fruits and Vegetables. (2013). Center for Disease Control. Retrieved
from https://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/downloads/state-indicator-report-fruits-vegetables-
2013.pdf
Pathak, T. (2018). Climate Change Trends and Impacts on California Agriculture: A Detailed
Climate conditions have deeply changed in California negatively impacting the state
agricultural industry, including crop yield decreases, augmented crop water demands,
increased pest and diseases, just to name a few. In analyzing those climatic modifications
and the ones to come, the article highlights the importance of climate adaptation research
to be locally focused and the role and the engagement of the main stakeholders in the
www.economist.com/technology-quarterly/2016-06-09/factory-fresh
This article uses the example of California almond production to outline some of the
advantages of smart farming – where computers control sowing, watering, fertilizing and
farmers, in the short term, thanks to cost cuts and to the augmentation of yield
performance. Will these new technologies contribute to facing the increasing world food
demand?
The State of Childhood Obesity - The State of Obesity. (2018). Retrieved from
https://stateofobesity.org/childhood-obesity-trends/
Xiao M., Koppa A., Mekonnen Z., Pagán B. R., Zhan S., Cao Q., Aierken A., Lettenmaier D. P.
(2017). How much groundwater did California's Central Valley lose during the 2012–
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2016 drought? Geophysical Research Letters. Retrieved from
https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/2017GL073333
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