Cornell University Press
Fields of Gold: Financing the Global Land Rush
Key Metrics
- Madeleine Fairbairn
- Cornell University Press
- Paperback
- 9781501750083
- 9.02 X 5.98 X 0.53 inches
- 0.77 pounds
- Science > Earth Sciences - Geography
- English
Secure TransactionBook Description
Fields of Gold critically examines the history, ideas, and political struggles surrounding the financialization of farmland. In particular, Madeleine Fairbairn focuses on developments in two of the most popular investment locations, the US and Brazil, looking at the implications of financiers' acquisition of land and control over resources for rural livelihoods and economic justice.
At the heart of Fields of Gold is a tension between efforts to transform farmland into a new financial asset class, and land's physical and social properties, which frequently obstruct that transformation. But what makes the book unique among the growing body of work on the global land grab is Fairbairn's interest in those acquiring land, rather than those affected by land acquisitions. Fairbairn's work sheds ethnographic light on the actors and relationships--from Iowa to Manhattan to S�o Paulo--that have helped to turn land into an attractive financial asset class.
Author Bio
I do qualitative sociological research on the political economy of the global agro-food system. I am particularly interested in how transnational economic processes shape access to food, land, and other natural resources globally. My current projects explore the financial sector's growing interest in buying farmland, as well as the dynamics of the agri-food technology sector. My first book, Fields of Gold: Financing the Global Land Rush, was released in 2020 by Cornell University Press.
Research Interests
- Agri-food systems,
- environmental sociology,
- political ecology,
- globalization and development,
- ownership and access to land
Education
- Ph.D., Sociology, University of Wisconsin-Madison
- M.S., Sociology, University of Wisconsin-Madison
- B.S., Development Sociology/Natural Resource Management, Cornell University
Source: University of California Santa Cruz
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