In the Struggle: Scholars and the Fight against Industrial Agribusiness in California

In the Struggle is a call to action against industrial agriculture, featuring the stories of eight scholars who have opposed it in California since the early twentieth century. It reveals historic confrontations over water rights, labor organizing, and democratic principles, and highlights the corruption of public institutions. The findings indict the greed and corruption that flourish under industrial-scale agriculture, and call for action to protect democracy and the well-being of rural societies.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 384 pages
Publication date: 13 July 2021
Publisher: New Village Press

A call to action in an ongoing battle against industrial agriculture: From the early twentieth century to the present, In the Struggle brings together the stories of eight politically engaged scholars documenting their opposition to industrial-scale agribusiness in California. As the narrative unfolds, their previously censored and suppressed research, together with personal accounts of intimidation and subterfuge, is introduced into the public arena for the first time. The Struggle lays out historic, subterranean confrontations over water rights, labor organizing, and the corruption of democratic principles and public institutions. As California's rural economy increasingly consolidates into the hands of land barons and corporations, the scholars' work shifts from analyzing problems and formulating research methods to organizing resistance and building community power. Throughout their engagement, they face intense political blowback as powerful economic interests work to pollute and undermine scientific inquiry and the civic purposes of public universities. The findings and the pressure put upon the work of these scholars—Paul Taylor, Ernesto Galarza, and Isao Fujimoto among them—are a damning indictment of the greed and corruption that flourish under industrial-scale agriculture. After almost a century of empirical evidence and published research, a definitive finding becomes clear: land consolidation and economic monopoly are fundamentally detrimental to democracy and the well-being of rural societies.

Weight: 532g
Dimension: 152 x 227 x 24 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781613321225