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The illusion of control: industrialized agriculture, nature, and food safety

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  • Diana Stuart

Abstract

I explore the role of nature in the agrifood system and how attempts to fit food production into a large-scale manufacturing model has lead to widespread outbreaks of food borne illness. I illustrate how industrial processing of leafy greens is related to the outbreak of E. coli 0157:H7 associated with spinach in the fall of 2006. I also use this example to show how industry attempts to create the illusion of control while failing to address weaknesses in current processing systems. The leafy greens industry has focused efforts on sterilizing the growing environment and adopting new technologies, while neglecting to change the concentrated structure of processing systems. Repeated breakdowns in these systems illustrate a widening fault line between attempted and failed control of nature in industrial food production. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2008

Suggested Citation

  • Diana Stuart, 2008. "The illusion of control: industrialized agriculture, nature, and food safety," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 25(2), pages 177-181, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:agrhuv:v:25:y:2008:i:2:p:177-181
    DOI: 10.1007/s10460-008-9130-4
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Arunas Juska & Lourdes Gouveia & Jackie Gabriel & Kathleen Stanley, 2003. "Manufacturing bacteriological contamination outbreaks in industrialized meat production systems: The case of E. coli O157:H7," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 20(1), pages 3-19, March.
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    Cited by:

    1. Diana Stuart & Michelle Worosz, 2012. "Risk, anti-reflexivity, and ethical neutralization in industrial food processing," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 29(3), pages 287-301, September.
    2. Patrick Baur & Christy Getz & Jennifer Sowerwine, 2017. "Contradictions, consequences and the human toll of food safety culture," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 34(3), pages 713-728, September.
    3. Sowjanya R. Peddi, 2014. "Multinational Corporations in Indian Food Retail: Why and How Size Matters," Millennial Asia, , vol. 5(1), pages 89-117, April.
    4. Julia M. L. Laforge & Colin R. Anderson & Stéphane M. McLachlan, 2017. "Governments, grassroots, and the struggle for local food systems: containing, coopting, contesting and collaborating," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 34(3), pages 663-681, September.
    5. Álvaro Ibáñez-Jiménez & Yolanda Jiménez-Olivencia & Ángela Mesa-Pedrazas & Laura Porcel-Rodríguez & Karl Zimmerer, 2022. "A Systematic Review of EU-Funded Innovative Agri-Food Projects: Potential for Transfer between Territories," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-26, April.
    6. Patrick Baur, 2020. "When farmers are pulled in too many directions: comparing institutional drivers of food safety and environmental sustainability in California agriculture," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 37(4), pages 1175-1194, December.
    7. Jason Parker & Robyn Wilson & Jeffrey LeJeune & Douglas Doohan, 2012. "Including growers in the “food safety” conversation: enhancing the design and implementation of food safety programming based on farm and marketing needs of fresh fruit and vegetable producers," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 29(3), pages 303-319, September.

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