I've been teaching at the nexus of food, energy & environment for several years at this point. In one of my classes a few years ago I used a book called Stuffed and Starved, written by Raj Patel, to coax students to think hard about how people in a wealthy country like the United States can suffer from obesity and malnutrition at the same time. Raj is a prolific writer, and I think his newest offering (with co-author Jason Moore) is destined to top Stuffed and Starved in terms of the solid critique it offers not just about food, but about our modern economic system more generally. The new book's title is A History of the World in 7 Cheap Things, and it really takes a systems view of how capitalism, as an economic paradigm, cheapens the value of nature, labor, food, money, energy, healthcare, and ultimately lives.
I had a chance to chat with Raj about his new book, and that conversation became today's episode of my podcast. This one was a lot of fun! I'll offer a link to download or stream from my website, but of course folks can also download and listen on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, etc. Among the topics covered are how capitalism, as an economic system, never pays its bills (i.e. externalities), why capitalism and colonialism are so closely linked, how capitalism is characterized by ‘othering’ things that are ‘wild’, and how the cheapening of food is a political tool used to perpetuate social hierarchies. Episode 48: Capitalism, Colonialism, and the Cheapening of the World, with Raj Patel<http://ericgarza.info/episode-48/> As always, commends, feedback, and shares are welcome. I'd particularly like to see folks who download & listen through iTunes leave me a review, as I don't seem to have many of those quite yet. Best wishes! Eric Garza, PhD Cell: (802) 881-8675 Web: EricGarza.info<http://ericgarza.info>
