| 1. |
The major process at work in food production,
processing and supply is a process of industrialisation. The
consumers are generally not aware that they are consuming industrial
products. (I will attempt to test and use this working hypothesis
in the remainder of this study). |
| 2. |
There are a variety of responses, reactions and
side-effects to this industrialisation, |
| 3. |
Parallel to the industrialisation is also a process
of globalisation, which has led to well-documented protests
and reactions. |
These are my assertions from the evidence I have collected, however,
this can best be classified as a hypothesis. Can this industrialisation
hypothesis be justified from the evidence on my website ?
I will look at each sector in turn to see what evidence there is
for industrialisation:-
| a) |
In the changes in Food and Farming techniques
sector. The pattern of development of techniques in each sector
is typified by the page on Tractors.
A similar pattern also occurs throughout, from pesticides to
food processing. It is difficult to draw a line for when 'a
set of techniques' becomes 'an industry'. The hydroponic production
of salad crops is clearly an industry where each parameter can
be controlled in an industrial way, though some farms producing
milk and cheese may still be pre-industrial. |
| b) |
In the Business sector. Industrialisation can
be seen in the sheer scale of operations of some companies,
but it is generally played-down, with little or no emphasis
on it, and the languages of conservation, sustainability and
caring are used by all of the companies involved. While some
of the firms may be making genuine attempts to change to sustainable
practices, this may not be true for all of them.
The industrialisation process is revealed most by the food testing
and farm software companies, rather than by their clients, the
producers. From these, it may even be valid to say that there
is now a HIGH-TECH food production industry |
| c) |
In the Campaigns, Organisations and Conservation
sector. The industrial aspects of agriculture are not mentioned
here - the organisations focus on their own remits. |
| d) |
In the Government and International bodies sector.
A very administrative and neutral tone is used - they have vast
amounts of information on their sites, and they generally do
not mention Industrialisation as a distinct issue |
| e) |
The Cultural Sources sector. They are very keen
on food, but generally ignore its industrial sources. However, |
| f) |
The diet, additives, allergies and vitamins sector.
(which I have included among the cultural sources) is notable
for its vigour - many of the adverts imply imbalance in nutrition,
that needs to be corrected using their products. This imbalance
could be seen as a problem resulting from industrialisation.
|
There may be other major or minor patterns in the pages. However,
I feel that, for my purposes,
- I have a useful picture of the historical events and the various
business, official and voluntary organisations which form the
policy space,
- I have a good overall impression of the way which food is presented
to the public by the media and cultural writers
- I think that what I have done with the information I have gathered
is fair and reasonable - to try to extract more might not be justified
|
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