Editor's Note

Abstract

As the cold maintains its grip on the northern prairie, I'm gratified to think that this issue will reach you when my garden is greeting a new season. And as spring portends a season of renewal and hope, the year's first volume brings with it a renewed vibrancy and vitality for our journal and our section. Our new section President, Anita Spring, points to the potential name change for our journal from Culture & Agriculture, to Culture, Agriculture, Food, and the Environment (CAFE). I welcome and heartily support this change for the same reasons she outlines in her President's note. While some see this as a welcome change that expands our reach and inclusiveness, I know there are some who worry that it may be a slippery slope toward losing sight of the journal's origin, namely agricultural scholarship. I'm mindful of our journal's history and those who laid its agrarian foundation. A name change alone will not result in agriculture losing its rightful place as a bedrock of anthropological and social science inquiry. That can only happen if we, the stewards of the journal and the section, allow it to happen. Rather, the name change reflects an effort to reach out and remind our kindred colleagues that agriculture, as broadly defined, is fundamentally relevant for their work on the environment, nutrition, food access, hunger, and a host of related issues. It makes sense that agricultural scholarship acts as a hub to attract and connect with related work. This issue marks the return to full production with a lively special collection of articles attending to Richard Manning's book Against the Grain: How Agriculture Has Hijacked Civilization. Manning's work is among a growing corpus of popular books with food-related themes. The difference is that Manning's work is largely based upon anthropological work. His thesis rests at the heart of our work, namely that agriculture occupies a central role in human civilization and that sustaining American culture requires fundamental shifts in how we grow and distribute food, as well as the food choices we make. His work is a reminder that anthropological work is relevant to the general public, even if it does take a journalistic harvester to make it happen. The articles include an introduction by the collection editor, Doug Midgett, who reminds us of the yet unwritten chapter on the consequences of corn-based ethanol production. Mark Moberg's thoughtful piece draws out the strengths of Manning's contribution while rightfully challenging its Malthusian and technological assumptions of cultural evolutionary change. The contribution from yours truly examines the interlinkages between agricultural consolidation and the centralization of political power. The culmination of this collection comes from Sidney Mintz and a final comment from Richard Manning himself. As perhaps only Sidney Mintz can, he acknowledges the prosaic richness and compelling case Manning makes, before drawing us back to an understanding of who we are as malleable cultural creatures that have the capacity and agency to draw ourselves out of the messes we've made. Given the final word, Manning admits to his anthropological errors, while using his compelling rhetorical elegance to press his case. Additional contributions to this volume include Holmes and Graham's insightful discussion of the not-so-simple world of Colombian scientists tussling with the costs and benefits of biotechnology research. Cristina Espinosa's contribution illuminates how gender, migration, market dynamics, and ecological conditions in northern Peru are related to their reliance on traditional goat herding. Thanks to our contributors, our article and book reviewers, the steady hand of staff at AAA and Wiley-Blackwell, and, most importantly, you, the readers. Don't hesitate to contact me with any food for thought!