Abstract
Abstract This essay offers some general reflections on the destructive dimensions of corporatized forms of food production in contemporary South America. The dialectic of production and destruction that has long defined capitalism has too often been figured as "creative destruction", a phrase that can make the negative social and environmental impact of food commodity production seem to be something acceptable and even positive. The authors who contributed to this Special Section on Production/destruction in Latin America reveal, in contrast, that destruction has been integral to industrial or large-scale forms of food production in different parts of the continent. These articles remind us that the creation of a less destructive, more egalitarian world requires (among other things) not only the creation of renewable forms of energy but also a radical rethinking of the ways in which food is produced, distributed, and consumed. And the experience of South America in the past decade teaches us about the political limits of more progressive models of accumulation that, for all their merits, did not dare to delink the production of food from the short-sighted nature of corporate models that prioritize profits and hyper-productivity over social justice and sustainability. Key words: Creative destruction; destructive production; ruination; rubble; food; commodities
Highlights
This essay offers some general reflections on the destructive dimensions of corporatized forms of food production in contemporary South America
Mainstream debates about global warming and the environmental crisis affecting the planet tend to focus on the negative impact of the use of fossil fuels such as oil and coal. The essays of this special issue on Production/destruction: Latin American environments remind us that large-scale food production creates profound forms of environmental disruption and is, in addition, one of the most important contributors to climate change
This relative silencing of the disruptive force of the food industry is partly made possible by the fact that producing "food" seems like a naturally benign practice aimed at "feeding the world", as the apologists for industrialized agriculture recurrently argue. When this destruction is so obvious that it cannot but be acknowledged, for instance in the deforestation by soy-farming and cattle-ranching in South America, it is often justified as the unfortunate side-effect of capitalism's "creative destruction." As Barandiaran and Walsh remind us in the introduction (2017), this has become the most popular phrase to name the dialectic of production/destruction that has defined capitalism as well as the type of disruptions documented in this Special Section
Summary
The rich ethnographic and historical material presented by these case-studies provide ample evidence of the environmental and social destruction brought about by large-scale forms of food production in different parts of South America, namely: the contamination of the ocean, the decimation of local fish species, and the ruination of local livelihoods produced by salmon farms in southern Chile; the deforestation of the rainforest of Brazilian Amazonia to make space for cattle-ranching; the appropriation of water and the erosion of local forms of peasant livelihood in the Ecuadorian highlands by broccoli plantations; and the contamination and negative health effects caused by the intense use of synthetic nitrogen as fertilizer in agriculture.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
