Abstract
Flexible allocation of crops among food and non-food uses is a key driver of global agri-food system change. Focusing on United States corn production, I explore the dynamics of flex crops, scrutinizing agri-industrial relationships and the distribution of agri-food system value and control. I situate crop flexing as exchanging use value, as opposed to converting use into exchange value without altering the commodity's use. Asking ‘Flexible for whom?' in the context of agri-food system crises, I find: (1) flex crops exacerbate contradictory food security and over supply crises, and that the distribution of flexibility and benefit in the agri-food system they provide depends on the organization of labor; (2) crises of accumulation tie flex crops to agri-food system financialization, which subordinates use to exchange value, obfuscating their relationship and distancing agricultural products and uses from their basis in nature and labor; and (3) debates over US corn flexing illustrate the utility of focusing on power and politics in crop flexing decisions and demonstrate US corn flexing to be a fix for climate and accumulation crises. Findings suggest that examining the distribution of value and control and the positions of labor and nature in the agri-food system may be productive for global flex crop research and advocacy in the future.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 117-139 |
Number of pages | 23 |
Journal | Journal of Peasant Studies |
Volume | 43 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jan 2 2016 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- US agriculture
- biofuels
- corn
- ethanol
- flex crops
- food crises
- value
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Cultural Studies
- Anthropology
- Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)