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The Problem with Solutions

Why Silicon Valley Can't Hack the Future of Food
By Julie Guthman
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Brief Description
A concise and feisty takedown of the all-style, no-substance tech ventures that fail to solve our food crises. Why has Silicon Valley become the model for addressing today's myriad social and ecological crises? With this book, Julie Guthman digs into the impoverished solutions for food and... Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$5699
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Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

A concise and feisty takedown of the all-style, no-substance tech ventures that fail to solve our food crises.

Why has Silicon Valley become the model for addressing today's myriad social and ecological crises? With this book, Julie Guthman digs into the impoverished solutions for food and agriculture currently emerging from Silicon Valley, urging us to stop trying to fix our broken food system through finite capitalistic solutions and technological moonshots that do next to nothing to actualise a more just and sustainable system.

The Problem with Solutions combines an analysis of the rise of tech company solution culture with findings from actual research on the sector's ill-informed attempts to address the problems of food and agriculture. As this seductive approach continues to infiltrate universities and academia, Guthman challenges us to reject apolitical and self-gratifying techno-solutions and develop the capacity and willingness to respond to the root causes of these crises. Solutions, she argues, are a product of our current condition, not an answer to it.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780520402676

Publisher: University of California Press

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 06 August 2024

Country: United States

Imprint: University of California Press

Illustration: 1 table

Audience: Tertiary education

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 20.0mm

Width: 140.0mm

Height: 216.0mm

Weight: 318g

Pages: 272

Collections

Education & Reference Engineering, Technology & Agriculture Julie Guthman Non-Fiction Politics & Current Affairs

About the Author

Julie Guthman is a geographer and Distinguished Professor in Sociology at University of California, Santa Cruz. Her previous books include Wilted: Pathogens, Chemicals, and the Fragile Future of the Strawberry Industry.

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