🚀 go-pugleaf

Don Richardson and several others have e-mailed to say they'd like
further info on the book mentioned in my previous post. Ergo, the title
is:

        The Invisible Farm: the worldwide decline of farm news and agricultural
journalism training (ISBN 1-58112-022-2)

        The book is the result of 2.5 years of research conducted at the United
Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Rome, and at Carleton
University, Ottawa, Canada.
        My purpose in writing was to alert agriculturalists and journalists
alike to the fact that one of the most important subjects in human
life--how we get our food--is being all but ignored by the major media,
and neglected in our journalism schools. As a result of the failure of
mainstream media to cover the subject, most urban consumers haven't a
clue how a modern North American or European farm functions, or the
conditions farmers in the Third World face when competing against them.
As a result, voters can't make informed decisions on farm policy when
they go to the ballot box.
        The book is divided into two sections. The first, aimed at urban
newspeople who may have no farm background, gives a rundown of the key
social, economic and environmental issues in modern agriculture. The
second reviews the history of agricultural development and of farm
journalism in three regions: North America (representative of the
industrialized countries), the states of the former Soviet Union
(representing the East), and Africa (representative of the Third World).
In all three regions, the quantity and quality of farm coverage has
declined sharply, in some cases to the point of extinction, at a time
when major changes are occurring in the industry.
        The easiest way to find the book is to access Amazon Books (Amazon.com)
on the Internet, then use Amazon.com's homepage search engine to locate
the title "The Invisible Farm" I'd be interested in hearing comments
about the thesis, as well as suggestions for further research.