Book review: Beyond global food supply chains: crisis, disruption, regeneration
Year: 2025
Type: book-review
Abstract: Victoria Stead and Melinda Hinkson's book with the title of Beyond Global Food Supply Chains: Crisis, Disruption, Regeneration offers a timely and multi-faceted analysis of global food systems during periods of crisis, with particular emphasis on the COVID-19 pandemic. This 192-page collection of essays provides granular case studies from Australia, China, New Zealand and the United States that collectively illuminate the fragility inherent in contemporary food supply chains. While thoroughly descriptive in its approach, the book makes several significant theoretical and practical contributions to food systems study that warrant critical examination.This book situates itself within a growing body of literature that challenges neoliberal market approaches to food security. Chapters 1–3 establish a theoretical framework that goes beyond conventional supply chain resilience concepts by incorporating ecological and social dimensions that are often overlooked in mainstream agricultural economics. This framework aligns with and complements the recent research by Wahab and Ling (2019), which outlines a farm-to-table framework, emphasizing that food integrity is not only about safety and quality but also traceability, information transparency and protection against intentional contamination.In chapters 4–6, the authors' analysis of labor exploitation in Australia's horticultural industry makes a meaningful contribution to the ongoing debate about migrant labor in the agricultural sector. Their research on race-based labor hierarchies deepens our understanding of the structural violence embedded in agricultural labor systems. Case studies on regenerative agriculture in Western Australia and diversified agriculture in China are valuable because they provide empirical evidence supporting agroecological transition theory. These examples offer important alternative narratives to the techno-optimistic perspectives that dominate agricultural development discourse.The logistics analysis presented in chapters 7–9 is perhaps the book's most original contribution to the food system literature. By deconstructing what the authors aptly refer to as the “logistics fantasy” in New Zealand, they challenge the technological determinism underlying much contemporary discussion of supply chain optimization, which tends to overlook social and ecological aspects. This section effectively bridges food studies with critical logistic research, fostering a productive interdisciplinary dialog rarely found in either field. In this context, the systemic perspective on supply chains proposed by Eastham and Creedon (2023) is relevant because it offers insights into how supply chains not only distribute food but also influence nutrient loss as distribution pathways become more complex. In other words, the logistical efficiency discussed in this book must also be balanced with an evaluation of nutritional quality and its impact on long-term food security.The political economy analysis in chapters 10–13 situates the book within a framework of critique of corporate dominance in food governance. The authors' critical assessment of the UN Food Systems Summit aligns with concerns expressed by civil society organizations and academics regarding multi-stakeholder platforms that systematically prioritize corporate interests while neglecting the perspectives of smallholder farmers. Their criticism of consumer ethics as insufficient for systemic change and the development of the concept of “citizen-consumer hybrids” highlights the limitations of market-based approaches to food system transformation.Methodologically, this book exemplifies how place-based qualitative research can illuminate structural dynamics that are often hidden in macro-level analyses in the agricultural domain. This approach aligns with feminist political ecology methodology, which focuses on lived experiences and contextualized knowledge. However, as the authors acknowledge, the absence of quantitative data somewhat limits the book's ability to fully substantiate some of its claims about systemic impacts.The main theoretical contribution of this book lies in its articulation of crisis as a mechanism that reveals and simultaneously serves as a potential catalyst for regenerative change. By documenting how the pandemic revealed pre-existing vulnerabilities while simultaneously creating opportunities for alternative practices, the authors develop a nuanced crisis theory that avoids both catastrophism and naive optimism. This composition offers an important complement to the resilience theory by emphasizing transformational responses rather than adaptive responses to disturbances.A significant limitation is the book's predominant focus on developed economies, which constrains its theoretical scope. The absence of case studies from regions with less formalized food systems, such as Africa or South Asia, where Agarwal (2014) has documented distinct dynamics of agricultural change, represents a missed opportunity. Additionally, the authors could have more explicitly engaged with debates about scale and territoriality in food systems as theorized by Born and Purcell (2006) in the alternative food network literature.Despite these limitations, Beyond Global Food Supply Chains: Crisis, Disruption, Regeneration makes a substantial contribution to food systems scholarship by integrating critical perspectives from political economy, labor studies, logistics and agroecology. It advances beyond descriptive accounts of food chain disruptions to offer theoretical insights into how crises reveal structural injustices and potentially catalyze systemic transformation. The book will be valuable not only for academics across multiple disciplines but also for policymakers, activists and practitioners engaged in building more just and sustainable food futures. Its greatest strength lies in centering marginalized perspectives within food chains, thereby providing crucial insights into the root causes of vulnerability that must be addressed to achieve genuine food system resilience and regeneration.
Source: Rajagiri Management Journal
Author: Thabed Tholib Baladraf
Institution: IPB University
Language: English
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4417124518