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Wilhelm Abel's study of economic fluctuations over a period of seven hundred years has long been established as a core text in European agricultural history. Professor Abel was one of the first economic historians to make extensive use of statistical data, and his scholarship and approach have had a decisive effect on the orientation of economic and agricultural history. Using data on population, wages and rents from England, France, Germany and the Low Countries, and, on occasion, from Italy, Scandinavia and Poland, here Professor Abel demonstrates the striking similarity in the overall economic development for all these areas. He also analyses, the short-term fluctuations that have affected agricultural development within this economic framework, and is able to show the broad significance of the shape of the late medieval depression, the scale of the desertions of villages that accompanies it, and the implications of the sixteenth century price revolution. The book's importance lies in tracing the long-term trends that have characterized European economic development since the High Middle Ages, and as such it has made an invaluable contribution to all comparative analyses of different Western European countries since it was first published in 1980.
This study of economic fluctuations over a period of seven hundred years has long been established as a core text in European agricultural history. Using international data, similarities in economic development are demonstrated.
Agricultural yields have increased steadily in the last half century, particularly since the Green Revolution. At the same time, inflation-adjusted agricultural commodity prices have been trending downward as increases in supply outpace the growth of demand. Recent severe weather events, biofuel mandates, and a switch toward a more meat-heavy diet in emerging economies have nevertheless boosted commodity prices. Whether this is a temporary jump or the beginning of a longer-term trend is an open question. Agricultural Productivity and Producer Behavior examines the factors contributing to the remarkably steady increase in global yields and assesses whether yield growth can continue. This research also considers whether agricultural productivity growth has been, and will be, associated with significant environmental externalities. Among the topics studied are genetically modified crops; changing climatic factors; farm production responses to government regulations including crop insurance, transport subsidies, and electricity subsidies for groundwater extraction; and the role of specific farm practices such as crop diversification, disease management, and water-saving methods. This research provides new evidence that technological as well as policy choices influence agricultural productivity.

Climate & Food

National Research Council (U.S.). Committee on Climate and Weather Fluctuations and Agricultural Production

Published: 1976

Total Pages: 228


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The climatic inputs; Climatic fluctuations and water resources; Climatic fluctuations and land resources; Plant breeding; Crop and livestock management; Pest management; Weather modification; strategies for the developing countries.
Globalization of the food supply has created conditions favorable for the emergence, reemergence, and spread of food-borne pathogens-compounding the challenge of anticipating, detecting, and effectively responding to food-borne threats to health. In the United States, food-borne agents affect 1 out of 6 individuals and cause approximately 48 million illnesses, 128,000 hospitalizations, and 3,000 deaths each year. This figure likely represents just the tip of the iceberg, because it fails to account for the broad array of food-borne illnesses or for their wide-ranging repercussions for consumers, government, and the food industry-both domestically and internationally. A One Health approach to food safety may hold the promise of harnessing and integrating the expertise and resources from across the spectrum of multiple health domains including the human and veterinary medical and plant pathology communities with those of the wildlife and aquatic health and ecology communities. The IOM's Forum on Microbial Threats hosted a public workshop on December 13 and 14, 2011 that examined issues critical to the protection of the nation's food supply. The workshop explored existing knowledge and unanswered questions on the nature and extent of food-borne threats to health. Participants discussed the globalization of the U.S. food supply and the burden of illness associated with foodborne threats to health; considered the spectrum of food-borne threats as well as illustrative case studies; reviewed existing research, policies, and practices to prevent and mitigate foodborne threats; and, identified opportunities to reduce future threats to the nation's food supply through the use of a "One Health" approach to food safety. Improving Food Safety Through a One Health Approach: Workshop Summary covers the events of the workshop and explains the recommendations for future related workshops.
"The conference was organized by the three editors of this book and took place on August 15-16, 2012 in Seattle."--Preface.