Proquest Dissertations
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Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6" x 9" black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. Bell & Howell Information and Learning 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 USA 800-521-0600 UMI' GLOBALIZATION AND FOOD SECURITY IN LESS INDUSTRIALIZED SOCIETIES: AT-RISK POPULATIONS AND THE SOCIOLOGY OF HUNGER DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Stephen J. Scanlan, M.A. ***** The Ohio State University 2000 Dissertation Committee Approved by: Professor J. Craig Jenkins, Adviser Professor Edward Crenshaw hser Professor Katherine Meyer Depj of Sociology UMI Number: 9994934 Copyright 2001 by Scanlan, Stephen James All rights reserved. UMI UMI Microform 9994934 Copyright 2001 by Bell & Howell Information and teaming Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 ABSTRACT At the present moment over 840 million people throughout the world do not have enough food to meet basic nutritional needs, with 200 million or more children under the age of five experiencing undemutrition in less industrialized countries. This is the case despite increasing food availability that has created a global surplus in the last few decades. This project examines the multiple structural determinants of food security. Because it is a complex concept with links to ethnic and gender inequality, globalization, persistent violent conflict, population pressure, poverty, rural-urban disarticulation, technological change, and uneven development, food security is an essential consideration for sociology. I examine the determinants of food supply and distribution in less industrialized societies in the context of sweeping globalization processes and patterns of inequality, specifically addressing dietary energy supply and protein availability per capita, hunger in the total population, and child hunger. I focus on the links between food security and stratification as it relates to the most at-risk groups in developing countries: children, ethnic minorities, rural populations, and women. I use a lagged-panel statistical design and cross-national data for less industrialized countries from the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, the World Bank and other sources. I test and integrate multiple theories of stratification and social change including dependency, ethnic antagonisms, modernization, neo-Malthusian, military famine, techno- ecological, urbanization, and women in development perspectives. Expanding upon classic u "entitlements" arguments by Amartya Sen and colleagues I find that food security is largely about distribution of existing supplies and I explore the structural factors that disrupt countries' and individuals' abilities to take advantage of the global food surplus. Findings indicate that although globalization, modernization and techno-ecological perspectives can explain growth in food availability, barriers such as absolute poverty, ethnic and gender discrimination, the military burden and conflicts, and rural-urban inequality reveal that the benefits of economic prosperity and increased food supply do not improve the experience of persistent hunger among large portions of the global population. In this regard ethnic antagonisms, military famine, urbanization, and women in development perspectives provide important explanations for food security problems while dependency and neo-Malthusian perspectives contribute much less. Food security research must focus on the economic, political, and social processes that result in hunger, borrowing from and synthesizing numerous perspectives on stratification and social change and thus establishing greater relevance for sociological analysis in this area. Furthermore, the use of cross-national methods is an additional contribution of this research to the food security and development literature and this study not only helps to fill a sociological void on an important global issue, but also has potential for policy impact beyond the academy. ui Dedicated to my dad, may he rest in peace IV ACKNOWLEDGMENTS There are numerous people I wish to thank for their assistance during the completion of this research. I first wish to acknowledge the encouragement and insight of Craig Jenkins, my adviser and mentor, whose drive and commitment to excellence in scholarship are an inspiration. Furthermore, I am grateful to Kay Meyer and Ed Crenshaw who provided much wisdom and support in challenging me produce quality scholarly work. Be it in the classroom or as members of my dissertation committee I could not have asked for better people to give me the knowledge and guidance that I needed to complete this work. I am greatly appreciative of my colleagues and fnends in the Department of Sociology at The Ohio State University for their support during this whole process. Being surrounded by people who provide kind words and a supportive work environment has made completing the dissertation possible and more enjoyable. I am especially appreciative of my "co-dissertators," Mikaela Dufur, Ann Marie Flores, Ken Litwin, Adam Moskowitz, and Helen Rizzo for their comradery during this time. I would like to thank my family for their continued support and understanding during this process, especially my mother who has always encouraged me to try and do my best and nothing more, no strings attached. Their encouragement has meant a lot, and their uncanny ability to somehow know when or when not to inquire as to how my work was progressing was greatly appreciated, especially when it was not always clear to them just what exactly 1 was doing, nor exactly when I would complete this project. In addition, I am grateful for the fnendship, love and support of my partner, Nicole Yandell, who more than anyone knows what I have gone through in the writing of this dissertation. Her understanding and willingness to put up with me during this difficult process is more than anyone should be expected to do, and for that 1 will be forever indebted. Finally, this research was supported by a doctoral fellowship from the Graduate School at The Ohio State University and a travel grant from the Graduate School Alumni. Additional support was derived from research assistant positions made possible by the National Science Foundation and the Mershon Center for International Security in addition to teaching positions in the Department of Sociology at The Ohio State University. VI VITA February 21, 1971 ............................................Bom - Circleville, Ohio 1993 .................................................................. Bj \. Sociology, The University of Dayton 1993 - present ....................................................Graduate Fellow, Teaching Associate, and Research Associate, The Ohio State University PUBLICATIONS Research publications 1. Scanlan, Stephen J. "Food Availability and Access in Less-Industrialized Societies: A Test and Interpretation of Neo-Malthusian and Techno-Ecological Theories." Sociological Forum. Forthcoming, (June 2001). 2. Scanlan, Stephen J. and J. Craig Jenkins. "Military Power and Food Security: A Cross- National Analysis of Less Developed Countries, 1970-1990." International Studies Quarterly. Forthcoming, (March 2001). 3. Scanlan, Stephen J. and Seth L. Feinberg. "The Cartoon Society: Using The Simpsons to Teach and Learn Sociology." Teaching Sociology 2%,127-139, (2000). Book Review 1. Scanlan, Stephen J. Review of Popular Politics: Renewing Democracy for a Sustainable World, by George W. Shepherd, Jr. Nationalism and Ethnic Politics 5,141-142, (1999). Other Work 1. Contributor to Rousseau, Nathan J., ed. Internationalizing Sociology in the Age of Globalization. Washington, D.C.: The American Sociological Association (1999). vu FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: Sociology Specialization in comparative social change vm TABLE OF CONTENTS A bstract ......................................................................................................................................... ii Dedication ................................................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................................