Food Studies: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Why, What and How We Eat: Economics

Agriculture, whether on a small farm or on an industrial scale, is always a business whether it incorporates financial transactions or an exchange of goods. 

What incentives drive a farmer to choose one practice over another?What factors affect consumers in their choices of consumption?

Nate Bischoff, 14, picks out tomatoes at Piazza's grocery store in Palo Alto, Calif., on Aug. 27, 2008. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

Use these databases to find articles about economics:

• EconLit
  Indexes articles in economics, including economic history, economic theory, microeconomics, macroeconomics, and finance.

• JSTOR
  Articles from the core scholarly journals in the humanities, social sciences, and basic sciences.

• ABI/Inform
  Covers business and economic conditions, corporate strategies, management techniques, as well as competitive and product information.

• Business Source Complete
  Articles on management, finance, economics, industry, accounting, and international business.

• Allen, P. (2004). Together at the table: Sustainability and sustenance in the American agrifood system. University Park, Penna.: Pennsylvania State University.

• Bloom, J. (2010). American wasteland: How America throws away nearly half of its food (and what we can do about it). Cambridge, Mass.: Da Capo Press.

• Hallberg, M. C. (2001). Economic trends in U.S. agriculture and food sytems since World War II. Ames: Iowa State University Press.

• Simon, M. (2006). Appetite for profit: How the food industry undermines our health and how to fight back. NY: Nation Books.