Gregory Veeck

America's Changing Farmscape: A Study of Agricultural Tourism in Michigan*

Abstract Agricultural tourism incorporates visits to farms for the purposes of on-site retail purchases, enjoyment, and education. Long popular in the European Union (EU), agritourism is gaining popularity throughout the United States. Interest has grown as a result of stagnant grain prices, rising farm costs, and growing international competition. For rural areas seeking new economic options, the potential of these operations to generate new sources of income through sales and horizontal linkages to other tourism-based activities has sparked interest beyond the farm gate. This article, based on a survey and a statistical analysis of 300 agritourism operations in Michigan, summarizes factors associated with successful operations.

Consumer Segmentation and Changing Food Purchase Patterns in Nanjing, PRC

The remarkable economic changes occurring within the Peoples Republic of China since 1978 have resulted in striking alteration in food consumption patterns for urban Chinese residents. Higher incomes, busier life styles, greater choices in food retailers, the increasing availability of refrigeration, and the greater variety in food choice have all resulted in shifts of household consumption. This study, based on a convenience survey of urban households in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, PRC finds that three distinct patterns of food shopping exist. The significance of these findings to the global agro-food system and the agricultural sector of China are examined.

China’s food security: past success and future challenges

The rapid growth of China’s economy – averaging 9.1% per year for the 35 years since 1978 – has many implications for China’s domestic food and agriculture sector as well for the global food system. The more the nation’s economy expands, the more food is needed to feed an ever-growing middle class with significantly different consumption patterns than when the economic reforms began. Food security for China is not merely an agricultural, economic, or public health issue, but also an important social and political issue with many domestic and international implications. This article summarizes the seminal issues related to China’s food security debate, including a brief summary of the programs and policies that most credit for the nation’s great success to date in meeting 95% of domestic grain demand. A review of production and yield data at the regional scale for the reform era from a spatial-temporal perspective comparing spatial shifts in domestic proportional production of strategic grains (rice, wheat, corn) over time and space for the period from 1978 to 2011 follows, clearly showing the northward shift in national grain production to regions facing chronic water shortages.

Influences on food choices of urban Chinese teenagers

Purpose – This study aims to examine the major influences of food choices of Chinese teenagers within a dynamic food marketing environment. Design/methodology/approach – The paper reports findings from semi-structured interviews with high school students which examine teenagers’ guidelines for selecting food, along with their actual eating behavior. Findings – The results reflect on how four major influences – personal, family, peer and retailer – may intersect to affect the eating behaviors of Chinese adolescents, as they navigate an intense education schedule during a time of rapidly changing cultural values. Different norms of food choice – nutrition, food safety, taste, body image, price, convenience, sharing, friendship and fun – are evoked according to the social context and concurrent activities of the teenagers. Social implications – The findings offer tentative insights related to the potential for promoting healthier eating habits for adolescents in urban areas of China. Originality/value – The ...

Geography, Geographers, and Study Abroad

Few transformations of the American educational system have been as rapid and potentially profound as the proliferation of “study-, research-, and service-abroad” programs during the past two decades. From high schools, to community colleges, small liberal arts colleges, and large public and private universities, more students are traveling to more places for more reasons than ever before. During the 2006–2007 academic year, for example, more than 240,000 students at U.S. colleges and universities participated in some form of formal overseas educational experience, representing a 150 percent increase since 1995 (Institute of International Education [IIE] 2008). This recent enthusiasm for study abroad reflects sincere financial and programmatic commitments, not only among the leaders of higher education, but by the students and families who participate in these programs as well. Simply put, the goal is to broaden perspectives, promote international awareness, and better prepare students for the interesting times that are sure to follow. Although the Grand Tour has certainly not disappeared, it now competes for students among a myriad of overseas educational experiences, including international research projects, alternate spring break, thematicallyfocused programs ranging from anthropology to zoology, and traditional language-immersion programs. There are more tailored choices in more places and the duration of programs has also become more fluid, with options spanning several weeks to the traditional year abroad. Indeed, in order to accommodate students and their increasingly busy lives, shorter programs (of eight weeks or less) represent the fastest growing segment of overseas study (55.4% in 2006–2007 versus 40.5% in 1995–1996), while participants in programs covering a full academic year have declined from 12.1 percent to 4.4 percent during the same period (IIE 2008). The “shortening” of the experience not only alters the way these programs and places are perceived, but also how they are presented to students and parents. Furthermore, while the variety of potential destinations has increased significantly, the vast majority of students (45%) still attend programs in just four nations (United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, and France) (IIE 2008). As the articles in this collection demonstrate, the growing number and diversity of programs ostensibly respond to calls by educators, business leaders, and government policymakers to internationalize the nation’s students and workforce in order to better prepare graduates for the realities of a shrinking and increasingly inter-related world. Similar to support for alternative energy, it is difficult to imagine opposition to the lofty goals espoused by proponents from all quarters of what might be called the wide-world classroom. Still, given the proliferation of study abroad and the potential of overseas educational programs to provide life-altering experiences, it is perhaps reasonable and prudent to consider the implications of these trends and how academic faculty and administrators can improve both the programs offered and the experiences of participating students, partner institutions, and host communities. Given the importance of the topic, there has been considerable research related to internationalization and study abroad, including evaluations carried out by several national and international organizations, including the Institute for International Education, NAFSA: Association of International Educators,1 the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges, and others. Unique to this edited issue, however, is a focus on the actual and potential contributions of our discipline of geography. Specifically, we charged participants in this collaborative effort to consider the role of geography, as an academic pursuit, in overseas study and to critically assess and, potentially, reconceptualize the role of the discipline within study abroad and the internationalization of higher education. Reflecting on their personal experiences, contributors to this special issue collectively reveal the unique contributions of geography and geographers to overseas study, including: the inner-workings and transformative potential of multicountry programs (Moline); how to integrate geography into traditional language-oriented programs (Jokisch); the challenges of doing geographic research and training undergraduate and graduate students in an international, multidisciplinary context (Bishop); how contrasting social, political, and economic contexts provide valuable “teaching moments” within overseas educational programs (Kolivras and Scarpaci); the inherent conflicts between the traditional demands of academia and the potential benefits of international service-learning and public scholarship (Taylor); the need for faculty and administrators to assess and mitigate the impacts of international educational activities in host communities (Schroeder et al.); and the dissonance between the dogma of strong globalization, which serves to justify study abroad, and the potential of overseas study to promote crosscultural understanding and an appreciation of difference (Biles and Lindley). From the outset, it should be noted that all contributors to this edited issue have devoted a significant portion of their careers to working with students in a variety of international contexts. Accordingly, they are active and enthusiastic advocates of overseas education efforts on their campuses and beyond. In fact, and perhaps not surprisingly, the majority of participants in this collaborative effort are themselves the “product” of study abroad, having taken

Perceptions of Food Safety by Urban Consumers in Nanjing, China

The past decade has seen what could reasonably be called an explosion in the number of food-related crises in China. Food safety issues represent a national crisis threatening the physical and psychological health of Chinese citizens, despite the repeated adoption of stringent food safety laws and regulations. This project, based on a stratified random sample of 337 households in Nanjing, assesses perceptions related to different food safety concerns and issues among urban residents and explores differences in perceptions across social strata as defined by socioeconomic and demographic variables using principal component analysis and standard statistical tests.

China's Exports and Imports of Agricultural Products under the WTO

An American economic geographer specializing in the agricultural sector of Chinas economy presents a study of that countrys trade in agricultural products. The paper is focused on patterns of change in the regional distribution of agricultural and aquacultural exports and imports before and after Chinas accession to the World Trade Organization in 2001. Drawing on research during the course of a field trip in July 2008 and utilizing data compiled by Chinas Customs Bureau, the author provides a comprehensive assessment of the countrys trade with 10 major world regions through the year 2007. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: F14, F40, O13, Q17. 1 figure, 4 tables, 32 references.

“DEVELOP THE WEST” ASSESSED: ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE IN THE INNER MONGOLIA AUTONOMOUS REGION, PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA 2000–2005

Abstract In late 1999, President Jiang Zemin requested that a comprehensive regional development campaign be designed and implemented to address growing disparities in income, development, and quality of life across three of Chinas macro-regions: eastern lowland China, central China, and western China. Through the resulting “Strategy of Developing Chinas West” Campaign, massive amounts of capital have been made available across the 12 provincial-order units now defined as “West China” to promote economic development, improve social equity across urban and rural places and mitigate environmental degradation and pollution. The Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region (IMAR), the focus of our assessment of this program, offers an ideal location to evaluate the changes that have occurred since the inception of the program in 2000 through an analysis of available socioeconomic and environmental data. Progress has been made in a number of areas. Industrial output has increased dramatically, and extra-local government investments in rural areas for infrastructure and other projects are being funded at unprecedented levels. Important problems still remain. Specifically we identify growing inequity between urban and rural places and little progress in pasture improvement as measured by MODIS-generated NDVI indices for 2000 to 2005.

The Modern Chinese Farmer: Technical Adoptions and Marketing Innovations among Vegetable Farmers in Shijiazhuang, Hebei

A team of American and Chinese geographers investigates the technical changes, changes in markets, and new production methods that have allowed the profitable production of vegetables almost year-round near Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province on the North China Plain. Based on a case study of 160 farm households, and adopting a micro-economic approach, the authors analyze household data through regression analysis to determine the most important technical adoptions, household characteristics, and marketing strategies as measured by net and gross returns per mu of vegetables at the field and farm scales. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: D13, O13, Q12. 3 figures, 5 tables, 54 references.

POST-WTO AGRICULTURE IN EAST ASIA: A CASE STUDY OF APPLE PRODUCTS

Abstract The Doha Round of the WTO has faltered in the face of the inability of signatory nations to come to agreement on trade in agricultural products. A case study of the apple trade in East Asia illustrates conditions facing small farmers and exporters of horticultural products throughout the world, and identifies barriers to trade and equity. Cumbersome import regulations, strictly enforced phytosanitary controls, uneven levels of domestic farm supports and variable forms of transfer-payments are some of the ways nations comply with the WTO Agreement that typically favor growers and processors in wealthy nations over others.