ABSTRACT
North American agriculture in particular has pioneered the development of an industrial structured production model to such good effect that the contemporary global agri-food system, comprised of agri-technology industries and heavy government involvement in agriculture markets, is central in the USA and Canada. As illustrated in Chapter 3, key characteristics of this industrialisation of agriculture, especially in the Developed World, have been various aspects of intensification, concentration and specialisation. These can be contrasted with the opposite set of processes – extensification, dispersion and diversification respectively – that some contend is indicative of post-productivism (Ilbery and Bowler, 1998). Elements of all these processes may be present in any given region and hence the industrial character of North American agriculture does not dominate all sectors or regions, and indeed its progress is being slowed in places by responses to growing consumer mistrust of the quality of industrially produced food products.
