Fields of Gold - (Cornell Land: New Perspectives on Territory, Development, and Environment) by Madeleine Fairbairn (Paperback)

About the Book

"Over the last decade, the financial sector has suddenly begun investing in farms; Fields of Gold critically examines the history, ideas, and political struggles surrounding this "financialization of farmland"--

Book Synopsis

Fields of Gold critically examines the history, ideas, and political struggles surrounding the financialization of farmland. In particular, Madeleine Fairbairn focuses on developments in two of the most popular investment locations, the US and Brazil, looking at the implications of financiers' acquisition of land and control over resources for rural livelihoods and economic justice.

At the heart of Fields of Gold is a tension between efforts to transform farmland into a new financial asset class, and land's physical and social properties, which frequently obstruct that transformation. But what makes the book unique among the growing body of work on the global land grab is Fairbairn's interest in those acquiring land, rather than those affected by land acquisitions. Fairbairn's work sheds ethnographic light on the actors and relationships--from Iowa to Manhattan to São Paulo--that have helped to turn land into an attractive financial asset class.

Thanks to generous funding from UC Santa Cruz, the ebook editions of this book are available as Open Access volumes from Cornell Open (cornellpress.cornell.edu/cornell-open) and other repositories.

Review Quotes

As federal land policy specialists, we found this book incredibly insightful. The author concisely and clearly explains complicated financial concepts, deftly connecting the machinations of financial actors with their concrete, alarming consequences on the land and within our food system.

-- "An International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research"

Fields of Gold is now the gold standard for scholarship on the financial drivers of transnational farmland investment. To cap off the achievement, Fairbairn writes in a clear and down-to-earth style that demystifies finance jargon and clearly conveys the significance of difficult theory for the lay reader.

-- "Antipode"

Fields of Gold is a richly textured portrait of the globalization of land commodification and those agents intimately involved in its speculation.

-- "New Global Studies"

Fields of Gold makes important and engaging contributions to debates inside and outside the field of geography.

Fairbairn has written a superb and field-defining monograph. Fields of Gold is now the gold standard for scholarship on the financial drivers of transnational farmland investment. To cap off the achievement, Fairbairn writes in a clear and down-to-earth style that demystifies finance jargon and clearly conveys the significance of difficult theory for the lay reader.

-- "Antipode"

In Fields of Gold, Madeleine Fairbairn presents a thoughtful, nuanced, and empirically rich account of the transformation of farmland into an increasingly sought-after investment opportunity. This is a very fine book and should be required reading for anyone who wants to better understand the farmland investment phenomenon.

-- "The Journal of Peasant Studies"

Madeleine Fairbairn's Fields of Gold offers careful and important insight into the history, motivations, and impacts of financial capital's recent investments in farmland around the world. Fields of Gold makes important and engaging contributions to debates inside and outside the field of geography.

-- "AAG Review"

About the Author

Madeleine Fairbairn is Assistant Professor in Environmental Studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz.