Broadening and Deepening: Soy Expansions in a World-Historical Perspective
This article assesses the ongoing South American soy expansion from a world-historical perspective, comparing the case of Brazil with the cases of China and the USA. For this purpose, it applies the concept of commodity frontier, involving both external and internal modes of capitalist incorporation...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | Spanish |
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UniEVANGELICA
2020-05-01
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| Series: | Historia Ambiental Latinoamericana y Caribeña |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://halacsolcha.org/index.php/halac/article/view/435 |
| _version_ | 1818144413400956928 |
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| author | Ernst Langthaler |
| author_facet | Ernst Langthaler |
| author_sort | Ernst Langthaler |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article assesses the ongoing South American soy expansion from a world-historical perspective, comparing the case of Brazil with the cases of China and the USA. For this purpose, it applies the concept of commodity frontier, involving both external and internal modes of capitalist incorporation. The Chinese soy expansion (1900s–1930s) shows a predominant shift of the external frontier, associated with the peasant mode of farming. The US soy expansion (1930s–1970s) represents a predominant shift of the internal frontier, connected to the entrepreneurial mode of farming. The Brazilian soy expansion (1970s–2010s) reveals a flexible combination of extensive and intensive frontier shifts, corresponding with the capitalist mode of farming. These commodity booms were driven not only by nation states, capitalist enterprises and social movements, but also by the potentials and limitations of the soybean plant itself. Shifts of commodity frontiers often disrupted society and nature and, hence, were contested among diverse actors, both human and non-human. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T11:47:10Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-cd1be8f4d1974345b476c2f5c00a790a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2237-2717 |
| language | Spanish |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T11:47:10Z |
| publishDate | 2020-05-01 |
| publisher | UniEVANGELICA |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Historia Ambiental Latinoamericana y Caribeña |
| spelling | doaj.art-cd1be8f4d1974345b476c2f5c00a790a2022-12-22T01:08:27ZspaUniEVANGELICAHistoria Ambiental Latinoamericana y Caribeña2237-27172020-05-0110210.32991/2237-2717.2020v10i2.p244-277Broadening and Deepening: Soy Expansions in a World-Historical PerspectiveErnst LangthalerThis article assesses the ongoing South American soy expansion from a world-historical perspective, comparing the case of Brazil with the cases of China and the USA. For this purpose, it applies the concept of commodity frontier, involving both external and internal modes of capitalist incorporation. The Chinese soy expansion (1900s–1930s) shows a predominant shift of the external frontier, associated with the peasant mode of farming. The US soy expansion (1930s–1970s) represents a predominant shift of the internal frontier, connected to the entrepreneurial mode of farming. The Brazilian soy expansion (1970s–2010s) reveals a flexible combination of extensive and intensive frontier shifts, corresponding with the capitalist mode of farming. These commodity booms were driven not only by nation states, capitalist enterprises and social movements, but also by the potentials and limitations of the soybean plant itself. Shifts of commodity frontiers often disrupted society and nature and, hence, were contested among diverse actors, both human and non-human.https://halacsolcha.org/index.php/halac/article/view/435SoybeanSoy ExpansionCommodity FrontierMode of FarmingChinaUSA |
| spellingShingle | Ernst Langthaler Broadening and Deepening: Soy Expansions in a World-Historical Perspective Historia Ambiental Latinoamericana y Caribeña Soybean Soy Expansion Commodity Frontier Mode of Farming China USA |
| title | Broadening and Deepening: Soy Expansions in a World-Historical Perspective |
| title_full | Broadening and Deepening: Soy Expansions in a World-Historical Perspective |
| title_fullStr | Broadening and Deepening: Soy Expansions in a World-Historical Perspective |
| title_full_unstemmed | Broadening and Deepening: Soy Expansions in a World-Historical Perspective |
| title_short | Broadening and Deepening: Soy Expansions in a World-Historical Perspective |
| title_sort | broadening and deepening soy expansions in a world historical perspective |
| topic | Soybean Soy Expansion Commodity Frontier Mode of Farming China USA |
| url | https://halacsolcha.org/index.php/halac/article/view/435 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT ernstlangthaler broadeninganddeepeningsoyexpansionsinaworldhistoricalperspective |