The first book to tell the whole story of SNAP and to explain why all Americans should support it.The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is the nation’s largest government effort for helping low-income Americans obtain an adequate diet. How did SNAP, formerly the food stamp program, evolve from a Depression-era project to use up surplus goods into America’s foundational food assistance program? And how does SNAP survive? Incisive and original, Why SNAP W...

In January 2014, for the first time in the history of federal farm legislation going back to the Great Depression, all four members of the US House of Representatives from Kansas voted against the Farm Bill, despite pleas by the state’s agricultural leaders to support it. Why? The story of the Agricultural Act of 2014, as it unfolds in Framing the Farm Bill, has much to tell us about the complex nature of farm legislation, food policy, and partisan politics in present-day America....

"Woven through this text is the unifying theme that American politics represents “conflict and compromise,” in direct opposition to the increasingly commonly held view that all politics is dirty and all politicians are crooks. By presenting a balance of essential factual content with a broad assessment of system dynamics and their policy effects, the authors provide an accessible yet sophisticated overview of American politics. Features:Coherent theme of “conflict versus compromise”...

Nanotechnology promises to transform the materials of everyday life, leading to smaller and more powerful computers, more durable plastics and fabrics, cheap and effective water purification systems, more efficient solar panels and storage batteries, and medical devices capable of tracking down and killing cancer cells or treating neurological diseases. Policy analysts predict a radical change in the industrial sector; at present, the U.S. government spends nearly $2 billion annually on na...

There is enormous current interest in urban food systems, with a wide array of policies and initiatives intended to increase food security, decrease ecological impacts and improve public health. This volume is a cross-disciplinary and applied approach to urban food system sustainability, health, and equity.The contributions are from researchers working on social, economic, political and ethical issues associated with food systems. The book's focus is on the analysis of and lessons ...