Thomas Pawlick’s The War in the Country examines cases in which municipal, provincial, and federal governments’ have used policy to support industrial agriculture, gas, and mining operations in rural Canadian communities.

Pawlick illustrates how this same policy is used to suppress residents in opposition to this industry, or is used to make competing small businesses impossible to operate in each of the affected communities.  It is these citizens and business people who are the heroes of the book, and their stories do make for a compelling read.

For example, it is difficult to understand how small, organic family farms do not qualify for agricultural tax relief while massive industrial operations do.  Unlike most writing on the subject, Pawlick discusses Canadian cases, which is refreshing when so much writing on the subject does have an American bent; however the book gives evidence that Canadian policy makers are no better at protecting rural farms or pandering to corporate interests then their counterparts South of the border.

Overall, The War in the Country presents a lot of excellent, well-researched information about battles between communities vs. industry. However, I couldn’t get through more than three pages without the book hitting me in the face.  This is a great book to further advance an existing interest in this subject, but it is not the most engaging first read.  Start with Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dillemma (Penguin) for a more digestible overview of how the industrial food system is affecting our world. (Greystone)