Globalization, Health, and the Environment: An Integrated Perspective(Globalization and the Environment)

Leading health scholars reveal the impact of globalization on human health, as it is mediated through environmental change. They explore the destabilizing impact of globalization on the planet's ecology, and on the health of the human populations that are dependent on the delicate global bionetwork. Their timely case studies describe the cultural adaptations of indigenous populations to their changing environments, evaluating their technological and global political-economic processes. The authors analyze local and global public health strategies, examine the association between globalization and demographies, and offer creative solutions for future health policies. This book will be a valuable resource for professionals in international health, medical anthropology, sociology and geography, environmental studies, and globalization studies.

Table of Contents:
Part 1 Foreword Part 2 PART I: GLOBAL TRANSFORMATIONS Chapter 3 CHAPTER 1: Globalization, Health and the Environment: An Introduction Chapter 4 CHAPTER 2: Disease Globalization in the Third Epidemiological Transition Chapter 5 CHAPTER 3: Poverty and Violence, Hunger and Health: A Political Ecology of Armed Conflict Part 6 PART II: CULTURAL ADAPTATIONS Chapter 7 CHAPTER 4: Globalization, Migration, and Indigenous Commodification of Medicinal Plants in Chiapas, Mexico Chapter 8 CHAPTER 5: Health Ecology in Nunavut: Inuit Elders' Concepts of Nutrition, Health, and Political Change Chapter 9 CHAPTER 6: Globalization, Dietary Change, and "Second-Hair" Illness in Two Mesoamerican Cultures Part 10 PART III: POPULATION DYNAMICS Chapter 11 CHAPTER 7: Canadian Cases of the Public Health Implications of Global Environmental and Economic Change Chapter 12 CHAPTER 8: Urbanization, Land Use, and Health in Baguio City, Philippines Chapter 13 CHAPTER 9: Globalization, Demography, and Nutrition: A Bekaa Bedouin Case Study Part 14 PART IV: GOVERNANCE AND POLICY Chapter 15 CHAPTER 10: The Political Ecology of Dengue in Cuba and the Dominican Republic Chapter 16 CHAPTER 11: International Architecture for Sustainable Development and Global Health Part 17 Index Part 18 About the Authors

About the Author :
Greg Guest Greg Guest is a Senior Research Associate at Family Health International, and received his Ph.D. in ecological anthropology from the University of Georgia. He has carried out research in Mexico and Ecuador, and currently manages several multi-site projects in Africa. His most recent work deals with HIV/AIDS prevention, and behavioral and ethical aspects of clinical trials.

Review :
This collection boasts a remarkably cohesive set of readings on the unwieldy theme of globalization and health. Collectively, contributors cross local-global, ecological, geopolitical, temporal, and disciplinary boundaries to tackle dimensions of political economy, environment, and disease while rarely losing sight of cultural context in illuminating the complex dynamics of world systems, resource degradation, and human well-being. . . .this ambitious work successfully unites basic and applied research to advance insight and advocate for action. Global processes have brought about dramatic transformations in world markets, natural resources, and patterns of human health that affect us all, but do so unequally. Nowhere is this more evident than in the distribution of epidemic disease, which has disproportionately affected the marginalized and poor. The contributors to this collection have put forth a compelling case for how problems like epidemics are related to the existing economic order. A broad audience needs to be aware of the issues raised in this important set of essays. This volume is an important addition to Medical Anthropology and Global Health. It combines ten excellent case studies linking health and environments that have been transformed through local processes of globalization. The juxtaposition of the cases demonstrates the diversity of anthropological theoretical approaches applied to the interaction of globalization, health and environment. At the same time it demonstrates the power of a unified, integrative view of complex interactions that Anthropology can provide. The health consequences described here are more complex and interesting than simple one-to-one correlations like global warming and malaria rates. An excellent introduction provides a general framework for understanding the relationship of globalization and health. All aspects of culture-diet, productive technology, economic disparities, violence, and health policy-are implicated in the changing relationship between this culturally constructed global environment and human health. While this cases are alarming, they also provide hope. An insightful compendium documenting the interplay between the forces that shape the global environment and human health. Greg Guest and his authors present a range of vital topics along with well-researched and timely case studies that illuminate these contemporary concerns. A well-documented warning call. . . .